New Head Appointed at Argyle House School

Following a rigorous interview process, Chairman of Forfar Education, Mr. John Forsyth recently announced that Mr. John Sample will be taking up the position of Head at Argyle House School at the beginning of the summer term. 

John was born and raised in Easington Village, County Durham.  Both of his parents were teachers, and his grandfather was a coal miner in the local pit.  John attended the local comprehensive school in Easington before completing his degree at Sunderland University.  He is very much a ‘local boy’ at heart.  

John completed his teaching qualification at Bedford in 1996 and has spent his career in independent education.  Having spent time teaching in Buckinghamshire, he moved to North Yorkshire in 2001 to become Director of Sport and Head of Humanities at Cundall Manor.  In 2004 John was promoted to Deputy Head and in 2014 he undertook his first Headship, where he achieved record examination results, excellent inspection outcomes and a number of Independent School Association awards for the quality of provision.  Moving to St Francis’ College in Hertfordshire, as Head of Prep, he oversaw the opening of a new nursery, the modernisation of the curriculum and the broadening of the wider curriculum opportunities for the pupils. 

Of his appointment, Mr. Sample shared his thoughts: “I am incredibly honoured to serve as the new Headteacher at Argyle House School.  My heart lies in the North East and after a short period at Mowden Hall in Northumberland, the opportunity to lead the great school that Argyle House is, and return home to a city I love, was something that I couldn’t turn down.” 

Away from his professional life, John lives with his partner, Sara, and has three girls aged 19, 16 and 11. He is a keen sportsman, and continues to play club cricket for Seaham Park, and is an active gym user.  Mr. Sample will be spending time over the next couple of months visiting Argyle House and is very much looking forward to meeting families.

Announcing the news of Mr. Sample's appointment, John Forsyth took the time to recognise the contribution that Mrs. Nicola Smillie made during her tenure as Interim Head following the retirement of Mr. Chris Johnson at Argyle House, and commented, "I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Smillie for all she has done since joining us in the autumn term, and for being such a passionate and energetic leader following Mr. Johnson’s retirement in December." 

Mr. Sample's appointment is the latest exciting chapter in the school's long history as it recently celebrated 140 years of providing excellent education in Sunderland.