The headteacher of JCoSS, Patrick Moriarty, is to step down in the next year, the school announced on Thursday.

Governors said they were looking to appoint a successor to Mr Moriarty, who joined the community’s first cross-communal secondary school 13 years ago and has been head for more than 10, for January 2023.

In a letter to parents, Mr Moriarty wrote, “This as you can imagine, is a huge and very difficult decision to take. I have been at JCoSS for a third of my professional career and for the whole of its life as an institution. 

“In so many ways its life has been woven into my own, and I have a heavy heart as I contemplate stepping away from a place I love.”

Chairman of governors Mark Freedman said, “It goes without saying that this is a difficult announcement to make, given the exceptional contribution Patrick has made in leading the school through its formational years, and establishing its reputation across both our community and the wider population.

“We have a huge amount to be thankful to him for, and the school will feel the loss of his departure.”

Mr Moriarty, who is 56, would be leaving to explore “new endeavours,” the school said, and was flexible about his departure date while the school searched for a successor.

Stephen Lavender, who helped to set up JCoSS as a consultant and is a former associate head, would be assisting the recruitment process.

Mr Freedman, “I know that Patrick is a hugely popular headteacher and this news will be received with much sadness from parents and students alike. I am confident, however, that the great foundations that Patrick and his team have laid will provide a strong field of candidates to lead JCoSS into its next chapter.”

The school, which has been oversubscribed, is adding a bulge class this September and plans to expand its year-7 entry permanently from 180 to 210.