Biology Teacher

Introduction

Sutton Grammar School is a five form entry boys' grammar school. It moved to the current site in 1928 and in recent years has added several new buildings to cope with the growth of pupil numbers. It is one of five selective schools in Sutton serving this suburb on the edge of London. From September 2017 girls have been admitted to the sixth form. We seek to provide a well rounded education with extra curricular contributions highly valued and supported - including lots of participation in drama, music, CCF and DofE. STEM project work is especially well developed with many national and international awards for individual students and teams.

Almost all students aspire to go to university and we place more than our fair share at the top institutions. We value the breadth and balance of our curriculum and seek parental support to sustain smaller subjects in the sixth form.

Location

Sutton Grammar School (post code SM1 4AS) is located near Sutton town centre in a residential area just behind the High Street. The railway station is only 5 minutes walk away and many bus routes radiate from Sutton town centre. The school owns excellent playing fields in Northey Avenue (Cheam).

Sutton is a London Borough but is on the edge of London so is conveniently close to London for its social life (train 25 minutes to Victoria) but is more affordable to buy or rent and is within minutes of the countryside.

All of Sutton's schools are very good and the borough is regularly in the top few authorities for school results.

Attraction for Teachers

The school is an attractive place to work and develop one's career. We have been a hub school for biology in the local Training School Partnership, and a regular provider of PGCE placements for other subjects too. Trained mentors are therefore available to support our own NQTs. There is a full programme of CPD for all staff, with a lot of sharing of expertise within the school. We have a single staff room and therefore all staff socialise together and we try to involve all staff to support their well-being. There is a staff badminton club, spin classes and the sports hall and gym can be freely used by staff. Tea and coffee are available in the staff room. Wide staff participation in school sport and supporting clubs and activities contributes to it being a busy but engaged staff team. We look to retain the loyalty of staff by being as flexible as possible when staff want to become part time or need to change aspects of their working arrangements. Teachers are assisted by an outstanding team of support staff - not great in number but highly capable and flexible. The pupil roll is currently 1,023 with 345 in the sixth form. The school is heavily oversubscribed and has an excellent reputation for its extra curricular programme as well as its strong academic results. It is a science and maths specialist school, but seeks and achieves high standards across all curriculum areas. Staff turnover is low which is an excellent indicator that this is a very good school to work in. Newly qualified teachers are always welcome but experience is also valued and for each post we look for the best person that will enthuse young people and complement the skills of our existing team.