Deputy Head (Academic)

St James Senior Girls’ School is a two-form entry school, welcoming girls into Year 7 from our own Prep School alongside those who transfer from other schools following the 11+ process.

We offer an enlightened education that nurtures mind, body and spirit, all within a happy environment where learning and personal development go hand-in-hand. Our broad curriculum and wide range of additional learning opportunities are designed to challenge the bright young minds in our care and to provide them with the means and encouragement to pursue their individual passions.

Our teachers are, first and foremost, specialists in their subjects, but they are also dedicated to supporting the wellbeing and development of our pupils. Positive relationships permeate our school, and we are proud of the camaraderie that exists amongst the pupil body and between students and staff. Pupils grow to become well-rounded, self-confident individuals during their time with us, emerging with a strong sense of their own unique strengths and talents, and equipped with a blend of academic, spiritual and emotional intelligence. They say that they value the sense of community in school and credit the clarity of teaching, encouragement and support for their success.

We support our pupils’ emotional wellbeing through a focus on mindfulness and by fostering a positive school atmosphere built on mutual respect and trust. It is an approach that results in young women who balance academic achievement with emotional resilience, who are self-disciplined and self-aware but also socially confident and blessed with generosity of spirit, secure in themselves and ready to take their place in the world.

Mindfulness, drawing on the traditions of meditative practice, is deeply integrated into our school life as a valuable and effective way to instil calm, bring focus to studies, and help with an understanding of the great questions of human existence. Before and after every lesson, pupils observe a brief period of silence during which they can prepare themselves to be receptive to the next event or activity. We also allocate five-to-ten minutes at the beginning of the day and after lunch to ‘Quiet Time’, providing the school with an opportunity to pause amidst the business of everyday life.

St James has its own salary scale and we are members of the TPS. Teachers enjoy free refreshments and lunches as well as access to confidential well-being/life-coaching.

The St James Schools were founded in 1975. The Prep School and Senior Girls’ School share the same site at Olympia and the Senior Boys’ School is located in Ashford, Surrey.

We were inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in February 2024 and you can view the report on the school website by following this link: https://www.stjamesschools.co.uk/seniorgirls/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/03/St-James-Senior-Girls-School-ISI-Report-March-2024.pdf