We seek to appoint a well-qualified Teacher of English from September 2025 in a strong and friendly department of seven colleagues, including an English Support teacher. The successful candidate will teach weekly timetabled English lessons from Years 5 – 8 and will have excellent teaching and classroom management skills. An infectious enthusiasm, an engaging personality, and a creative approach to the delivery of the curriculum area, are all essential for this role.
The role is a full-time maternity cover from September 2025 to July 2026. Due to the nature of the role, the post holder may also be asked to teach another subject for a small proportion of the lessons, e.g. PSHE.
In addition, the successful applicant must be willing to participate fully in the various extra-curricular activities – both academic and cultural. Applications are encouraged from both the maintained sector and the independent sector.
English at the Under School
English at the Under School has a high profile and status. Pupils across all year groups enjoy reading and responding to literature written by a range of authors, representing differing periods, cultures, and backgrounds. The department thrives on its collegiate approach, and we continually review and discuss the texts that we teach, and reflect on our curriculum, ensuring that the pupils are given ample opportunities to develop their skills in reading, writing, and oracy. The pupils are very much engaged by English, both in terms of the formal curriculum and beyond. At break and lunchtimes, the library is full, and pupils find any moment they can throughout the day to read. Alongside the literary texts that are taught formally in schemes of work, the department promotes wider reading through its Book Club scheme, in which pupils in each year group read an additional six texts through the course of an academic year, and have half-termly Book Club lessons to discuss each of these texts in small groups in a relaxed environment. Annual events in the English department include charity initiatives, such as the Readathon, at Christmas, which is enjoyed by all pupils, also encouraging them to read a wide variety of books. The department also runs the Reading Competition in the Lent (spring) term, with pupils in all year groups performing a self-selected piece of literature, culminating in a whole-school event enjoyed by all. In recent times, we have alternated the Reading Competition with a new event, the Poetry Slam, in which pupils perform self-penned poets, alongside eminent visiting poets, including John Agard and Joshua Seigal.
Pupils in all year groups perform at a level far in excess of their chronological age, and examination results in Year 8 – whether the pupils take our internal examinations, Scholarship examinations, or Common Entrance for selected senior schools - have been consistently excellent. Additionally, many pupils attend a weekly Debating Society, offered to both junior and senior year groups, in which they defend their views robustly and take questions from the audience.