SIDCOT School will welcome a new headteacher next year, after announcing the successor to former head John Walmsley.

Iain Kilpatrick will swap the highlands of Scotland for Somerset when he moves from his current role as headteacher of Beaconhurst School at Bridge of Allan on August 1 next year.

He beat four other candidates for the role after all five applicants spent three days at the Quaker school in Winscombe meeting students and staff, and undergoing an assessment.

The school’s board of governors unanimously decided that Iain was the best candidate, saying they were impressed by his vision, commitment to professional excellence and understanding of the school’s ethos.

Paul Whitehouse, chair of the board, said: “I am delighted that Iain has accepted our offer - his track record of running a successful all-through school over the last six years, together with his earlier experience of boarding, make him an ideal headteacher of Sidcot at this stage of its development.

“I look forward to working closely with him as we seek to move Sidcot forward.”

Mr Kilpatrick said: “I feel privileged at being given the opportunity of joining Sidcot as headteacher at such an exciting time in the school’s development.

“I was very struck by the quality of relationships that underpin Sidcot’s unique ethos and am excited at the prospect of bringing my family to this beautiful part of Somerset.”

Deputy headteacher Elizabeth Burgess will be acting headteacher until Mr Kilpatrick’s arrival at the school.