THE ENGLISH School looking for a new headmaster. Again.
The prestigious Nicosia secondary school has placed advertisements in newspapers for the position, currently held by Robert Swan, whose contract expires on August 31.
The school’s recent pattern of revolving administrators will make the next headmaster the fourth in eight years.
Swan was appointed in 1999, taking over the reins from Emilios Solomou, who stood in after previous headmaster Thomas Thomas left after three years over allegations of misconduct in a promotion. The school’s government-appointed Board of Management was also replaced as a result of the scandal.
Thomas had been preceded by Albert Hudspeth, who resigned after eight years, having told the Cyprus Mail that he had sacrificed his position in order to resolve conflicts with the Board of Management and the Staff Association.
School officials yesterday denied that there had been any conflicts with Swan, but said the position had to be advertised because it had been restructured by the Board to include different responsibilities and a salary change.
Board representative Magda Nicholson said the position had been restructured to include direct oversight of the school’s afternoon English Institute. In addition, the salary, currently “out of the ordinary”, would be reduced “based on government scale,” she said.
Another Board member said they had come under sustained pressure from the House Education Committee to justify their spending – including the headmaster’s salary – and had also been encouraged to make more of an effort to find a Cypriot headmaster.
Teachers and parents said that they would like the Board to consider each applicant’s commitment to the position during the hiring process.
“We’ve had five headmasters in the last 20 years, so it would be nice to have more continuity,” said Emilios Christodoulides, leader of the school’s computing department. “Headmasters should stay a bit longer than a few years.”
Officials said the current headmaster was welcome to reapply for the position, but Swan declined to comment on whether he wished to renew his contract. It is, however, understood that he will not be reapplying for the position.
“My hope is that he will not be leaving, because he’s quite a good headmaster,” said Athos Pittas, the head of the Parents’ Association. “I don’t think anyone has any negative comments about him.”
Applications will be accepted until December 9, and a short list of candidates will be invited for interviews in Nicosia.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
