NORTH Yorkshire County Council’s education and skills services have a new assistant director.

Judith Kirk will soon be taking the lead for the council’s relationship with schools across the county.

Judith will join the council in the spring, following the retirement of the current assistant director, Paul Brennan. She joins a service which is currently outperforming national comparators.

Judith began her career as a teacher in Barnet in 1986. She is currently deputy director for education, employment and skills at Bradford Metropolitan District Council and has experience in a number of local authorities, including Waltham Forest, Newham, Halton and Stoke.

She said: “I am delighted to be joining North Yorkshire County Council and very much look forward to working with partners across the sector, united in our ambition to achieve the best we can for all our children and young people.

“I want life chances increasingly to be in young people’s own hands and not determined by geography or family circumstances.

"I am determined that every young person in North Yorkshire’s schools must have access to the right opportunities, experiences and support that they need to succeed.”