A BROMSGROVE school is seeking a new headteacher after its current headmistress announced her plans to retire in 2021 after a decade in the job.

Mrs Jacqui Deval-Reed will be hanging up her pen, pencil and ruler next August, leaving Bromsgrove Pre-Preparatory and Preparatory School searching for a new head for the following school year.

She has spent 20 years with the schools, including the past ten as headmistress, but there will be a new face in charge come September 1, 2021.

The independent schools cater for more than 700 pupils ranging in ages from 2-13.

The Pre-Prep on Old Station Road (2-7) is an all-day school while the Preparatory (for ages 7-13), on Hanbury Road, also has a boarding option.

They are two of the four schools in the Bromsgrove School family, which also includes Winterfold School in Chaddesley Corbett, and they feed into the senior school based on Worcester Road.

"Bromsgrove Pre-Preparatory and Preparatory School has grown considerably under the current Headmistress and is now one of the largest schools of its type in the country," says the job advertisement.

It adds: "The role would suit an innovative and forward-thinking educational practitioner, with proven experience of school leadership, who can engage pupils, staff, parents and the wider school community.

"We seek an individual who can build on the school’s track record of success, with innovation, ambition, energy and first-class communication skills.

"This is a demanding and rewarding position.

"The Head of the Pre-Preparatory and Preparatory School will need to be a strong leader and first class communicator who can market as well as manage the school."

The Preparatory School recently celebrated the 80th anniversary of its founding with a number of staff marking the milestone with a charity bike ride.

The job's salary is not advertised but the residential nature of the job means the successful applicant and their family enjoy accommodation free of rent and rates in the house provided on the premises.

Closing date for applications is Sunday, December 6 with interviews to take place before Christmas.