New Executive Principal appointed for Lighthouse Learning Trust’s sixth form colleges

Lighthouse Learning Trust, which includes Richard Taunton Sixth Form College in Southampton and St Vincent College in Gosport, has appointed Andy Grant as its new Executive Principal.

Mr Grant, who has been with the trust for ten years and been Principal at St Vincent College for four, said he is excited about the challenge. “It’s a tremendous honour to be entrusted with the development of two fantastic colleges, both of which have highly committed staff teams and beautiful, vibrant campuses.

“We were delighted that St Vincent was rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted at the start of this year, and within that inspection it was rated ‘Outstanding’ for the way it supports learning and progression for students with high needs. Richard Taunton was also rated ‘Good’ at its last inspection so we have a really strong platform to build on.”

He will spread his time between both campuses, with Vice Principals Claire Myers at Richard Taunton and Alison Kent at St Vincent supporting his leadership.

Trust Chief Executive Angela Berry, who has been acting Principal at Richard Taunton, said: “We are delighted to have Andy on board as Executive Principal. He has been a really dedicated principal at St Vincent and has built a good rapport with staff, students and the community.

“He is already a familiar face at Richard Taunton through the close co-operation between our two colleges and we are looking forward to seeing the impact he makes there in his new role as he and I work together to deliver the trust’s mission and vision, embodying the values of respect, responsibility and ambition.”

Both colleges have seen student numbers rise with the introduction of popular Esports courses and T-Levels in health and IT. Mr Grant said:

“It’s an exciting time to be in education and to be at the trust, where we are introducing these new courses and seeing the response from students who want to learn here.

“I’m really looking forward to getting to know the staff and students at Richard Taunton better, as well as getting out to see some of our schools, employers and stakeholders.”

Mrs Berry added:

“We’re looking forward to working with Andy in this new role and we are sure he will be instrumental in helping our sixth form academy trust deliver exceptional education and support collaborative working to provide outstanding education for our communities.”