Senior deputy headteacher at The Academy of St Nicholas takes on headship

The Academy of St Nicholas, Garston, has appointed a new headteacher from within its ranks. Mr Gary Lloyd has worked at the academy as senior deputy headteacher since 2021. He began his teaching career in 2005 at Ruffwood Community Comprehensive in Kirkby. He went on to study a BA in French and Spanish, and had the opportunity to spend two years abroad, one year at a university in France and the other in Spain. Upon his return, Mr Lloyd completed his PGCE at Liverpool Hope University. He added: “I think teaching languages is so unique in that we get to literally open doors to other worlds for our students. Students can see for themselves that languages really is a facilitating subject, and that is about more than learning a set of grammatical rules and lists of new words.” Over the years, Mr Lloyd has taken on several roles including head of Spanish, advanced skills teacher, assistant headteacher and deputy headteacher. He was also seconded to lead a teacher training collaborative for two years called Wigan and West Lancashire Catholic School Direct. Mr Lloyd commented: “I am delighted, honoured, proud, humbled. I know how powerful education can be as a springboard to really change lives.” The academy, which is part of All Saints Multi Academy Trust, is going through an exciting period of continued improvement after it was awarded a ‘Good’ Ofsted judgement in January 2023. This strategic move follows previous headteacher, Mrs Jeniffer Sing, taking on the executive headteacher role within the trust. He said: “I am so proud that I have been part of the incredible journey of success that The Academy of St Nicholas has been on, joining Mrs Sing with a determined vision to provide the community of Garston and Speke with a good school.”