Teacher of Geography - September 2021 - full time / part time

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious Teacher of Geography, to join the geography team in this exceptionally successful school, where specialist knowledge is highly prized.  We are interested in applications from teachers with commitment to teaching geography to A Level and an interest in developing their career, including NQTs. 

Situated in Tunbridge Wells, with excellent transport links to London, Bennett is a popular and over-subscribed academy with an enviable record of outstanding academic achievement over many years. 

A Church of England co-educational school with independent academy status

• 1,735 on roll including 355 in the Sixth Form

• Judged Outstanding in every area by Ofsted in 2012   

• World Class School Quality Mark in 2017    

• Outstanding GCSE and A Level results

• Excellent reputation; oversubscribed

Bennett students are highly motivated and enthusiastic about learning and taking part in the huge range of enrichment activities that we offer.  

As the lead school in the Altius Teaching School partnership, we are committed to providing strong and sustained professional development for all colleagues who work with us.  

Priority places at the school are available for children of staff.

Thank you for your interest. Should you wish to visit the school informally or to discuss any aspect of the advertised post before applying, please email: recruitment@bennett.kent.sch.uk

For full details and application form please visit our website : www.bennettmemorial.co.uk

CVs cannot be accepted. 

Please complete and return our application form to recruitment@bennett.kent.sch.uk

Closing date : 9am on Tuesday 11 May 2021     

Bennett Memorial Diocesan School is part of the Tenax Schools Trust 

This school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.  All posts are subject to a satisfactory DBS enhanced check.

Geography Curriculum Area

At Bennett Geography is a highly prized subject for the academic discipline that it is. We recognise the important contribution Geography makes to students’ knowledge of the world and their part in it. This is why the subject commands an important place in our curriculum.

The Geography team currently consists of five specialist teachers of Geography.  The department teach in four well-resourced classrooms, each of which benefits from fully networked interactive whiteboards.  Colleagues teach across the full range of age and ability, from KS3 to KS5, with high expectations across all department areas. 

All students are taught Geography in years 7 and 8.  Students complete the core KS3 programme of study at the end of year 9.  A large number of students then opt to continue geography as a GCSE. The timetable currently provides three hour-long lessons per fortnight in years 7 and 8, and 4 hours per fortnight in year 9. Students are grouped by prior attainment in years 7 and 8. We follow a distinctive mastery approach in our KS3 curriculum, which places a strong emphasis on the systematic acquisition of knowledge. There are many opportunities for fieldwork at KS3. Currently we use our fantastic school site to its full potential for fieldwork as a taster the requirements of GCSE.

Geography is a very popular option at GCSE. The allocation for GCSE subjects is 5 hours per fortnight.  We follow the new AQA Syllabus covering both human and physical geography and a local fieldwork investigation.  We currently carry out GCSE fieldwork in Hastings and offer GCSE and A Level students the opportunity to visit China and Iceland. These visits, coupled with a further residential visit in Year 12, would offer a geographer a superb opportunity to expand their geographical and cultural knowledge.

Geography is offered at A Level, and there are two groups studying the subject in each year group.  We follow the Edexcel Syllabus, focusing on global issues such as superpowers and issues of migration and sovereignty.  The fieldwork for the NEA is collected in Slapton Ley, again offering a great opportunity to carry out first hand geographical investigations.  We hold our own series of academic lectures here at Bennett, inviting in speakers from a wide range of disciplines. These lectures are aimed at giving students a wider geographical education and both KS4 and KS5 students widely attend these. We have a steady stream of students who go on to follow Geography-related courses in Higher Education.

Students at Bennett take pride in their school and respond positively to the high standards expected of them.  All staff promote a can-do attitude amongst students, encouraging them to aspire to attain their highest academic and personal goals. The atmosphere here is characterised by outstanding behaviour and a growth mindset. The Bennett sixth form is one of the largest school sixth forms in the area. The department itself is well resourced with new and differentiated texts for all key stages, and a wide variety of geographical equipment and ICT resources, including the use of the school’s many ICT suites.  Take up of geography is therefore strong and growing, at both GCSE and A Level.  There is considerable capacity for further development and expansion and this is an exciting opportunity for a hardworking and enthusiastic teacher to be part of a growing area within this outstandingly successful school.

For a newly qualified teacher, Bennett offers a well-disciplined, purposeful environment with actively co-operative students, and there is an effective scheme of mentor and staff tutor support.

Bennett is strongly committed to developing teachers professionally, and believes that all staff should have an active and positive role to play in the development of policy and practice.  This generates great enthusiasm and a strong sense of teamwork.  

As a designated Teaching School we invest strongly in teacher professional development, for example by providing training so that staff can achieve the Outstanding Teacher accreditation, as well as leadership training at all levels. Bennett is a Church of England school, and it is expected that all staff support the school’s distinctive ethos in their professional role.