An enthusiastic and engaging Second in English is required to join our flourishing team. This role would suit a current Second in Department or an experienced teacher looking to make the next step in their career, someone with aspirations for a Head of Department role in the future.
The successful candidate will be, above all, passionate about English literature and language. They will be excited about sharing their subject passion with our students and ready to make a mark on our vibrant school community through their teaching. They will be eager to encourage students to find their voice through creative and persuasive writing, public speaking and debating, and determined to foster in all students a love of reading and literary scholarship.
The successful candidate will be required to teach at KS3, GCSE and A Level. Commitment to wider school life is expected. As a school, we value flexible working, and we would welcome applications from those seeking either full or part time hours (4 days). Please indicate your preference in your application form.
The Department:
The Department is well-resourced and experienced, and we run a rich variety of extra-curricular clubs including Debate and Public Speaking, Senior Literary Society, recently renamed to A Room of Our Own, Creative Writing Club and Comic Club.
Many girls take English Literature at A Level, and we are delighted that every year, students take places at Russell Group and Oxbridge universities. We currently prepare our girls for AQA GCSE in both English Literature and English Language, which they take at the end of Year 11 and we follow the AQA A Level Specification B in the Sixth Form.
We have spacious teaching rooms that are excellent collaborative learning spaces, with accessibility to a variety of digital technology including a computer suite, flexible Maker Space, and all students are trained in using their own Chrome Books. The school’s Centenary Library is an inspiring place for both students and teachers to indulge their love of literature.
We encourage our students to engage with English beyond the classroom through theatre visits, lectures, creative and essay writing competitions, lunchtime clubs and trips. In the last two years we have taken A Level students to see Othello and Year 11 to a GCSE Poetry Live lecture day. We have previously taken GCSE students to see Shakespeare at the Globe and Years 8 and 9 to see Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime at the Wembley Troubadour Theatre. In addition, Costa Award-winner novelist and playwright Manjeet Mann and poet and academic Gita Ralleigh both led Year 10 writing workshops and spoke to Year 9. Year 11 benefitted from a Keynote revision day on English Language and Year 7 watched a performance of A Christmas Carol by Box Clever Theatre company in the Assembly Hall. Alongside providing a range of opportunities, we also encourage students to take the initiative and Year 9 students run the Key Stage 3 Literary Film Club. In addition, students from Year 9 and 10 lead supported ‘paired reading’ with Junior School girls for the service section of their Duke of Edinburgh Award. It is essential that the successful candidate is prepared to contribute to the Department’s extra-curricular activities and participate in planning and attending trips.
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 and checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.