Travellers left Harrogate’s Ashville College last night, three days after they arrived.
The fee-paying school postponed home sports fixtures when caravans pitched up on the sports field off Yew Tree Lane on Friday night.
North Yorkshire Police said last night all vehicles had vacated the field by 7.15pm.
A police spokesperson said:
“The Harrogate neighbourhood policing team has worked closely with the college and community partners to resolve this issue.
“Our officers are continuing to liaise with all parties and are carrying out patrols in the area to address safety and security concerns.”
Ashville College
An Ashville spokesman said it served notice on the travellers to leave the school grounds yesterday morning. He added:
“The police successfully handled the departure and we are delighted to confirm that they all have left the site.
“Crucially, the order served today prohibits a return to our site within the next twelve months.
“We have secured the entrance they forced themselves through on Friday night.
Ashville head Rhiannon Wilkinson said in a letter to parents:
“It has been a challenging three days and I am enormously grateful to my colleagues in boarding who have done an exceptional job looking after the boarders this weekend in what have been difficult circumstances.”
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Harrogate’s Ashville College appoints first female head
Ashville College in Harrogate has appointed Rhiannon Wilkinson as its first female headteacher in its 144-year history.
Ms Wilkinson, who was headmistress at Harrogate Ladies’ College from 2009 until 2013, will take up the position in September.
She will become the 11th headteacher in the history of the independent day and boarding school for boys and girls aged three to 18.
Richard Marshall, the previous headteacher, died in November aged 48 of cancer.
Elspeth Fisher will remain as acting head until September 1 when she will revert to her former position as a deputy head.
Ms Wilkinson said:
“I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Ashville College and returning to the Harrogate District which I always saw as my forever home.
“As a head over the last 12 years, I am confident that my versatility and commitment to serve young people and their families, whatever their background, need or ability, will enable me to succeed at Ashville College.
“Ashville is rich in heritage and remains true to its strong Methodist values, it is small enough to care but big enough to challenge both its day and boarding pupils.”
She added she hoped to “build on the successes of my predecessors, in particular the unfulfilled legacy of Richard Marshall”.
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Ms Wilkinson, who graduated in modern history at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, has taught in – and led – schools in the UK, Hong Kong and Brunei, and most recently was the founding head of Whittle School Shenzhen in China.
After leaving Harrogate Ladies College she became head at Wycombe Abbey independent school in Buckinghamshire.
A statement issued by the school today said Ms Wilkinson was the unanimous choice of the board of governors.
Jamie Search, chair of governors at Ashville, described Ms Wilkinson as “an exceptional educational leader”, adding:
“In her four years at Harrogate Ladies’ College, she did an exceptional job and is credited with transforming the fortunes of the school.
“We feel incredibly privileged to have someone of Rhiannon’s calibre and experience joining Ashville College.”