The Department of Education and Children is pleased to announce that Annette Baker has been appointed headteacher of Ramsey Grammar School with effect from January 2015.
Mrs Baker is currently deputy headteacher at Ballakermeen High School where she has been for 30 years.
She will replace David Trace, who has been head of Ramsey Grammar for 17 years and who retires at Christmas.
After graduating from Lancaster University with a joint degree in French and German, followed by a PGCE year at Manchester University, Mrs Baker started teaching in 1984 at the Ballakermeen site of the former Douglas High School which taught secondary school pupils up to the age of 14. She taught French and German in the school, which split from Douglas High School in 1985 to become an 11-18 high school, where she went on to also teach Spanish.
During her tenure Mrs Baker served as Head of Modern Foreign Languages, Head of House, Head of Year, Assistant Head and finally as Deputy Headteacher, a post she has held since 2007. Mrs Baker was awarded the National Professional Qualification for Headship and a Master of Education degree whilst working in the school.
She said: "I feel privileged and proud to be appointed as headteacher of this fantastic school and am very much looking forward to working with its students, staff and parents as well as to working closely with students and colleagues in its partner primaries. I look forward also to engaging the local community still further in all aspects of the life of the school.
"I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the staff, students and parents of Ballakermeen High School, where I have enjoyed very many happy years in teaching."
Mrs Baker is married with four grown up children, all of whom have progressed through the Isle of Man school system to careers in journalism, accountancy, (trainee) teaching and school administration.
Ramsey Grammar School has 967 pupils on the register.
