Principal wins top award

A Hamilton intermediate principal who has led a turnaround at a struggling school and strongly supported Māori learners has won a top leadership award. Angela Walters of Fairfield Intermediate was on Wednesday announced as the winner of the National Excellence in Teaching Awards (NEiTA) Founders’ Principals Award for Leadership. ‘‘I thought it was a scam at first,’’ she said, but she found it ‘‘surprising and humbling’’ once she realised it was for real. When Walters was appointed principal three years ago the school was in trouble, with declining enrolments and under government review, NEiTA said in a statement. But the school roll had increased from 550 to 820 under her leadership and the school received a positive Education Review Office report last year. Her nomination said this was because of the positive school culture created since she was appointed. Walters said a range of factors had helped build the roll, especially a focus on school values.