A new headteacher had been appointed at one of the largest primary schools in Hartlepool.

Lauren Furness has taken over the reigns at West View Primary School following a period as Acting Headteacher.

West View is judged by Ofsted to be a “good” school and is one of eight schools under the umbrella of Ad Astra Academy Trust.

Andy Brown OBE, Chief Executive Officer of Ad Astra Academy Trust, said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Lauren Furness. In her role as Acting Headteacher, Lauren has already made an impression in the school, the Trust, and the community.

“She is an inspirational leader and will work relentlessly to ensure the community of St Hilda and Brus wards continue to value and be proud of the superb school that West View Primary is.”

West View Primary is the second largest primary school within the Trust with almost 500 pupils and 70 staff.

Lauren Furness commented: “I am delighted to have been appointed as Headteacher at West View Primary School and excited to be given the opportunity to drive the school further forward on its journey of improvement towards “outstanding”.

“I am very fortunate to be working alongside a team of dedicated and committed staff who share my vision for the future of the school and who are as passionate as I am about ensuring that school is the very best that it can be for the pupils and community we serve.

“We pride ourselves on having strong relationships with our parents, carers and wider community and I am proud of the work that we have already done to strengthen these – something which has been externally validated and rewarded with our recent successful Leading Parent Partnership Award.

“With the support of a strong Trust, I know that our school will continue to go from strength to strength.  We have recently established a presence on Instagram in order to document some of the changes that we have been making in school, inspired by The Curiosity Approach – please find out more about our school and follow us on @our_curious_journey.”

Charlotte Haylock, the previous Headteacher at West View has recently taken up a similar role at Ayresome Primary School in Middlesbrough.

Ad Astra Academy Trust was formed in 2015 and over the last seven years has grown across the Tees Valley, providing education for over 3,000 pupils and 500 employees in Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees and Hartlepool.

Eighty-six per cent of its schools are judged by Ofsted to be either “outstanding” or “good”.

Earlier this year (February), Ad Astra CEO Andy Brown, (an ex-Headteacher of West View Primary) was invited to the House of Lords to share education best practice with key Government figures.

The other seven primary schools within Ad Astra Academy Trust are Barnard Grove, Brougham, West Park in Hartlepool and Crooksbarn and Rosebrook in Stockton-on-Tees and Ayresome and Sunnyside in Middlesbrough.

For further information about Ad Astra Academy Trust, visit www.adastraschools.org