St John’s international school in Sidmouth has started the new year with a new headteacher.

Graham Hurrell has taken over from Caroline Ward, who taught at the school for 11 years and was headteacher for the last two.

Mr Hurrell has travelled widely and taught in international education establishments in Barcelona and Tenerife, as well as taking leadership positions in Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, USA and Egypt.

He has been closely involved with the International Baccalaureate Organisation since 1993.

He is an accredited ski leader and mountain expedition leader.

He also has a post-graduate sports coaching qualification and a strong sporting background.

Mr Hurrell said he has a passion for lifelong, internationally-minded learning.

"As parents, we all want our children to be independent thinkers, to express themselves confidently in more than one language and to collaborate effectively while making reasoned, ethical decisions," he said.

"We expect them to be open-minded and appreciate the culture, values and traditions of others, to show empathy, compassion and respect while making a positive difference in issues of local and global significance."

St John's offers a discount to families living within 15 miles of the school and is currently inviting applications for children entering Year 4 and above in September 2020 to apply for the Academic and Sports Scholarships Day on Tuesday, February 4.