THE new head teacher at Devizes School has pledged to continue the good work of his predecessor Colin Isted who leaves at the end of the summer term.

Malcolm Irons, currently deputy head at Kingdown School, Warminster, was chosen by school governors after they interviewed short listed candidates last week.

Mr Irons, 46, began his career at Sandy Upper School in Bedfordshire, before moving to Cornwall to become head of sixth form at Helston School. After five years there he became deputy head at Kingdown where he has been since 1997.

He is married with three children, two boys aged 16 and 13, who go to Kingdown, and a seven-year-old girl who is at primary school in Warminster. His wife Jeannette is a former teacher.

Mr Irons said he was delighted to have been appointed as Mr Isted's replacement and is looking forward to taking over in September.

He said: "Colin has done a tremendous job in pulling the school up by its boot straps and the challenge now is to turn a good school into an excellent school.

"It is more difficult than turning a bad school into a good school. It is about raising aspirations so that everyone is moving towards that excellence bracket."

Among the other aspects that Mr Irons will have to address when he comes into post will be the question of specialist college status. With its large area of playing fields and Devizes Leisure Centre on the same campus, there may be pressure for it to become a sports college, but Mr Irons says he and the governors will also look at science, maths and business college status.

He said: "We have to work in collaboration with the local education authority which has a strategic plan on specialist college status. We may or may not agree with what it suggests but we are bound to consider it."

Mr Irons has also pledged to develop further the school's links with the community. He is regarded as an outgoing and community-minded professional.

He said: "I am community teacher at Kingdown and I want to develop an open, welcoming community style at Devizes."

He has no plans to move his family from Warminster to the Devizes area.