The new principal of Exmouth Community College says his time in charge has got off to a good start.

Andrew Davis took over at the college at the start of the current term, following the retirement of previous principal Tony Alexander.

Mr Davis was previously a deputy principal at the college, before serving as principal at Dawlish Community College, and Huish Episcopi Academy in Somerset.

He said: “I feel we have had a very, very positive start.

“One of the things I wanted to focus on as senior team was maintaining some of those values which were very well established at the school, where behaviour and discipline are something that underpins everything, and tried to move on in terms of teaching and learning strategy, changing our curriculum to make it more exciting and challenging for students.

“We want to have really high expectations of what our children can achieve.

“I think overall we have become more focused on making sure that every child really succeeds and gets the best possible examination grades.”

When asked what the welcome from pupils had been like, Mr Davis said: “I would say it’s been an overwhelmingly positive welcome from the pupils.

“I consider myself to be quite an accessible head teacher, popping into classes, standing on the bridge between sites.

“I spend three days a week on the Gipsy Lane site and two days on Green Close, so all the students get to know me.

“There are some fantastic students here. As I said previously, one of the main reasons for coming back was the students, who are second to none. They are an absolute credit to the town.”

Mr Davis said plans for a major new building on the college’s Green Close site, and also an additional new maths block on the Gipsy Lane site, were moving forward, and that he hoped work on them would start in the next few months, which he said would be ‘great for the school’.

He added that he has been visiting local primary schools, with the aim of improving links between them and the college.

He also said that the college had been pleased by recent data showing that post-16 exam results were ‘significantly above national expectations’.