A HEAD teacher will bid farewell to a school he’s taught at for a decade.

Barry Island primary boss Ty Golding will take over the helm of Llantwit primary, a 420 school in the new Llantwit learning community, leaving the 230-pupil Estyn “double excellent” Island school in the hands of acting head teacher Becky Cadman and acting deputy head teacher Dominic Broad, at the start of the January term.

38-year-old Mr Golding joined Barry Island primary, from Evenlode primary in Penarth, in 2005, becoming deputy head teacher in 2008 and succeeding Janet Hayward as head teacher in 2011, but said now was the right time to engage in a new challenge, following what he called had been a “meteoric rise”.

He said: “I’ve had 10 years and I’ve loved the Island, the community, and the families and children.

“It’s been about managing the school and giving the children opportunities and experiences to be the best they can be.

“By me moving on I’m creating opportunities for my colleagues to excel themselves and take the school to the next level.”

Mr Golding said he would be leaving the infamous school assembly birthday hat and Mr Golding’s golden book- a record of pupils’ special achievements – behind.

He said: “Moving on is probably the hardest decision I’ve had to make. It’s a wrench to leave the Island because the Island has an uncanny way of permeating what you do, but it’s important for me to move on.”

Ty said he had been proud of all the different experiences that had been created for the pupils which had included Lego and technological education, trips to Paris and Amsterdam and a forthcoming one to Florida, USA, where pupils will spend three days training with NASA at the Kennedy Space Center.

He added: “I’m going to roll my sleeves up and get muddy again. Everybody needs to know and appreciate that the Island is a truly unique place and not underestimate the contribution the staff, parents, wider community and children make towards combined excellence.

“It’s all about being together, learning and being our best.”