Highland Council has announced the appointments of three head teachers across the region.
Mairi Sutherland, Louise Maclean and Fiona McKellar will take on the roles in the Inverness, Lochaber and Badenoch and Strathspey areas.
Councillor John Finlayson, chairman of the Education Committee, said: “I would like to congratulate each of our head teachers on their new appointments.
“I am sure staff, pupils, parents and the wider community of their respective schools are delighted with their new head teacher and will benefit greatly from the experience and knowledge each individual is bringing to their school.”
New opportunities
Ms Sutherland will be the new head teacher at the Kilchuimen 3-18 campus having been the acting head there since January 2020. She previously worked as a principal teacher of science at Charleston Academy in Inverness.
She said: “I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed as head teacher of Kilchuimen 3-18 and to return to serve my home community.
“My own educational journey started here in Fort Augustus as a pupil in primary 1 and I look forward to the chance to work alongside the pupils, parents, staff and wider community building on the solid foundations and enhancing all the children’s learning”.
Ms Maclean said she is “delighted” to become head teacher at the Ardgour Primary and Lochaline Primary School Cluster. She is currently acting head teacher at Ardgour and has previously taught from nursery to P7 across schools in South Ayrshire.
She added: “I am really looking forward to continuing to work with the pupils, staff and community of Ardgour and connecting with the pupils, staff and community in Lochaline, who have already made me feel very welcome.
“I can’t wait for the opportunities that the cluster will provide for both schools.”
Planning next steps
Thirdly, Mrs McKellar will take on the head teacher role for primaries in Dochgarroch, Teanassie and Tomncross this summer.
She has held several positions within Highland Council and was previously head teacher at Kinmylies Primary. She is also part of the team which delivers training in coaching approaches across the authority.
Mrs McKellar said: “I am very much looking forward to joining the teams at Dochgarroch, Teanassie and Tomnacross. I am very aware of the challenges we will face as we engage in the process of recovery after such a difficult year.
“I feel privileged to be joining the schools at this point and I hope that our pupils, staff, parents and communities will share my sense of excitement and anticipation as we plan our next steps together.”