Mandeville School head Andria Hanham resigns after drink driving conviction

In a letter to parents dated May 22, the school's chair of governors Paul Boulting confirmed the news that Andria Hanham would be leaving her role.

Mrs Hanham took a leave of absence from the job in January, after it emerged that she had been fined £950 and disqualified from driving for 22 months after admitting to drink-driving at Oxford Magistrates' Court on 22 October.

On Saturday 6 October, 2018, the teacher was found to have 88mcgs of alcohol in 100ml of breath - more than two and a half times the legal limit of 35mcgs. According to Government guidelines, this level of intoxication while driving could be categorised as 'high risk offender'.

A statement from Bucks County Council released at the time, read: “In the light of recent events, Mrs Andria Hanham will be taking a period of leave from her duties as principal of Mandeville School.

“We hope and anticipate that Mrs Hanham will be returning to her post in due course, as soon as possible.

“In her absence, Mr Tony Rogerson, senior vice principal will be fulfilling the role of acting principal. This will enable all other work in school to continue as normal.

“The county council is aware of the situation and has been supporting the school to take appropriate actions. The county council will continue to provide support to the Acting Principal and his senior leadership team to ensure education is delivered without disruption.”

Mrs Hanham, who has been teaching for over 30 years, took over as principal at The Mandeville School in November 2015 during a particularly challenging time.

The secondary school had been judged as requiring 'special measures' in November 2013 by the Government's Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), and although this was upgraded to 'requires improvement' at the time of Mrs Hanham's appointment, clearly, as the rating suggests, there was much work still to do.

In the letter announcing Mrs Hanham's resignation Mr Boulting announced that the school's vice principal Tony Rogerson would be taking over as interim headteacher.

He added: "Mrs Hanham has been the principal for three years and is grateful for all the support from staff, students, governors and parents in leading the school.

"She has said that she will cherish so many positive memories of dedicated staff and fantastic students. On behalf of everyone at The Mandeville School, we wish her well for the future."