THE new headteacher of Morecambe High School is looking forward to the challenge of leading the third largest school in Lancashire into the future.

William Bancroft, who took over as head in September following the retirement of Stephen Allott, said his appointment was "a fantastic opportunity at a critical time in the school's development".
Although this is Mr Bancroft's first permanent position as a headteacher, he has considerable educational and teaching experience all over the country.
He was born in the Home Counties and educated in Sheffield before obtaining a degree in history at the University of York.
Mr Bancroft then began his teaching career in Surrey before moving to Baines School in Poulton-le-Fylde where he eventually became head of sixth form.
His most recent job was as acting head of Ormskirk Grammar and deputy head of Ormskirk School, where he assisted in the merging of the two schools into the largest in the county.
Now as new head of Morecambe High, Mr Bancroft said one of his main aims was to continue to modernise the school building.
"Mr Allott did a very good job and there are some fantastic recent developments at the school, not least the new Lawther Library," he said.
"We now have to move on from that. The fabric of this building is pretty much un-changed for many years and we have to look at major re-furbishment."
Mr Bancroft said the school would be spending £250,000, funded partly by the government and partly by school funds, on modernising the science laboratories. "Many of our laboratories date back to 1938 when the school was built.
"But this is just a start. We need to look at all aspects of the building and ensure that the school meets the needs of students in the 21st Century."
He also wanted the school to continue to be involved in joint community projects with Lancaster City Council.
Morecambe High playing fields hosted the Poulton Neighbourhood Management Hallowe'en firework display on Thursday and Mr Bancroft hoped it would become an annual event.
"I believe that the school should be at the heart of the community. We have the library and the fantastic sports centre and 22 acres of playing fields. These excellent facilities should be available for community use out of school hours.
"Security in the school is always an issue and eventually we wish to increase our coverage of CCTV cameras. However, if we increase community use of our facilities there will be more people on site in the evenings and this will do as much to decrease vandalism as anything else."
On the subject of bullying in school, Mr Bancroft said: "It is absolutely unacceptable and we will look at all cases on their merits and take action accordingly."
Mr Bancroft said during 2003, Morecambe High would be considering a bid for specialist school status. This means the school will choose a subject from the curriculum to specialise in, gaining extra funding as a result.
He said this would be a key part of plans to improve the school.
"I am committed to inclusive, comprehensive education providing opportunities for all students regardless of background or academic ability," said Mr Bancroft.
"There are many and varied demands being made on young people today. I am confident that the excellent teaching and non-teaching staff at Morecambe High will help the school to provide the highest quality of education for the young people of Morecambe."

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