A FORMER school inspector is planning to transform one of Bolton's most beleaguered secondaries into one of the top schools in the country when he takes over the reins at Easter.

Straight-talking Phil Mather, current headteacher of the Heath School in Runcorn, who has been appointed as the new head of Withins Schools in Breightmet, said he will not accept the school's position in a deprived area as an excuse for poor performance.

"The fact that some people think poor people are unintelligent I take as a personal insult. I was brought up on a council estate," said Mr Mather, who starts his new job after Easter.

He has set himself a five-year target to turn the 1,000-pupil school, which has been branded a failure by education watchdog Ofsted, into one of the best schools in the land.

He accepts that his planned changes will be met with a variety of responses, from enthusiasm to cynicism.

But he has praised the school staff, is looking forward to working with parents and governors, and says he feels both staff and students are ready to move forward.

Mr Mather, aged 56, will be the sixth headteacher the school has had since last Easter.

Val Malcolm left the school last March and was replaced by seconded replacement Dr Chris Gerry, who had to leave just months later when his school in Kent burnt down. His replacement, John Murphy, left for "personal reasons" within weeks.

Paul Roach and Peter Richardson, long-standing teachers at the school, are currently acting as joint headteachers until Mr Mather takes up his new role.

The school was placed in special measures last September after inspectors gave it an appalling report.

But far from being deterred by the enormous task in front of him, Mr Mather says he has deliberately sought out a school in difficulty because he relishes the challenge of turning it around.

"It is just something in me." he said. "I am an Ofsted registered inspector and have worked as an inspector in St Helens. I decided to go back into teaching to have more direct impact and I have deliberately looked for schools that are in difficulties."

He is confident his vision for Withins is a realistic goal. He has already met Ofsted inspectors to discuss what the priorities are for change at the Newby Road school and has met senior school managers.

One of the things that is high on his agenda is improving self-confidence, self-belief and self-esteem among students. Keen amateur rugby player Mr Mather wants to promote sport and performing arts at Withins with that intention in mind.

He is also going to make a point of ensuring students are wearing their uniforms smartly.

"I want to build up pride and self-belief in students. I believe unless you feel good about yourself, you cannot help anybody else."

He plans to develop "celebration areas" in the school where everyone can focus on achievements and success. Mr Mather has been "delighted" and impressed with the staff he has met and has found that many teachers stay behind to work long after school is finished for the day.

He says "teaching, teaching, teaching" is the key to the success of his vision and is planning to use tried and tested strategies centred around in-house teacher training programmes to give the school the boost it needs. However, Mr Mather knows his changes will not happen overnight and is planning his improvements in "little steps".

Withins' new head, who is married with a daughter, started his working life in the chemical industry before deciding to become a teacher.

As there was a shortage of chemistry and maths teachers at the time, he was able to train as a teacher part-time before going into education full-time. He went on to gain an Master of Education qualification in curriculum development and a Master of Philosophy degree in staff development.

He later moved from teaching into the advisers' service in St Helens and became an inspector. When he decided to return to teaching, he became the deputy headteacher of a school in St Helens, where he stayed for five years.

Four years ago he became headteacher at Heath School, a school that was in the serious weaknesses category, just one above special measures. Under his leadership the school came out of serious weaknesses and has acquired specialist college status.

Ofsted found that at the Heath School, Mr Mather's leadership was outstanding and there had been a dramatic rise in GCSE results, general improvement was very good and standards had risen significantly.