FOR some searching through endless pages of job ads is a dull and dreary experience.

So children at Weeke Primary School in Winchester have come up with an innovative way of advertising the headteacher job.

The school council made a YouTube video featuring a tour of the school and students holding flashcards of the attributes they wanted to see in the new head.

Year 6 teachers Ed Allmark and Elaine Mousley organised the video and around 300 children were involved.

Mr Allmark said: “We put out an advert a while ago but there was no appointment from the first round of applicants. So we went back to the drawing board for the new advert and after discussing it with the children we thought this would be a great way to raise the student voice.

“The children all really enjoyed it and we have already had a few enquiries so we hope more and more people see the video and apply. Some of the parents have called in to say it really captured the ethos of the school.”

The video was put up on Friday afternoon (Feb 1) and already has more than 2,000 hits. It has also been posted on Twitter and Facebook.

Current head Maggie Hastie is retiring at the end of August after a 36-year teaching career, including 12 as head at Weeke.

She said: “It’s a fantastic video. Our children are such a creative and imaginative bunch and we have a really strong team of teachers who are very positive and I would be amazed if we didn’t get someone this time round.

“I’ve had a great time here, I’ve been really happy here. Winchester is an amazing city with so much to offer and I’ve had the support of a great community of parents.”