A HEADTEACHER will break new ground when she is ordained in Durham Cathedral tomorrow.

Following her ordination, Durham High School for Girls headteacher Ann Templeman will become the only minister in secular employment heading an Anglican secondary school in the country.

Her husband, the Reverend Peter Templeman, is vicar of St Cuthbert's Church, in Peterlee.

Born in London, Mrs Templeman met her husband at Oxford University.

She was head of theology at Queen's College, London from 1984 to 1991 and deputy head at Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls, in London, from 1994 to 1998 before she took up her post in Durham.

A mother of two daughters and a son, she has been a reader in the Church of England since 1984.

She said: "There has always been a very strong link between the Christian faith and education.

"I do hope, however, that all the good things about the school such as the care and concern for individuals will be further emphasized by the move."