Fortrose Academy interim head teacher move made permanent leaving Inverness Royal Academy needing a replacement
Highland Council has appointed Nigel Engstrand as the headteacher of Fortrose Academy without concluding the final recruitment process in a move that could upset the apple cart.
He had been on interim deployment at the school after his predecessor as interim head at the school Jacquie Ross was, according to the council, "absent from work” without providing more detail.
But it will also mean that a replacement will now need to be found for Mr Engstrand’s replacement at Inverness Royal Academy from where he was dragooned into service on the Black Isle at the start of term.
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The chief officer for secondary education, Fiona Grant, confirmed the news in an email she sent to “members of Fortrose Academy school community” advising them that the appointment was made without the recruitment reaching the final interview.
That will spark questions about how the council conducted its round of interviews, how candidates were selected and how many people put their name forward for consideration for the job.
She said: “I am writing to let you know that a decision has been made not to proceed further with the current recruitment process for the head teacher position at Fortrose Academy.
“Mr Engstrand, currently Head Teacher at Inverness Royal Academy and acting in an interim capacity at Fortrose since the beginning of term, has been asked to take over as the permanent head teacher of Fortrose Academy and has agreed to do so with immediate effect.
“We are delighted that Mr Engstrand has chosen to commit to the school on a permanent basis and wish him and the whole school community every success going forward together.”
In a separate email she wrote to “members of Inverness Royal Academy school community” to advise them that they had lost a permanent head teacher and the recruitment for another will begin.
“As you are aware, since the beginning of this term, Mr Engstrand has been acting as Interim Head Teacher at Fortrose Academy,” Ms Grant wrote.
“I would like to thank Mr Engstrand for his commitment to and leadership of Inverness Royal Academy over the last 9 years and wish him well in his new post.
“In the meantime, Mr Gordon Piper, will continue as Interim Head Teacher at Inverness Royal Academy and the process of recruiting to the permanent post will commence in the near future.”
