THE former principal of Hereford Sixth Form Collage has been appointed onto Hay Festival's board of directors.

Jonathan Godfrey OBE, who left the sixth form post in August, will add his expertise in education to the international literary festival.

In 2013 he was awarded an OBE for services to education and last year Hereford Sixth Form College, where he was appointed principal in 1997, was the inaugural winner of the Times Educational Supplement Sixth Form College of the Year award.

His appointment coincides with the festival’s increased focus on its growing strand of education work - the Hay Levels series of free educational videos, free Schools Days programming, Hay Festival Academy, and Hay Compass - and follows the appointment of its first education manager, Aine Venables, earlier in the year.

Dr Godfrey said: “Having lived in Hereford for 20 years I have greatly enjoyed coming to Hay Festival.

"Working with Peter Florence to support the educational work of the festival has been a privilege and a delight and I am very much looking forward to being even further involved as a board member.”

The full programme for Hay Festival Winter Weekend will be released on October 16.