'Innovative' Harrogate headteacher in running for top UK award after ‘Sunday Times success’
A Harrogate teacher is in the running for the Headteacher of the Year award in the “Oscars’ of the Education Sector”.
This year’s Tes Schools Awards, which celebrate the UK’s most inspiring teachers and schools from both the state and independent sectors, attracted a record number of nominations.
Rhiannon Wilkinson, who was appointed as the first-ever female head at Ashville College in 2021 and has been praised for being innovative, has been shortlisted for the title of Headteacher of the Year (Independent)
The prestigious nomination follows a memorable 12 months which saw Ashville College propelled into the Sunday Times Parent Power top 10 independent schools in the North, confirming its record-breaking A Level results are the best in Harrogate for the second successive year.
This people-powered performance resulted in pupils securing places at their preferred global destinations spanning the UK, USA and beyond with prestigious university courses and degree apprenticeships.
“There is no shortage of inspiration in schools across the UK so I am thrilled that the Ashville College name will be represented on the national stage at such prestigious awards,” said Rhiannon.
“Thanks to the home-grown skills and talents of all our staff and pupils, Ashville College continues to grow, innovate and be forward-thinking.”
Under Rhiannon’s leadership, the year has also been hallmarked by a continued rise in pupil numbers, the launch of a new Sixth Form experience Six@Ashville, and an expansion of co-curricular activities to more than 150 a week.
The school has also completed the first two phases of a multi-million-pound masterplan to transform its 70-acre campus – including the opening of the new Sixth Form Centre.
“The fact that we can justifiably talk about a ‘new’ Ashville when we opened our doors to our first pupils 149 years ago is a clear signal of the beating of a new heart and the evolving of a new mindset," said Rhiannon.
This year’s Tes Schools Awards will be hosted by award-winning comedian, writer and presenter Katherine Ryan, with the winners announced at a gala ceremony in June at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
More information at: https://www.ashville.co.uk/