A number of studies have examined the problems faced by newly appointed Principals. Weindling & Early (1987) collected information from 188 newly appointed secondary head-teachers in the UK and found that only that only 15% rated themselves as very well prepared for the job. Studies by Bolam et al (1995) showed that a sense of isolation and vulnerability were amply in evidence among new Principals. More recently the International Beginning Principals Study (IBPS) investigated the main experiences of beginning head teachers in their posts (Male 2001), and found that that in some countries, the demands of Government were found to be the highest source of pressure. Included under this category were legislation, new curricula and improvement projects. An international review of approaches to the development and training of school leaders was conducted by Huber & West (2002), while a review by the National College of School Leadership (NCSL) (2003) focused on support and provision in the UK. Based on the international literature, the practice in other countries and the perceived of Principals, a programme for new appointed Principals was developed by the Leadership Development for Schools team, in Ireland. The programme was called MISNEACH (Irish word for 'hope') and it several components including a residential one and is delivered by practicing Principals. In its second year, the programme was evaluated independently (Morgan & Sugrue, forthcoming). As part of the evaluation information was gathered from participants through questionnaires and site visits and in addition and a questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 800 Principal teachers. The excellent response rate (75%) provides direction for the development of this and similar programmes. This paper will summarises the most significant outcomes of the research. Firstly, it emerged that only about one sixth of the Principals thought they were prepared for the position on appointment. In line with this a majority said that some features of their work were entirely different from what they expected. This was the case with regard to how the job carried over into all aspects of their lives, the 'amount of paperwork' and the stress in the job. A second finding is that Principals spend more time than would like on some domains of their work while they are unable to focus on others that they regard as more worthy of their attention. It is likely that this is a major factor in job satisfaction and morale. Thirdly, when Principals were asked to identify the domains of their work that they found most challenging, the areas of evaluation and policy analysis/development.were thought to be most challenging while leadership functions were regarded as next most challenging. Fourthly, with regard to the rewards of being Principals, the most important factors had to do with intrinsic rewards like being supportive of students and the realisation that they have made a difference to the school as well as the sense of seeing a job well done. In contrast, the recognition by others (other Principals, Inspectors) of their work was not regarded as especially important. Finally with regard to the present programme (MISNEACH) a number of important factors have contributed to its success. Among these are the experiences of residential aspect of the programme, the ability of the organisers to accept and act upon recommendations from participants, the delivery of the programme in an atmosphere conducive to professional learning, the credibility of presenters and the opportunity to talk frankly about problems. References Bolam, R., Dunning, G., & Karstanje, P. (2000). New heads in the new Europe. Munster: Waxmann. Huber, S.G. & West, M.(2002). Developing school leaders: A critical review of current practices, approaches and issues, and some directions for the future. In Leithwood, K., & P. Hallinger, (Eds.): Second International Handbook of Educational Leadership and Administration. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Male, T. (2001). External influences impacting on beginning head teachers in England: Findings from IBPS project. Paper presented at the AERA conference, Seattle. April 10-14th 2001. Morgan, M., & Sugrue, C. (in press). Evaluation of the MISNEACH programme. National College for School Leadership (2003). Problems experienced by new head-teachers: A review. NCLS Weindling, D., and Early, P. (1987). Secondary headship: the First years. Windsor: NFER-Nelson Publishing