Dr Clayton Massey, who moved from Tranby College in Perth, officially started on October 5. He said moving during a pandemic had been difficult.

"It hasn't been without its challenges," Dr Massey said. "It was certainly a lengthier process and there are lots more restrictions here.

"My heart goes out to everyone here in Victoria because it's an extraordinary situation that everyone finds themselves in."

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Dr Massey has worked in seven different schools - including in the UK - and has completed doctoral research into the social, cognitive, and multi-modal growth of young adolescent males.

He said his primary focus at Girton was to engage with the school community.

"Every head wants to make a mark on the school and leave it in a better place than when they started," he said.

"For me, the first step is to see and to learn about Girton, and see what it does and see where we can actually do better."

Dr Massey said 2020 had been a challenging year for many students given the lengthy remote learning period. He said the school would help those children.

"That starts from today - the wellbeing, the settling back in, the reacquainting, the readjusting - we're doing that from today," Dr Massey said.

"That will roll on into next year but let's not underestimate the value of these weeks in getting everyone settled back into school."

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