A MAN with a background in managing part of a multi-million pound global sports industry is ready to take charge of a unique education initiative in Ashburton.

Former Premiership football referee Matt Messias has been announced as the principal designate of the pioneering £3.7 million Atrium Studio, which is expected to open its doors to nearly 400 students in September next year, subject to planning consents.

He is excited by the challenge of heading the government-funded enterprise which is set to change the learning landscape of the south west with its brief to prepare students for a career in architecture, town planning, interior design, structural engineering and other building industry-related disciplines.