With only a week left in his role as Maniototo Area School principal, David Hunter is looking forward to moving on, but says it will be bittersweet.
On August 12, he begins his new job as principal of Taieri College, in Mosgiel, the school he attended as a youth.
The 44-year-old has been at Maniototo Area School for three years and said leaving not just the school but the community was a difficult decision.
He was, however, ''very much'' excited about tackling his new role - the school has about 800 more pupils than the 170 at Maniototo.
Maniototo Area School Board of Trustees chairman John Pyle said it had received ''quite a lot'' of applications for Mr Hunter's job.
The position had been readvertised this week because ''we're looking for someone a bit different, really''.
''He's a bloody hard fella to replace.''
The board was looking for someone who would fit into the community, not just the school.
He expected to begin short-listing applicants on Monday, before conducting interviews and making an appointment in about a fortnight.
Deputy principal Alec Campbell will be acting principal.
