THE headteacher of the new Nerrols Primary School has been appointed.

Rhian Locker, 38, who is currently deputy head of North Town Primary School, will be taking up the role as leader at the new school in north Taunton from September 2019.

She will be working alongside current headteacher of North Town and executive head of Nerrols, Mike Snowden.

Ms Locker's appointment comes alongside the announcement North Town School will be joining the Richard Huish Academy Trust, which will also sponsor Nerrols.

The trust's chief executive, John Abbott, said: “ I am excited to have someone of Rhian’s calibre and experience at the helm, particularly as it forges the links between North Town and the other schools within the trust.

“I have been very impressed with North Town and have always felt the school would fit really well within the Richard Huish Multi Academy Trust. It is forward thinking in its outlook and has aspirations which match those we aspire to achieve for all the schools we sponsor. This was cemented by the recent news that North Town has won two awards - for respecting children’s rights and for commitment to the development of sport - both of which chime exactly with our core aims.

“In the future Rhian, Mike and all the other heads of our trust’s schools will be working very closely together to share knowledge, skills and resources - ensuring that we achieve the highest possible education standards for the children of Taunton.”

Mrs Locker, who lives in Taunton, has worked at North Town since 2006, starting as head of Year 6 before moving to the role of deputy in 2011.

Before that she taught at Brookside School in Street. Rhian has two children aged two and six, both of whom attend local schools.

She said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to start a school completely from scratch and I believe that my vision for it fits well within the Richard Huish Trust’s ethos.

"I have been responsible for the success of the curriculum at North Town and I plan to use that as the basis for Nerrols.

"We promise individually tailored learning for children, not just an annually repeated lesson plan, which I think is quite unique to this sector.”