This research study which was undertaken in part completion of the requirements for the award of a Professional Doctorate of Education in Dublin City University seeks to articulate how the education system can best respond to the needs of serving and aspiring post primary school principals. The author presents a general survey of school leadership literature which identifies the leadership of learning as the core function of post primary school principals and a short appraisal of research literature which addresses the experiences of newly appointed principals. A discussion of the historical and legislative framework for the management of post primary schools in the Republic of Ireland shows how the understanding of the world of the school principal has changed as new models of trusteeship and management of post primary schools have evolved. The author considers a statistical analysis of the turnover in the cohort of school principals which has seen a generation of school leaders retire since 2007. The author argues that it is now more important than ever that school leadership be better researched, understood and conceptualized and defines the purpose of the research to explore how the system can best understand and respond to the needs of serving and aspiring school principals in a context of increased demands and explicit requirements for the leadership of learning. This mixed methods research is presented in four phases. Initial qualitative data collated from a variety of sources including a parliamentary question form the basis of the research. Phase two presents the findings of a national survey of serving school principals which defined questions for qualitative interviews. The data generated from these interviews in turn defined issues which were submitted for further consideration to a Delphi panel in the fourth and final phase of the research. In the final chapter the author draws conclusions from the process as a whole and focuses on the answers to the research question with precise recommendations as to how we can best understand and respond to the needs of serving and aspiring school principals in a context of increased demands and explicit requirements for the leadership of learning.