ONE of Oxfordshire's largest schools has appointed a new headteacher from another county secondary.

King Alfred's Academy in Wantage announced this week that Richard Holroyd will take up his post on September 1.

Mr Holroyd, who has been headteacher at Langtree School in Woodcote near Wallingford for 12 years, said he felt 'delighted and privileged'.

Current headteacher Jo Halliday, who took over from Simon Spiers in 2014, announced she was leaving in December, and has now stepped down.

Long-serving teacher Jonathan Smart will be acting headteacher until September.

Mr Holroyd commented: "From my initial visit to King Alfred's, as well as time spent with students, staff and governors during the interview process, I was deeply impressed with the core strengths of the school, and excited by the opportunities to achieve even greater successes in the future."

He went on: "At present, I am in my thirteenth year as Headteacher of Langtree School in Woodcote. Langtree has grown to become a happy, caring school which has secured excellent GCSE results for many years, placing it in the top 20% of all schools nationally. Consequently, the school is very popular and heavily oversubscribed.

I now look forward to a new challenge and I am very keen to get to know the students, staff, parents and governors of King Alfred's when I take up post in September."

The 1,750-pupil school has recently undergone a huge transformation: having sold its East Site to a housing developer last year it is now based on two sites instead of three, with £17m having been spend on new buildings.

This includes the latest state-of-the-art science block, which opened its door to students in January.

Gina Hocking, chairman of King Alfred’s Local Governing Body, said: "It is an exciting time for everyone at King Alfred’s and we are confident that Richard is the right person to take King Alfred's onto the next stage of its development."

Mr Holroyd will be visiting King Alfred’s on several occasions before he takes up his post in September and said he was looking forward to meeting future colleagues and students over the next few months.