A SPECIAL school at the centre of sex abuse claims has appointed an interim head teacher after the last one resigned.

Maggie McMurray will start in her new post at Stanbridge Earls School near Romsey on Tuesday. As previously reported, Peter Trythall stood down last month “in the best interests of the school”.

It came as a major police investigation continues into allegations made by two former students at the Romsey-based facility, which caters for youngsters with learning disabilities.

This followed a Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Disability Tribunal, which found earlier this year that the school had discriminated against a girl and that a number of staff members failed to tell the youngster’s parents that she had complained of pain in an intimate part of her body.

Mr Trythall was accused of “a failure of responsibility” while the Nursing and Midwifery Council confirmed that school nurse Melanie Bavington was under investigation.

A spokesman for the Governors said: “We are delighted to welcome Maggie to the school as its interim head. “She has a very strong track record in education, with a wide range of experience in different academic and management disciplines She is ideally qualified to lead the School over the next four terms.”

Ms McMurray has worked in education for over 22 years, firstly at King Richard’s, Portsmouth, and then at Bay House – one of the largest schools in the country. Here she was Head of Upper School where she had overall responsibility for the personal, pastoral and academic progress of over 700, including those with learning difficulties