TAKING up the baton of headship at one of the most successful secondary schools in the country could be a daunting prospect.
But Tom Carter, who has just been appointed 32nd head of King Edward VI Grammar School, is confident he can continue moving the school onwards and upwards.
"It is an amazing opportunity to have the chance to lead this school which I love," he said. "It's a wonderful place and a great privilege to be its head teacher.
"There are significant challenges ahead for any school in the next few years, but I am filled with optimism when I reflect on the people – students, staff, parents, governors and many others – who give so much to KEGS. I am looking forward to what the future has in store."
Mr Carter has two main challenges in mind. Firstly the "pace of the change to curriculum and exams" being introduced, and secondly, funding. Whereas the school used to greatly benefit from subject specialist cash, this stream has now been stopped by the Government.
He said: "We all appreciate that it does not have an endless pot of money.
"But it's going to be challenging for us, especially the changes to sixth-form funding, which particularly hits schools like KEGS, where it is usual for students to take between four and six A levels."
But Mr Carter says the school's sixth form numbers will remain steady and could even increase.
He has already introduced a couple of changes to the school in Broomfield Road. To recognise pupils' strong interest in programming, the school has this term introduced computing as a GCSE and is looking at adding the subject as an A-level option.
It is also encouraging new blood for its orchestra and ensembles by offering 40 of the youngest pupils a chance to learn a musical instrument for free for a year.
Originally from Surrey, Mr Carter moved to Essex in 1996. He and his wife now live in Brentwood with their two teenage sons.
After studying maths at Cambridge University and an MBA at Warwick, Mr Carter went into the business world before deciding to become a teacher.
He explained: "I enjoyed business a lot and had some excellent experiences, travelling to different places. But there comes a point where you have to decide what you really want to do in life and I had been considering teaching for a while. I made the switch and have never regretted it."
After taking a teaching qualification, Mr Carter joined Westcliff High School for Boys. After five years he moved to KEGS as head of maths and then became deputy head in 2007.
Over the past couple of years he has been associate head, standing in for Tom Sherrington when he undertook his extensive outreach work, and took over as acting head when Mr Sherrington left in the summer.
Mr Carter claims he did not have this goal in mind when he switched career. He said: "I wanted to be as good a teacher as I could. Throughout my career I have tried to take the viewpoint that we do our jobs as best we can and see where that leads us. Things have come up in my career and I have been able to move on."