THE principal of Winchester’s sixth form college has announced he is stepping down after nearly 20 years.
Neil Hopkins, head of Peter Symonds College, has told staff and governors he is to retire in late 2013.
Mr Hopkins is only the second head of the sixth form college which is one of the top in the country with an A-level pass rate of 99 per cent.
The first principal was the late Stuart Nicholls who was head from 1973 to 1993.
Winchester and Chandler’s Ford MP Steve Brine paid tribute, saying: “Neil has transformed Peter Symonds during his tenure and will be sorely missed.
“Becoming one of the most successful sixth form colleges in the country doesn’t happen by accident and there are many thousands of young people at university and in good jobs today because of the first-class education they received at Peter Symonds.”
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