THE new head of Pewsey Vale School, Richard Butler, who officially arrives in January, paid a visit this week to meet the staff.

Mr Butler, 40, has been deputy head of the Rossmore Community College in Poole for the past three years.

He was a member of a rescue team brought in at the Dorset secondary modern school after it was taken into special measures following a poor Ofsted report.

The team turned around the fortunes of the school and it came out of special measures six months ago.

Mr Butler currently lives at Durrington with his partner who is a GP in Salisbury.

He succeeds Judith Plante-Cleall who taught at the school for 23 years and was its head for 19 years. She took early retirement at the end of the summer term after doctors told her a problem with her vocal chords would not improve until she rested her voice.

During the present term the school has been run by its deputy heads, John Akers and John Cranfield.

Mr Cranfield has been responsible for preparing the school's bid to become a specialist language college.

Mr Butler has spent most of his career working as a special needs teacher in West London and he has also worked as an Ofsted inspector.

He told the Gazette this week that it was too early for him to be contemplating any changes at Pewsey Vale School, although he would like to improve its buildings. The main building was put up in the late 1950s.

Mr Butler said: "The school has a slightly dated feel in terms of the fabric and the buildings and my wish would be to look into how it can be made a school of the future."

He added: "My main priority to start with will be to work on the strengths of the school."