Richard Rolfe, the vice principal of a Cambridgeshire college known for its community education programme, is to take up the post in the autumn.

Le Rocquier School was singled out for criticism in a report about problem children by UK education expert Kathie Bull.

The then headteacher Richard Quenault resigned, blaming workload and the problems posed by difficult and unruly students.

Challenging pupils

The report by Ms Bull, from the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), described the management team at Le Rocquier as "dysfunctional".

Ms Bull recommended the management of challenging pupils had to be a priority area for action for the school.

New head Richard Rolfe is vice-principal of Witchford Village College in Cambridgeshire, where he has responsibility for discipline and finance.

The school's website describes its ethos as that of a smaller, well-focussed rural community in which every member is valued.