Teesside graduate at the helm of new Academy

Maryssa O’Connor has been appointed Principal Designate of the new Thornaby Academy where Teesside is the lead sponsor.

The Academy replaces the former Thornaby Community School , with the co-sponsors the consortium of Stockton Sixth Form and Stockton Riverside College and Stockton on Tees Borough Council.

The Academy will open the doors to its first pupils in September.

Maryssa, 38, is originally from Middlesbrough and a Teesside graduate, achieving a BA (Hons) English in 1994.

A really exciting opportunity She said: ‘My new role is a really exciting opportunity and I’m particularly looking forward to working with my old University as the lead sponsor, that’s one of the many things that attracted me to the post.

‘Working with such a quality establishment, the University of the Year, will be a key part of making the academy a success.

‘I’m also looking forward to the future, to developing opportunities for staff, and to working with the new students and their parents. I want to make sure that the students have a skills foundation which gives them employability skills and enables them to progress to further and higher education.

‘Our Academy’s specialism of Business and Enterprise is important and I’m looking forward to developing this and also the core functional skills of English, Maths and Information Communication Technologies, as these are key skills for every student.’

Maryssa was a pupil at Kings Manor School and Acklam Sixth Form. After her English degree at Teesside, she achieved a post-graduate teaching certificate in Newcastle, specialising in English.

Maryssa started her career as a secondary English teacher in North Tyneside and Newcastle and then moved to a school in Croydon, as Head of English and Assistant Head. She returned to the North-East to her current role as Deputy Head of Tanfield School, Specialist College of Science and Engineering.

She added: ‘I always wanted to teach from when I was at Kings Manor. It’s an inspiring career and you can positively impact on young peoples’ lives, making sure they get the best opportunities. September will be an exciting time.’

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