THE head of the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) is to become the north's new exams chief.
Gerry Campbell has been appointed chief executive of the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). The exams body runs the majority of the GCSE, AS and A-level qualifications taken by students across Northern Ireland.
Margaret Farragher, who was the interim head of CCEA, resigned from the post last summer.
It remained unclear last night when Mr Campbell will leave CCMS to take on his new role.
Previously Mr Campbell worked for Colleges NI and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, before he was appointed as chief executive of CCMS in 2017.
The organisation was established as an upper tier of management for Catholic schools in 1989 in response to concerns about underachievement.
It manages around 450 Catholic schools in the north and has responsibilities including raising standards and the employment of teachers.
During his tenure at the organisation, Mr Campbell was regarded as a staunch defender of the right of parents to choose faith-based schools for their children.
He also spoke of his concerns about how some aspects of a new law to promote and expand integrated education would affect Catholic schools.
