Teacher of History

We wish to appoint from September 2024 a well-qualified, enthusiastic and committed Teacher of History. The post is full-time and permanent. The position would suit an ECT or experienced teacher. 

This is an excellent opportunity to join one of Oxfordshire’s largest and most successful schools. Effective administrative systems support the two sites. Students are well-behaved and motivated, and there is a strong sense of community in Thame, with a committed parent support base.

We are exceptionally strong in terms of pastoral support for all students and have the highest expectations for individual achievement whatever the starting points. Outside the classroom there are wonderful extra-curricular activities for all. Students leave the school successful and well-rounded individuals. There is a ‘buzz’ about learning in the school and our students are fortunate to be supported in their learning by dedicated teachers and support staff. Staff training and professional development are always a developmental priority and many of our staff move on to promotions in other schools.

The School

The school is the only school serving the market town of Thame and surrounding villages. It is a popular school and always oversubscribed. It is a split site school – Years 7-9 on our Lower School site and Years 10 -13 on our Upper School site. There are around 540 students in our Sixth Form and we attract many students from other schools, post-16. Teamwork is a key feature of school life and so is partnership with our feeder primary schools. There is a strong drive to establish powerful curriculum links cross phase with teachers collaborating on a range of projects.

The Humanities Faculty

The faculty currently consists of 26 teaching staff (16 full-time and 10 part-time) along with a part-time administration assistant. While teachers focus primarily on their specialist subject there is opportunity, particularly during parts of their Key Stage 3 teaching, for staff to teach in other Humanities-related areas. One of the great strengths of the faculty is the support and detailed programmes of work provided for non-specialists, both in terms of resources and in terms of the close team-room friendship and support provided.

We are a large and successful History department, with a mix of experience and expertise, within a welcoming and supportive Humanities team. We keep abreast of the latest thinking within the History teaching community and consistently look to improve and develop our teaching in a collaborative manner. 

Key Stage 3

In years 7 and 8 tutor groups are taught Geography, History and Religious Studies modules by the same teacher or by the same pair of teachers. In year 9 the same modular approach is taken in Geography and History, though with RS being taught separately by a subject specialist. History topics within the Humanities course for years 7, 8 and 9 currently include a range of familiar English and global periods and topics from 1066 to the two World Wars and beyond. Topics also include “Quest for Civil Rights”, ”Holocaust and Genocides” and a "Conspiracies and Mysteries" module.

Key Stage 4

Students in year 10 and 11 can opt to take one or more GCSE course in Business Studies, Geography, History or full-course Religious Studies. If not taking the full-course Religious Studies, students are automatically entered for the half-course GCSE. At History GCSE we follow the Edexcel specification. The options we teach are Medicine through Time (1250-present) (including the historic environment unit on medicine during World War One), The American West (c1835-c1895), The Reigns of King Richard and King John (1185-1216) along with Weimar and Nazi Germany (1918-1939).

Key Stage 5

 Students in years 12 and 13 can opt to take one or more of the following A level subjects: Business Studies, Economics, Geography, Government and Politics, History, Religious Studies and Sociology. Students can also take the BTEC Level 3 course in Business Studies. We currently teach the AQA History A Level specification. Tudors, 1485-1603, and The Cold War, 1945-1991, along with the decline of the Ottoman Empire or the development of Civil Rights in America for our NEA.

Extra Curricular Activities

Humanities offers several trips each year to students. This usually includes visits each year to the Black Country Museum, the Imperial War Museum, Berlin, Southall Gurdwara and GCSE and A level Geography fieldwork trips to city and coast, as well as to local and London Conferences and the hosting of conferences at the school. There is also a plan to resume the annual trip to visit World War battlefields in Belgium and France.

Teachers in the Humanities faculty also set up what is now a whole-school link with a school in Gambia. In normal times, this has meant faculty members helping to organise and lead trips for 30 sixth formers visiting that country each December.

Please note we reserve the right to interview prior to the closing date so please do not delay in submitting your application.