THE head of a Sunderland school which has won consistent praise from Ofsted inspectors, is to retire.

After 14 years running Pennywell School, David Wilkinson is leaving because of health problems. He will step down in May and retire formally in the summer.

His replacement will be Pat Dwyer, the acting head of Kenton School, Newcastle.

The chairwoman of the school's governors, Marjorie Atkinson, said of Mr Wilkinson: "I'm devastated about him leaving us, as are many of the governors.

"He's made a wonderful difference to the school and completely turned it around.

"I've been a governor for 15 years and the changes I've seen are incredible. The school was dull and deteriorating and had no life about it, and he changed all that."

She said Mr Wilkinson had made Pennywell "very welcoming".

Mr Wilkinson taught for several years in his native West Yorkshire before moving to Wearside in the 1980s. He was deputy head at Hylton Red House School before moving to Pennywell.

The school is involved in a national pilot scheme to show other schools how it achieves its results.