Are you passionate about great food and making a difference every day? As one of our Assistant Cooks, you’ll use your cooking skills to help prepare daily fresh, nutritious meals that children look forward to. You’ll use your cooking skills and food safety knowledge to deliver high standards
Location: Portsmouth High School, Kent Road, Southsea, PO5 3EQ
Required From: September 2026
Contract Term: Permanent
Hours: 20 hours per week, Monday to Friday
Weeks worked: Term time only plus 40 hours throughout the year
Salary: GDST Regional Support Grade 2 (£26,088 pa pro rata ie: £12,143.06 pa)
Portsmouth High School has a vacancy for a permanent assistant cook to join our school catering team. This role is Monday to Friday during term time and is offered either as 09:00 am to 1:00 pm, or as 08:30 am to 1:00 pm with a lunch break. In addition, there is a requirement to work 40 hours throughout the year to support school events (involving occasional evening and weekend working), deep cleaning ahead of the start of each term and staff training.
The successful candidate will help deliver the School’s aims and objectives by preparing attractive, healthy, varied meals for students, staff and visitors. Health and Safety compliance is an integral part of the role so you will have knowledge of the relevant food safety and allergen considerations. As well as a daily lunch provision, you will be responsible for preparing break food and canapes and refreshments for after school functions throughout the school year.
Portsmouth High School is a dynamic place to work, offering a range of career opportunities and benefits and is committed to staff wellbeing. The School is part of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) which is the UK’s leading network of independent girls’ schools.
Benefits
We offer a variety of benefits, such as:
- Competitive salaries
- Access to professional development opportunities
- Flexible Pension Plan
- Free life assurance benefit
- A discount of up to 50% on fees for children at GDST schools
- Interest free loans for training, computer purchase loans and travel season ticket loans
- A Cycle to Work scheme
- Competitive terms and conditions of employment
Applications
The closing date for applications is midday on Monday 29 June 2026. We reserve the right to interview and appoint prior to the closing date.
Interview date: Tuesday 7 July 2026 tbc.
The Girls’ Day School Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection checks appropriate to the post, including online searches, checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.
The school's safeguarding policy can be found here: https://www.portsmouthhigh.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GDST-Schools-Model-Safeguarding-and-Child-Protection-Policy-September-2025-v1-Website.pdf
We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all qualified individuals. To be eligible for employment, candidates must provide proof of their right to work in the UK.