Procedures to be reviewed after West Island fails to appoint head for the third time
The English Schools Foundation is to review its recruitment procedures after failing to appoint a principal for one of its top secondary schools following three attempts since last October.
Students and staff at West Island School in Pokfulam learnt yesterday that the high-flying Scottish candidate who had been offered the job at the end of last month had finally turned them down, the second time the ESF had been rejected over the post. In February, it was forced to readvertise after Australian Craig Glass decided not to take up the offer.
The job was first advertised in October but the appointments committee readvertised it in November after failing to attract enough suitable candidates. The ESF has instead appointed the school's deputy principal Jane Foxcroft, who was one of the three short-listed candidates in the first round of interviews, as acting head.
Neal McGowan, principal of Larbert High School near Falkirk in Scotland, took part in interviews at the end of March, when the Association of Professional Teachers of ESF Schools voted to narrow its working practices over pay and benefits cuts of 9.2 per cent, and when parents reacted angrily to the announcement of fee rises.
But he told the South China Morning Post that he had made his decision for personal reasons.