David Throp, 47, has been appointed headteacher of the new Pounds 11 million community secondary school due to open in Portsmouth in September 2000. Mr Throp, currently head of Whitecross grant-maintained school, Lydney, Gloucestershire, will start in January. The school will be one of the first to be funded and operated as a private finance initiative project. It will be built on a 6.2 acre site at St Mary’s Hospital at Fratton.
Islington’s new Arts and Media School, set up to educate students for careers in the world of arts, media and technology, has appointed Torsten Friedag as its first principal. Mr Friedag, former vice-principal of the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon and currently headteacher of Great Cornard Upper School, Suffolk, will join the school in January.
Professor Sir Gareth Roberts, vice-chancellor of the University of Sheffield, succeeds Dr Brian Manley as president of the Institute of Physics. Sir Gareth, whose career has included a period in the USA as a research scientist for the Xerox Corporation, professor of electronic engineering at the University of Oxford and chief scientist at Thorn-EMI plc, will oversee the institute’s 125th anniversary celebration next year.
The Professional Association of Teachers has appointed Sue Cornish as finance officer who will also be responsible for membership, personnel and reviewing the computer system. Ms Cornish, who was with KPMG in Nottingham before joining PAT, will work closely with Kay Driver, the new general secretary, and Noel Henderson, the honorary treasurer.
The new director of National Campaign for the Arts is Victoria Todd. She succeeds Jennifer Edwards who is now working for the London Arts Board. Formerly director of the Council for Dance Education and Training UK, Ms Todd has worked for a number of international arts organisations including the United Kingdom Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, The Tate Gallery and UNESCO.
Wendy Scott, national chair of the British Association for Early Childhood Education has been appointed its new chief executive. Ms Scott has worked as a teacher, head, lecturer, inspector and adviser. She is also a key stage 1 national tests moderator and a BEd external examiner. The association is celebrating its 75th anniversary this month.
Dr Terry Powley, 52, formerly principal of Greenwich Community College, has been appointed project director of the north Southwark education action zone. Dr Powley will serve for an initial period of three years. He worked in education in Essex for four years and was a member of the ILEA’s inspectorate.
