Crombie Primary School in Aberdeenshire has a new head teacher.
Angela Pond has been confirmed as the new boss – and she knows the place very well.
She was head teacher of Monymusk Primary School and depute at Crombie Primary School prior to her new role.
Mrs Pond said: “I was completely and utterly overwhelmed. This has been a career-long dream of mine. I started my career at Crombie. When I got the call to say I had been successful I was really quite overwhelmed.”
Mrs Pond: How she got here
Mrs Pond gained a degree in biochemistry at Aberdeen University before heading to the then Northern College in Dundee. There, she completed a post graduate degree in education in 1999.
Shortly after she graduated, she relocated to Aberdeen – and applied for a job at Crombie.
She originally wanted to work in early intervention with children, but was instead given a class teacher role.
She started a family and took a career break which saw her relocate to Houston in America – so Mrs Pond went across the pond (sorry).
When she returned to Aberdeenshire, Mrs Pond applied to be a supply teacher again at Crombie Primary School.
She quickly became a full-time permanent primary teacher at the school before becoming depute.
‘It feels like home’
“Crombie has got a special place in my heart because it is where all the big stuff in my life happened.
“I got engaged there, married there, and had my children there. All the big milestones and life changing events have happened there.
“Therefore, it is really somewhere I feel like I belong. It feels like home. It is such a special place for me. It feels like all the people who have positively influenced my career – that’s where they have been,” Mrs Pond said.
The Pond Plan for Crombie
Mrs Pond said her immediate priority is “community spirit and the children”.
She added: “I adore the children at Crombie. They are really pretty special. The team and the teaching staff are like family to me. They work together so well.
“My priority is to pull everything together to create one big, happy school community working together to enhance the learning opportunities of the pupils, to get out into the community, and make sure there are lots of positive links so that everybody is working jointly for the best outcomes for all.”
A working mum’s advice
Mrs Pond had always wanted to become a depute head teacher, preferably at Crombie Primary School. She got her dream – but wasn’t sure about more.
She admitted: “I never in a million years dared to think I would be a head teacher one day.
“I thought that with having my own family becoming a head teacher may not be possible because it is such a big job. But I went to Monymusk Primary School to become head teacher which felt like a natural progression.
“When the vacancy came up at Crombie, I knew this is exactly what I want to do.”
And her advice for others? Go for it.
“Be brave and do it. It’s a passion that’s in you. If you are going to make a difference to pupils and staff, then just do it. If a door opens, I walk through it.”
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