YOU can tell he’s new as his many signed photos of sporting legends are waiting to be fixed to his office walls.

But Oakmoor School already feels like home and is “really going places” according to its new headteacher.

“A headship job isn’t a job you just apply for, it’s got to be the right move and I feel in this case it was,” said Nigel Wright, who moved into the hotseat a fortnight ago.

“When I came here I was really impressed with the students and how they conducted themselves. Ever since I’ve been here I know it’s 100 per cent been the right decision.”

Mr Wright has a tough act to follow having taken over from Paul Hemmings, a man who revived Mill Chase over nine years and oversaw its move to Budds Lane.

Mill Chase’s incarnation now has the biggest Year 7 in its history and with further expansion on the cards, Mr Wright feels the Bordon secondary is really going places.

“Paul left Oakmoor in great shape and what he did for the school has been absolutely fantastic,” said Mr Wright, previously associate headteacher at Bohunt School.

“Mill Chase was a failing school with hardly any children and now we’ve got the biggest Year 7 we’ve ever had. That’s testament to what he’s done over the last nine years.”

Mr Wright, who describes his headteaching style as “firm, fair and approachable”, comes from a teaching family but is the first to land the top job at a school.

He’s been in education for 17 years but was always good with numbers as he took a masters while a previous job involved governmental statistics at the Home Office. It all adds up to a promising future.

“I think the long-term aim is to raise the aspirations of everyone in terms of their potential and what they achieve when they leave us,” added Mr Wright.

“In five years we’re given the opportunity and ability to really shape their future and give them as many options as possible.”