THERE'S change afoot at the top of a major York schools chain.

Parents have been informed of a change in the leadership structure within South York Multi Academy Trust (SYMAT).

For the past four years, Steve Lewis has been both the head teacher of Fulford School and the CEO of the trust.

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He became head at Fulford in September 2019 -  the sixth head teacher in the school’s history.

At that point Lorna Savage, who had herself been head since 2013, retired after 23 years teaching at the school.

Mrs Savage remained as CEO for between 12-18 months in order to allow Mr Lewis to establish himself fully at Fulford.

But now Mr Lewis says things are about to change again.

He said: "Within my time here time, both the school and the trust have grown.

"At Fulford we have recently opened our new £7.5 million Kahlo block and are set to welcome 300 students into Year 7 in September.

"In line with the trust’s strategic growth plan, trustees have decided to decouple the joint role of CEO of SYMAT and head teacher of Fulford School, replacing it with a full time CEO for SYMAT and full time head at Fulford. This will come into effect from January 1 next year.

"I will continue my CEO role and trustees have today started a recruitment process to appoint a new head teacher for Fulford. They expect to appoint the successful candidate by the end of this term, ready for them to take up post in January 2024.

"This is an exciting time for the school.

"Governors will be fully involved in the appointment and are determined to appoint a candidate who will uphold the values of the school and ensure that it continues to allow all students to realise their potential and be fully prepared to create the future."

SYMAT has five schools in addition to Fulford, all primaries: Dunnington CE; Archbishop of York CE Juniors; Wheldrake and Thorganby CE; Escrick and Bishopthorpe Infants.

Mr Lewis came to Fulford from Rushcliffe school in Nottinghamshire, which gained outstanding Ofsted status in 2014 in addition to his school gaining the world class status award following on from this, he was also awarded Nottinghamshire head teacher of the year.