After six months with an acting leadership, Herlufsholm Boarding School is now closer to achieving stability in the principal’s office. Jimmy Burnett Nielsen will take up the position as the new principal on July 1st. Vice principal Martin Arvedlund has been functioning as the principal since last December after the sudden resignation of the former principal. Gitte Nørgaard, who most recently sat in the principal’s chair, left the school just a year and a half after her appointment, where she was hired to change the culture following the TV2 documentary “Herlufsholm Secrets”. The documentary led to both the former principal, Mikkel Kjellberg, and the headmaster, Torben von Lowzow, losing their positions. Jimmy Burnett Nielsen, born in 1957, has a history at the school as a teacher. Burnett Nielsen looks forward to returning to the school, where he previously lived with his family as a boarding school teacher. “When dealing with young people in their formative years, you have a unique opportunity to influence their life path in a positive direction,” he said in a press release according to Sjællandske Nyheder (Zealand News). Chairman of the board and headmaster Hermann Haraldsson, who has played a central role in the process of finding the new principal, is very satisfied with the selection of Jimmy Burnett Nielsen. “He has the strong professional and educational background that the board has been looking for,” says Haraldsson. After the media attention surrounding the TV2 documentary, there have also been changes in the board. In February, it was announced that Hermann Haraldsson had taken up the position permanently, and the board had appointed three new members after several resignations. With these changes, the board is now complete again.

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