A leading North Yorkshire secondary school is to get a new head teacher.

Carl Sugden will formally take over as head of King James's School, Knaresborough, in January, 2008.

Mr Sugden, 40, is currently head of Sherburn High School, at Sherburn-in-Elmet, but was deputy at King James's from 2000 to 2005. His appointment has been made after a gruelling three days of interviews by the school governors, during which candidates were put through a range of tests.

Mr Sugden said he was looking forward to the new challenges facing him at a school, which recently added "business and enterprise" speciality status to the technology college' status it achieved in 1998 Mr Sugden said: "David Hudson will be a very difficult act to follow. He leaves behind a huge legacy from his ten years as head, not just because of the new facilities which have been put up during his time but more importantly through the ethos of culture and achievement which he has promoted.

"Above all, King James's is a happy school and all this gives me a fantastic platform to build on."

Mr Sugden, is married to Claire with two children, Ella, four and Theo, two.