PRIMARY school pupils from Musselburgh were given the chance to interview their new headteacher about why she wanted to join their school.

Four children from Loretto RC Primary School’s Pupil Panel played an active role in interviewing new head Margaret Anne McBean, who is currently headteacher at Macmerry Primary School.

And they were given the chance to provide their feedback to the formal appointment panel. Although the interview by youngsters did not form part of the formal process, they had the opportunity to interview candidates and give their views.

Four youngsters – Jacob Shyngle and Laura Kazuwa, from P6, and Michael De Luca and Chloe Robertson, P5 – met with Mrs McBean on the day of her interview to ask her a range of questions. These included her motivation for wanting to be headteacher at Loretto RC Primary and what kind of leader she would be. They also wanted to know how the successful candidate would balance the need to maintain discipline in the school whilst also providing a fun learning environment for the pupils.

Mrs McBean, whose start date has still to be confirmed, said: “I really enjoyed the interview with the children.

“It wasn’t by any means easy – they asked good questions and they listened very attentively. “I was extremely impressed with them and look forward to seeing them in school. I think it’s great that East Lothian places such a high value on participation for children and young people.” Val McIntyre, principal officer in the education department, said: “We looked at the job outline and person specification and the children identified the personal qualities they would like their future headteacher to have, and we used this as the basis for our questions.

“They practised their questions on me, so they could try out their new skills.They were really quick, and very confident about whether I had answered their questions fully and how they wanted to score me.” Mrs McBean will take over from Loretto RC’s acting headteacher Anne Torley, who is the headteacher at St Gabriel’s RC Primary School, Prestonpans.

Macmerry Primary School is still interviewing potential new headteachers.