How did a 35-year-old father with a history in management and IT end up running an independent school with more than 250 pupils and 30 teaching staff?

CLARE COOK finds out how Paul Smith is coping at Moorland.

DRESSED in casual T-shirt and slacks, Paul Smith doesn't comform to the stereotype for a man at the healm of a co-educational boarding and day school.

But since he took over Moorland, the boarding numbers have quadrupled and Paul's reputation is spreading. Set in extensive grounds, the school is hidden away down a tree-lined dirt track behind Ribblesdale Avenue in the market town of Clitheroe. Fees range from £100 a week for nursery children to £1,700 for seniors.

Paul took over the headship in September after being passed the helm from his wife's parents John and Janet Harrison. They ran the school from 1988 but decided to retire last year. Now the easy-going businessman is setting new sights for the 15-acre site - including success at every level.

Paul, his wife Helen and their three children aged four, seven and nine live in the school grounds, a scenario which has happened since the buildings were owned by the Kermodes family in 1936.

"The school has now gone full circle," Paul said. "It was always an idea that I would take over and seeing as we live here, it is as if the school is returning to its roots. This really is a home from home."

Added to the unique family touch, Paul is an autonomous headteacher, free from any shackles of constraint or checks from governors, parent teacher associations and education authorities. He owns the school and what he says goes.

But he does not find the responsibility daunting - he is armed with a degree and qualified teaching status, along with management experience in the weaving and IT sectors. "I am running my own little world here but that does not mean it will always be like that. Parents have not voiced any concerns about it because they meet me. It is all about giving the best education for children and making investments grow.

"Class sizes here are about 16 and there are excellent facilities. Above all, we have revitalised boarding - two years ago we were down to single figures. Trips out and holidays are the norm for the boarders and we have a range of youngsters, from Army backgrounds to international students.

"Many of the children's parents have just heard about the school's reputation from word of mouth, even if I am very young to be a head!"

But there is still work to be done. Fifty per cent of pupils gained GCSE grades A*-C last year - a drop of 25 per cent on the previous year.

And there are plans in the pipeline to build new classrooms and expand the school's capacity, as well as start Duke of Edinburgh Award programmes.

For now though, the signs are positive. Sport is coming to the fore and even Blackburn Rovers midfielder David Dunn dropped by for a quick chat with students on the Football Academy programme. It may be a one-man band behind Moorland, but no one seems to have any complaints.