Dame Bradbury’s School has appointed a new headteacher, governors announced today (Monday, February 10).

Tracy Handford will begin her new role at the school on Ashdon Road next January. Debs White will continue in her role as acting head in the interim.

She replaces Jane Crouch, who has left the area with her husband and moved to Oxford to take up a position at Headington Prep School.

Ms Handford said: “Dame Bradbury’s has an excellent reputation and it is a privilege to be invited to play a key role in shaping the next stage of this wonderful school. I am looking forward to starting in January, and in the meantime, hope to become familiar face at forthcoming events.”

Ms Handford, who is currently head of St Hilda’s Prep School for Girls in Bushey, Herts, has an MA in Curriculum Studies and combines academic expertise with a wealth of experience from her previous senior roles at Bishop’s Stortford College and St Faith’s, Cambridge.

She said she is “passionately committed to promoting a broad, progressive curriculum within a stimulating and deeply nurturing environment” and feels that every child deserves “the best possible learning experience”.

The announcement of Ms Handford’s appointment was made this week by governors of the Stephen Perse Foundation, in Cambridge, who Dame Bradbury’s recently merged with.

Tricia Kelleher, principal of the Stephen Perse Foundation, thanked staff, parents and children at the Saffron Walden school for their patience in a time of change. She also expressed her delight that Ms Handford had accepted the post.