Twenty new members of teaching staff have got used to their surroundings following a large recruitment process at a Suffolk school.

Stowmarket High School has welcomed it’s 20 new members of staff, after a similar number left at the end of the last school year.

Dave Lee-Allan, headteacher, said: “We’ve appointed a range of staff, both support staff and teachers.

“There were concerns about a number of staff leaving but in the transfer season we have done well.”

Mr Lee-Allan added change at the school was continuing at a “rapid pace” and also said: “We didn’t get great results, we knew we weren’t going to. In key areas there was under performance, in maths and science.”

There are now new leaders in those two subjects, along with four new graduate interns, which Mr Lee-Allan hailed as a “huge bonus” for the school.

“They can pass on advice as they’ve been through the process, mentor and tell of the reality of uni life,” he said.

“We’re delighted that at a time of incredible difficulty to attract staff - it’s a problem not just here but across the country – we’ve managed to recruit.

“It’s probably the toughest time for teacher recruitment. Every meeting I go to, whether local or national, it’s on the agenda all the time.

“If you’re in London you have got a big pool to choose from but in Stowmarket the pool is infinitely smaller to call on.

“It’s great that after having so many leaving to fill all those roles with some quality appointments.

“I think we were selling those staff what we were about. They chose to come to us. They bought in to the story of what we’re trying to do.”

Since the school year began at the high school, Mr Lee-Allan had been around the classes seeing the new recruits in action.

He said the staff were a “breath of fresh air,” helped by inductions taking place at the end of the previous school year.

Mr Lee-Allan said: “We know we have an HMI inspection in January. I’m so excited to be able to show the improvements we have made, the impact of existing staff and showing the improvements the new staff have made.

“And equally we’re looking to work with places like MyGo and The Mix – offering opportunities for graduates and people looking to come in to teaching, or people who have ground to a halt after getting their degree.

“We have an open evening on October 6 and if people want to come and see the changes we are making they are more than welcome to.”