Parents at one of Bristol’s biggest schools have been reassured that ‘school life continues as normal’ after academy chiefs announced that the school’s second headteacher this academic year had resigned.
Leaders at Merchants Academy, an all-ages school in Withywood, said that headteacher Katy Reeves had resigned ‘for personal reasons’, and the academy trust that now runs the school had ‘accepted her decision with immediate effect’.
In a letter to parents, E-Act’s national director of secondary, Niall Gallagher told them: “We recognise that this news comes after a recent period of change, and we appreciate that this may feel unsettling for some.
“Please be reassured that the school remains in very good hands,” he added.
E-Act, the multi-academy trust that runs Merchants Academy, has appointed Fiona Chapman as interim headteacher.
Mr Gallagher said she was: “A highly-experienced senior leader and Education Director from within the Trust who has worked extensively in Bristol schools, is already working closely with the team to support the academy during this period and will take on the role of interim headteacher.”
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“Alongside this, we are beginning the process of recruiting a permanent headteacher to lead the academy going forward. For our students, school life continues as normal, supported by staff they know and trust,” he added.
Mrs Reeves was appointed headteacher in October 2025, when previous headteacher Guy Swallow was promoted to be the executive head of Merchants Academy, overseeing the whole school and also working in other E-ACT schools across Bristol.
He resigned with immediate effect over Christmas, leaving Katy Reeves in overall charge, until this week.
Headteacher at Merchants Academy, Guy Swallow(Image: Merchants Academy)
With Fiona Chapman as interim headteacher, whoever the permanent headteacher appointed is after her will be the seventh person in charge of Merchants Academy in four years, since the long-standing head Sam Williamson left in 2022.
Ms Williamson took the school out of special measures in 2020, but after her departure, in early 2024, the school had a damning Ofsted inspection – within just a week or so of the arrival of Mr Swallow.
Within months, Merchants Academy and other schools in Bristol run by the Venturers Trust were handed over to national school chain E-ACT, with local community leaders saying the Venturers Trust – the organisation set up by the Society of Merchant Venturers and the University of Bristol – had ‘let down an entire generation of young people in South Bristol’.
E-ACT and Mr Swallow turned the school around in just the first full academic year, but the second year under E-ACT has now seen a return to changing leaders, at least at the top of the school organisation.
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Meanwhile, the school announced in January that it was to drop the ‘Merchants’ Academy name, and was working with pupils, staff and the local community to come up with a new name.
One local councillor said she was ‘really sorry’ to see the update from the school, and she was sending ‘solidarity to everyone affected’.
“My thoughts are with pupils, families, carers and staff, who will understandably be feeling unsettled by this news,” said Cllr Kerry Bailes (Lab, Hartcliffe & Withywood).
“This is now the second headteacher to leave Merchants’ Academy this year, and I know that repeated leadership changes can feel worrying for a school community, especially for children and young people who need stability, consistency and reassurance.
Merchants Academy with, inset, Cllr Kerry Bailes (Lab, Hartcliffe & Withywood) (Image: Bristol Post)
“I welcome the Trust’s confirmation that Fiona Chapman will be stepping in as interim headteacher and that school life will continue as normal for students. I hope the Trust will now communicate clearly and openly with families about the next steps, including the recruitment of a permanent headteacher and how pupils and staff will be supported during this period.
“Merchants’ Academy is an important part of our local community, and pupils, parents, carers and staff deserve stability, confidence and strong support going forward,” she added.