THE headteacher of Great Marlow School announced he is moving on to pastures new after three years at the helm of the rapidly expanding institution.

Clive Ricks sent out a letter last week informing parents of his decision to leave at the end of the school year when he will take up the post of principal at Prospect Technical College in West Reading.

Mr Ricks, 47, began his teaching career at Matthew Arnold School in Oxford, where he taught for 13 years, rising from the position of PE teacher to the post of acting deputy head.

He went on to become deputy head at Hatch End High School in Harrow for three years before taking up the position of headteacher at Great Marlow School.

The school has increased in size from 920 to 1,100 pupils since Mr Ricks first came through the door and it is now the first choice for most 11-year-olds in the catchment area.

Mr Ricks explained: "The school was getting good exam results before my arrival. The staff are extremely supportive and there is a strong management team. I have appointed about 30 new members of staff since I have been here and the majority have lived up to the high standards of their predecessors. Success breeds success. We are one of the top three schools in the county in terms of 'value added' the actual achievement of students compared to their predicted results when they first come. There is a calm and more orderly working atmosphere here than in most schools. The expectation staff have of pupils, both academically and in terms of behaviour, is high.

"We aim to improve the pupils' all-round skills and not just their academic ability."

The Marlow school has enjoyed considerable success both in the exam hall and on the sports pitch. The football side has held its own against other schools in the Wycombe District and there is an active rowing club.

But the past three years have not been without its trials and the school is still battling for permission to build permanent classrooms to accommodate the extra pupils. Now temporary cabins are in place and the school is to build a new coach park off Bobmore Lane to bring its travel plan up to the standard demanded by planning chiefs. Mr Ricks hopes permanent classrooms will be in place by 2004.