Skip to main content
Tes home
SearchBack to search
Head of Secondary School

Head of Secondary School

The British Council School, Madrid

Madrid, Spain

Job type:
Full Time, Permanent
Start date:
September 2021
Apply by:
8 February 2021

Job overview

British Council School Madrid

2,000 pupils|2-18 years|Co-Educational|BSO, NABSS

The British Council School Madrid  board is currently seeking to appoint an outstanding , caring and dedicated professional to the position of Head of Section for its Secondary School, to support the Head by leading the Secondary Section and contributing to the strategic priorities at whole school level.  This position would be a full-time appointment on a permanent local contract,  starting September 2021.

The new Head of Secondary will provide academic and pastoral leadership, working closely with a team of 90 professionals composed of teaching staff, senior and middle leaders, serving the 900+ students and their families.

About the British Council School - Madrid, Spain

The British Council School was established in Madrid in 1940, at a time when Europe was facing the challenge of the rise of fascism. The school has always offered a bilingual and bicultural   education, underpinned by its objective to develop future citizens with the core values of loyalty, flexibility, resilience, caring and challenge . The school facilitates cultural relations engagement with key target audiences through a high-quality, bilingual and bi-cultural curriculum to a school community  of 2,000 children from 2 to 18 years of age. The school is part of the British Council , the United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities worldwide. It is an integral part of their work in Spain and one of their flagship instruments of cultural relations.

The British Council School is a thriving, co-educational day school with superb facilities  set on a large, well linked, modern campus. It is one of the most prestigious Schools in Spain, rated as outstanding in every category  in its most recent BSO  inspections. It achieves excellent results, both in Spanish and UK examination systems, and prepares its graduates to attend universities in Spain, the UK and around the world. Many of their more than 10,000 Alumni students - of both Spanish and other nationalities - have achieved significant professional recognition. The bond between the school and its students lasts a lifetime, thanks to the strong ties that it fosters during school life.

One of the School's main objectives is to enable students to demonstrate that they live and breathe the school's values, as well as the qualities required by universities and companies around the world, such as leadership, team work, negotiation skill and entrepreneurship.

The British Council and the school support a national network of state bilingual schools. School staff lead on training, offer shadowing opportunities and participate in a range of system wide and school specific improvement and development activities.

Our academic programme encourages passion and achievement in sciences and technology, languages, literature, the dramatic arts, sports and public speaking . High levels of pastoral care are achieved through our vertical Family System , which we believe enables our pupils to be the best that they can be.

Annual cohorts of over 130 students achieve outstanding results  at IGCSE level in Year 11. Our students go on to achieve continued success at Sixth Form, through the BiBac  (Bilingual Spanish Baccalaureate). British Council School Madrid students go on to study at leading Universities world-wide such as Oxford, Cambridge, Yale and Stanford.

Why Come to Madrid?

Our school is located just 12 kilometres from the heart of Madrid , a vibrant and thriving cosmopolitan city. Our staff has the chance to live and work in a place of great history, culture and cuisine. Opportunities are endless for travel, sport and entertainment, both in the city and country-wide; Spain  is one of the top destinations in the world for leisure and holidays.

What do we offer our Staff?

  • The opportunity to work with enthusiastic, happy and confident children who enjoy learning
  • A welcoming and supportive network of colleagues
  • Competitive salaries and fee remission for children of staff members
  • An extensive welcome, relocation and integration programme to help new teachers and their families settle into Madrid
  • Ongoing and robust professional development opportunities
  • Subsidised English or Spanish language courses
  • Free annual health check-ups and flu vaccines
  • Private health insurance at a reduced rate
  • Discounted meals in our canteen, gym membership and free bus travel to and from school

Key Requisites

  • Demonstrable experience of successful leadership in high-performing schools, either in the UK or internationally
  • Complete fluency  in written and spoken English
  • An independent level of  spoken Spanish, or a commitment to achieving it with our support
  • A real desire to live and exemplify our school motto, 'Be the best you can be'
  • English to the level of, or a level comparable to, first language communicator
  • Ambition, passion and dedication to guide, inspire and challenge young children
  • A drive for professional development, continued outstanding practice and challenge
  • A minimum of 2 years teaching experience, in the last 5 years, in the Secondary phase of a UK, international or bilingual school
  • A good working knowledge of the latest UK practices
  • An entitlement to live and work in Spain

How to Apply

You will need to apply via the British Council Careers site  following this LINK .

We will acknowledge your application via e-mail. Make sure to check your spam folder for replies.

Please note we accept applications from international candidates. 

Should you have any questions, please contact

borja.roca@britishcouncil.es

Enclosed below you will find the British Council Behaviours and Core Skills for your reference, and to assist you in filling in the Application Form.

Attached documents

About The British Council School, Madrid

DFE 6069|URN 142417|College Board School Code 792464

Head of School: Ms. Mercedes Hernandez Estrada

Website: www.britishcouncilschool.es

Our Community

The British Council School is a bilingual and bi-cultural, non selective co-educational day school serving the Spanish community in Madrid. The school was founded in 1940 as the first British School in Spain. Our long experience in teaching and learning has made the British Council School one of the most prestigious schools in the world. More than 10,000 students, from Spain and other nationalities, have studied in our classrooms, and many of them have achieved senior positions in industry and government later in life. The school is part of the British Council, the official UK institution that promotes Education, English Language and Cultural Relations in the world.

Our School

The main school campus is located in Somosaguas, 14 kilometres from Madrid city centre, and houses our Early Years, Infant and Secondary Sections. An annual cohort of 132 students join us at 2 years of age and graduate at the age of 18. Approximately 2,000 students are currently on roll from Nursery to Year 13. The school is a member of the National Association of British Schools in Spain (NABSS), the European Council for International Schools (ECIS) and the Council for International Schools (CIS). The school underwent a British Schools Overseas (BSO) inspection in April 2015 and again in November 2018 and was on both occasions graded as "Outstanding" overall, in all individual categories.

Our El Viso centre opened in September 2016 with 40 children, and will grow year on year until full capacity. Located in a purpose-built Infant school in the centre of the city, the children follow the English National Curriculum. Children start at 2 years of age and enjoy their Foundation Stage phase until they join Key stage 1 at the main British Council School in Somosaguas.

Our dedicated team of professionals help pupils to become future global citizens through instilling our core values of loyalty, caring, resilience, challenge and flexibility. These values are deeply embedded in all that we do; from our approach to learning, relationships and aspirations held by our pupils, ourselves and one another. We believe in enabling our pupils to “be the best that they can be”.

The Curriculum

From 2 to 16 years of age, students follow the English National Curriculum and Spanish Language and Social Studies, also following the Spanish National Curriculum.

At 16 (Year 11/ Grade 10 in the US system) all students take IGCSE Cambridge Examinations and International GCSEs (Edexcel). The majority of students take 10 IGCSE or International GCSE examinations.

In Year 12 and 13 (Grades 11 and 12 in the US system) our students complete the British Council School BiBac (Bilingual Baccalaureate) programme. This broad programme of study is the Spanish National Baccalaureate Programme (Bachillerato Español) and students can choose to study through the medium of English or Spanish. There are 3 pathways that students can choose from according to their future career interests; Technological, Health Sciences, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Each of these paths is composed by subjects which are common to all pathways, pathway-specific subjects, and optional subjects.

All students in Year 12 must become members of one of the available Year 12 Clubs. These Clubs aim to give students the opportunity to develop competencies -  teamwork, public speaking, negotiating, problem-solving, entrepreneurship and leadership - and are an integral part of their academic timetable.

All students in Year 13 take the subject English Language Extension, and choose a specialist area (Laboratory Techniques & BMAT, Engineering Projects, Creating Art Portfolio, Film Studies, Theatre, Business English, Economics and Business Solutions, and Introduction to Literary Theory) through which they will develop their language.

Please note that you are wholly responsible for fact checking in respect of the information provided by schools. Please also check for the latest visa and work permit requirements that may apply. Tes is not responsible for the content of advertisements or the policies adopted by advertising schools. Tes asks that all schools follow Tes' Fair Recruitment Policy.

Applications closed