A headteacher is to take charge of two schools in Thurrock.
John King will now lead more than 2,300 students -around a quarter of the borough's senior schoolchildren.
He will remain head teacher at Corringham's successful Gable Hall school while working to take troubled William Edwards School and Sports College, Grays, into a new era.
Mr King, made an OBE last year for his educational achievements, said: "William Edwards is a school with tremendous potential and this appointment creates a golden opportunity for both Gable Hall and William Edwards to drive education standards in Thurrock."
Over the rest of this term and the summer, Mr King will work with Ms Watson and the William Edwards staff, before taking up the post formally in September.
He will be based at William Edwards.
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