The headteacher of Hartsdown Academy in Margate has announced he will be leaving the role this summer.
Matthew Tate, who has been in charge of the school since September 2016, says his final day will be on August 31.
In a letter to parents and carers, Mr Tate said: “It is with mixed emotions that I write to inform you that after nine rewarding years as headteacher at Hartsdown Academy, I have made the decision to step down from my role, with my final day being 31 August.
“As I reflect on my time at Hartsdown, I want to express my heartfelt thanks for your support, trust and commitment to the academy.
“It has been an absolute privilege to work alongside such a dedicated and caring community of staff, students and parents.
“Together we have achieved a great deal and it fills me with pride to see the academy in such a strong position as I prepare to move on.
“When I first arrived at Hartsdown we had a clear vision for improving the school and I am pleased to say that over the years we have made tremendous strides in fulfilling that vision.
“The academy is now in a much stronger position with balanced finances, a steady increase in student numbers and a recent Ofsted inspection that praised the hard work and dedication of our entire school community.”
He adds that he believes the school is “well prepared for the future” with strong staff and leadership teams.
He finishes by saying: “Being a part of this community has been an honour and I will always hold Hartsdown Academy close to my heart.”
Last month Mr Tate had accepted a secondment to the Turner Schools trust, with sites in Folkestone, Dover and Canterbury, and was not due to return until the end of June. He took the role of Acting Director of Secondary Education.
In his first days at Hartsdown Mr Tate created a storm by sending home more than 50 pupils in two days for uniform breaches.
Deputy head teacher Ian Wallace stepped up as acting headteacher.
In 2022 Hartsdown received a Good grading from education watchdog Ofsted. Prior to that it had been graded as Requires Improvement in 2018.
31st of August what a great day for someone in the teaching profession to leave. I wonder why not the end of July At the end of term?
Paul Round- perhaps there will still be several tasks for Mr Tate to carry out in the school after the end of the summer term.
Still nice work if you can get it. A months pay for a bit of admin.
Of course – like picking up an extra months salary before taking up a new post at start of September, perhaps…
I remember the downgrade from the cape (Mr Davis) to the safari suit (Faraker) not long before I left a very long time ago.
Paul Round- do you know how much time the “bit of admin” will take?
Mike Bassett – muppets have no idea especially with regard to work!
Mr Tate came to Hartsdown in 2016 from Trinity School in Sevenoaks, which he was founding principal in 2013, becoming the 7th most popular school in Kent by 2015. Previous to that he had an outstanding career as a future leader at other schools turning them around to become high performing in behaviour and ratings.
With Hartsdown now among those better performing he moves on to the Turner School’s Trust to keep that burning challenge moving forward.
I hope Hartsdown can keep the good performance ratings high with another successful leader and that Matt Tate continues his own career with more success as he moves on to the TST. Hartsdown have been lucky to have had such a good leader over the past 9 years and it deserves to continue in that light from September on under the next.
Congratulations to Matt and all the staff and helpers, and well done all the students too, you have made it happen.