THE new headteacher of Holyrood Academy has said she does not think the school has a bullying problem, despite more than 200 comments online slamming the school’s past inaction.

Lorraine Heath took over in September after the previous head, Matthew Collins, announced his sudden department on the last day before the summer holidays.

The start of the new term also marked Holyrood joining a new multi-academy group, The Uffculme School Trust.

Lorraine Heath is the chief executive of that trust, and is taking on the role of interim headteacher until a replacement for Mr Collins can be appointed.

She is in her 30th year of teaching, and spent most of that time in Somerset as an English teacher.

She worked at Ladymeade School in Taunton for a number of years, before she moved in 2008 to be headteacher of Uffculme School in Devon.

In 2014, Mrs Heath became executive head of Uffculme School and Primary, and as of September 1 this year, she is the chief executive of the Uffculme Academy Trust.

This includes the new additions of Holyrood School and Axe Valley School.

Mrs Heath said: “I think Holyrood is a really lovely school. The students have been friendly and welcoming, behaviour is excellent, and I have seen some really good teaching.

“Where I have been into classes, what I have seen is students and teachers getting on really well together.”

Mrs Heath was awarded an OBE in last year’s new years honours.

She added: “I think that is because Uffculme School has been one of the most successful schools in the country for the last five years or more.

“We have done a lot of work supporting other schools, in Devon, Somerset and Plymouth.

“Uffculme is a very high performing, popular, over-subscribed school with a national reputation.

“We will be looking at Holyrood Academy and seeing if there is anything we can learn from Uffculme.

“I was shocked and surprised it happened. It belongs to the staff as much as me.”

On the last week of last term, a Facebook post garnered a lot of attention after a parent said they were pulling their son from Holyrood because of the school not acting on complaints of bullying.

The post had more than 200 comments, with a lot of people also complaining about their experiences with the school.

When the News asked her about it, Mrs Heath said: “There isn’t a school in the country where bullying doesn’t take place.

“Four weeks in, my perception is that there isn’t a bullying problem.

“Facebook is a place where people go to air their grievances much more than positives, and I would just encourage parents to not put it on Facebook, to come and talk to us.

“I understand why frustrated parents turn to Facebook to vent, but schools do not have a right to reply on that medium.”

Interviews are already underway to find a permanent headteacher for the Chard school, with Holyrood hoping to have someone in by the start of January.

Once they are in place, as the chief executive of the trust, Mrs Heath still plans to be in the school at least one day a week.

She added: “I think it is a really fantastic school with lots of positives.”