A HEADTEACHER has spoken of his “excitement and regret” after retiring from his post after more than a decade.

Nick Pavitt will step down as executive headteacher of Clacton secondary schools Colbayns High and Bishops Park College on August 31, when the schools will reopen as the new Clacton Coastal Academy.

Mr Pavitt will take up a job as an educational consultant, including work with the Colchester-based consultant firm EdisonLearning.

The 56-year-old has spent 12 years as a headteacher in Clacton, and is credited with bringing huge improvements to both schools.

He said stepping down left him feeling “a combination of excitement and regret”.

He said: “I have loved being here. The work has been about offering children life chances and life choices. I have taken huge joy and delight in seeing young people achieve and go on to do things they didn’t think were possible. Although it was often exhausting and quite hard, it was also fulfilling.”

Mr Pavitt joined Colbayns, in Pathfields Road, 12 years ago after more than a decade working in Suffolk schools.

In February last year, he was also asked to take on the running of Bishops Park College in Jaywick Lane, which was then in special measures.

Under his leadership, Bishops Park College was taken out of special measures and forged strong links with Colbayns as the schools came under a single governing body.