''Along with my husband and father, I was delighted a contingent from Woodford House was able to attend.
''The service was beautiful,'' she said.
Mrs Barron was principal at Woodford House, an integrated Anglican girls' school in Hawkes Bay, for the past five years, but had returned to Dunedin because she was ''a Southern girl at heart'' and was attracted by the professional opportunities of the role.
''St Hilda's is a strong, innovative learning community.''
Mrs Barron has strong family links in the South. She attended Maori Hill Primary School, Pleasant Point and South Otago High Schools, and the University of Otago.
She taught at Bayfield High School and was deputy principal at Gore High School for six years.
During that time, she also managed the Black Ferns during their 2002 Women's Rugby World Cup victory and the Silver Ferns netball team from 2005-09.
The mother of two was officially welcomed to St Hilda's Collegiate School on Wednesday during a ceremony led by the Anglican Bishop of Dunedin, the Right Rev Dr Kelvin Wright and school chaplain Dr Gillian Townsley in St Hilda's chapel.
''We have been blessed indeed to have her come to us as the leader of the school,'' Dr Wright said.
Mrs Barron succeeds Melissa Bell, who announced her resignation early last year, to spend more time with her family.
