After 13-years at Bowen, Mr McPherson will replace Craig Booth as Bletchington principal.

Mr Booth has led the school of more than 600 students for the past seven years, retiring at the end of 2019.

Mr McPherson said his predecessor had left a legacy at the school which would not quickly be forgotten.

"It is clear he had a really beautiful rapport with the kids and they all looked up to him," he said.

"On the staff you can tell there are a few sad faces back at school this year but I know he's certainly enjoying his retirement."

Mr McPherson said he'd found out about his success in the new role on the last day of term in 2019, which had made it difficult to say a proper goodbye to Bowen.

Marianne Pankhurst will temporarily fill his position, until a full time replacement is appointed.

"I absolutely loved my time there in which time I developed some great relationships with the kids, the community and the staff," he said.

He said his motivation for leaving was to ensure he could maintain a fresh perspective.

"There's an element of not wanting to go stale by staying in one place for ever and ever," he said.

Bowen Public School had 263 students in 14 classes in 2019, while Bletchington has 663 students in 27 classes this year.

Mr McPherson said his predecessor had left the administration so well organised that it had made the transition simple, giving him opportunity to focus on the important things.

"I'll be taking some time to get to know all the kids," he said.

"We're always looking at ways to improve too. I'm on the hunt for those things as we speak."

Mr McPherson's first day on the job was Tuesday, while the students had returned from school holiday's on Wednesday.

"On day one there was so many parents, it's a strong community," he said.

Mr McPherson said he could not be typecast as a 'maths', 'sports' or English guy.

"I'm most passionate about helping kids to grow. I wouldn't like to think that my passion for a given subject was forced on any student.

"They're all different and everyone has different interests.

"I became a primary teacher partly because I have a broad range of interests."

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