Teacher of PE and Sport

The School

Founded in 1432, Sevenoaks enjoys a global reputation as a centre of academic excellence and a flagship school for the International Baccalaureate. A co-educational day and boarding school, it offers a stimulating, intellectually demanding and balanced education for pupils from the age of 11 to 18. 

Inspiring facilities, together with expert, enthusiastic and imaginative teaching, provide rich opportunities for students participating in lessons, and a wide variety of sports and the performing arts. 

The school’s international make-up and outlook promote the principles of tolerance and open-mindedness. About 350 pupils board in the seven boarding houses, and students originate from some 40 countries worldwide. 

In 2013 the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) awarded Sevenoaks School the rare accolade of ‘Exceptional’ for its students’ achievement. In the new style inspection in 2017 pupils’ achievement and personal development were judged excellent, the highest grades. Sevenoaks was also the highest performing fully co-educational school, and the one with the largest cohort, in The Sunday Times Parent Power’s top 50 fee-paying schools for the IB in 2015. In 2017 we were, for the second time in 10 years, awarded The Sunday Times Independent School of the Year for 2018.

The Physical Education and Games Department 

The school aspires to foster a lifelong commitment to, and understanding of, fitness, health and wellbeing, exercise and sport. The department’s pedagogical approach is informed and guided by the principles enshrined in the IB Learner Profile. The Physical Education and Games Department is dynamic and ambitious, providing a variety of sports and activities to all students. A diverse PE curriculum is taught covering a range of skills in fitness, athletics and athletic development, net and wall games, invasion games, swimming, striking and fielding. This complements the extensive fixtures programme which runs every afternoon including Saturdays. 

The department is very well resourced. The Foundation Trustees and Governors have invested heavily in sports facilities as part of the ongoing school development. The Sennocke Centre was opened in 2005, providing state of the art facilities including a double sports hall, six-lane swimming pool, three indoor squash courts, three indoor tennis courts, dance studio and fitness suite. Outdoor facilities include two all-weather astroturf pitches, five outdoor netball courts, six outdoor tennis courts, seven rugby pitches, eight football pitches, three cricket pitches and an all-weather six-lane tartan athletics track. There are eight full-time PE teachers and a number of part-time coaching staff who, along with many academic staff, support and deliver our games programme.  

All pupils joining the school in Year 7 have two PE lessons and one swimming lesson every fortnight.  Year 7 and 8 also enjoy two games afternoons which will include their fixtures, as well as after school training sessions. Students in Years 9 to 11 have two games afternoons, including their main fixture programme which takes place on a Saturday afternoon, with the occasional mid-week fixture.   

All Sixth Form students choose their sports options from a wide-ranging programme, which provides two afternoons of training and fixtures or activity. The 200-strong Sixth Form, with its strong international dimension, enriches the experience of the student body and develops awareness of sport in a global context. There are regular sporting competitions to participate in, and several Sevenoaks sports teams have enjoyed progressing through to Regional and National competitions in recent years. 

The PE department run a series of tours and trips all over the world which provides opportunities for students to enjoy developing their expertise and competing against international students, and include an element of service through fundraising for local charities. 

The Post – Teacher of Games and PE

The successful candidate will be an enthusiastic and well-qualified graduate who will contribute to the development of PE and Sport at Sevenoaks, inspiring a real passion for sports and fitness in our pupils and able to teach a range of sports.  The ability to lead one of our major sports may be an advantage. We would welcome applications from experienced teachers or teachers new to the profession; the opportunity to take on some responsibility within the department or to train for PGCE may be available.  

A commitment to excellent pastoral care, enriching co-curricular activities and outreach is also expected.