Vice Principal and Head of Primary School

The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) is looking to appoint an exceptional leader to the newly created role of Vice Principal & Head of Primary School.  This person will hold whole school responsibilities and form part of an executive leadership team of four (the ELT, with the Principal, Vice Principal & Head of Senior School and Director of Finance and Operations) as well as leading their own school.  This person will lead and manage an exciting period of major change in merging GSAL’s primary provision into one 3-11 Primary School on the main Alwoodley campus by September 2020.   

GSAL is one of the UK’s leading independent, co-educational day schools with over 2,000 pupils aged from 3 to 18 years.  The Junior and Senior Schools are located on an impressive 128-acre campus on the outskirts of Leeds and the Rose Court Nursery and Pre-Prep Schools are currently situated in Headingley.  The School offers an outstanding education to its pupils and they, in turn, achieve superb results, both academically and in wider co-curricular life including sport and the creative and performing arts. 

Staff from the two parts of the current primary provision, Rose Court and Junior School, have been working closely together over the past two years to prepare for the physical merger of a 3-11 school on one site.  The Vice Principal & Head of Primary School role is the most recently created role on the ELT and has been part of the development plan since 2016.  The newly merged Primary School will operate from September 2020 and the successful candidate will lead the final planning stages for this ambitious new project.  

This is an excellent opportunity for an outstanding candidate to play a pivotal role in the strategic development of GSAL under the visionary leadership of a new Principal.  The Vice Principal & Head of Primary School will be accountable to the Principal (and, through her, ultimately to the Board of Governors) for the effective leadership of the merged Primary School, will lead their own school SLT and work closely and collaboratively within the ELT to ensure a stimulating and coherent learning journey for the children across GSAL’s 3-18 continuum.  In addition, the successful candidate will lead on key whole school projects that sit outside the Primary School development plan and support areas of whole school strategic vision.  

Further information on GSAL can be found at: www.gsal.org.uk  

A candidate brief including details of the role and information on how to apply can be downloaded from www.odgers.com/67741  

Applications should be sent by 17.00 GMT on Friday 28 September 2018 to Odgers Berndtson.  

The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.