A SUPERHEAD has been appointed to take over at Cecil Jones College in the New Year following the shock announcement its headteacher has resigned.

Mark Schofield, the headteacher at Shoeburyness High School, will take over from Pauline Harris who notified parents and governors of her decision to leave the Southend school at the end of this term.

The departure of Mrs Harris comes just days before the school is due to break for the Christmas holiday.

Mr Schofield, who was unavailable for comment yesterday, will become executive head and will have responsibility for almost 3,000 students in the two schools, double the number he has responsibility for now.

Shoeburyness High School was named as one of the 100 most improving schools in the country earlier this year, and received a letter from Minister of State for School David Laws congratulating it on its “excellent” GCSE performance.

Mr Schofield takes on both roles just months after Cheryl Woolf took on the role of executive head at Friars Primary School in Shoebury in conjunction with her role at West Leigh Junior School.

James Courtenay, Southend councillor responsible for children and education, refused to be drawn on whether the council believed this was the way forward for education in the borough.

He said: “Mark has managed a wonderful improvement at Shoebury High School. It was only recently in the top 100 schools nationally for improvement in its GCSE results.

“His vision and guidance will see Cecil through the interim and further its improvement journey.

“My vision is that every child in Southend should go to a good if not outstanding school and Mark is helping that in a small way.”

Cecil Jones went into special measures after education watchdog Ofsted branded it as inadequate, after an inspection in September 2009.

Mr Courtenay thanked Mrs Harris for her hard work in helping to bring it out of special measures, in January 2012.

Jane Theadom, head of learning at Southend Council, added Mrs Harris had created a strong foundation for a bright future at Cecil Jones.

She said: “Pauline led Cecil Jones College successfully out of special measures, providing the students with an inspirational place of learning they were very proud of. We appreciate all she’s contributed to education in Southend and wish her every future success.”