A former assistant principal at St. Paul's School has been named head of the 4-year-old Cambridge School in northern Baltimore County.

Steven T. Song, 37, worked for 13 years at St. Paul's in Brooklandville, where he served as coach, middle school English teacher, grade dean and assistant principal of the middle school before accepting the head job at Cambridge on July 1.

He replaces Jean Duncan, who served as interim head of the school for the 2001-2002 school year. Duncan will become the curriculum coordinator for pupils in kindergarten through second grade.

Cambridge School, which holds classes in the Pleasant Hill Chapel in the 1800 block of Worthington Heights Parkway in Hunt Valley, was founded in 1998. It is a nondenominational Christian coeducational school with 115 pupils in kindergarten through eighth grade.

"Parents wanted a school with strong academics as well as a Christian education," said Laura Karey, a Cambridge administrator.

Karey said the school attracts pupils primarily from Baltimore and northern Baltimore County. The school is leasing classroom and office space from the chapel while it looks for property to build a school.

Karey said there are about 14 pupils in the kindergarten and 16 pupils in each of the other grades. The school held its first graduation this year, with three pupils.

Song, who might teach a class in addition to handling administrative duties, said it was great to have the opportunity to see how the new school runs.

"I just want to try and make things run smoother and better," he said.

Song, who lives in Lutherville with his wife and two daughters, has a bachelor's degree from Bucknell University and a master's in literature from Middlebury College.