Headteacher, at academy where trustees were reported to have “too much deference” to its leadership, stands down

A headteacher, who has been at the centre of controversy over an employment tribunal judgment in which he was said to have had an “animus” against a former teacher because of her union activities, has stepped down.

Nigel Griffiths, who was head of John Kyrle High School in Herefordshire, stood down from that position last month, citing the pressures of leading the academy through covid, a letter to parents from its chair of trustees which praised his 20-year record of leadership, revealed this week.

The move had already happened before the letter was sent, Griffiths having left last week, on New Year’s Eve. And his effective deputy, Dave Boyd – the trust’s latest accounts list Griffiths as the school’s headteacher, and Boyd as its “operational headteacher” – is also to stand down.

Boyd has announced he intends to retire in the summer, and in the interim to “take a step back from the senior leadership team,” the letter from Rod Barker revealed.

The developments continue what has been a tumultuous time for this school, which is controlled by a single academy trust, on which Griffiths sat until September 2021.