English Teacher with Film Studies

We are seeking an outstanding classroom teacher to join this successful subject area.  The post would suit a NQT or a more experienced colleague.  Experience of teaching at KS5 is desirable. 

We are looking for a colleague with a degree in English or English and Film Studies who loves working in a  team and has experience of delivering creative, inspiring lessons and engaging students of all levels of ability. 

Highcliffe is a remarkable school with a special atmosphere.  We are very highly respected in our community, with whole generations of families coming here for over 50 years from Christchurch and the New Forest.  Former students, current students and their parents frequently speak of their powerful emotional bonds to our school lasting a lifetime. Always popular, and usually over-subscribed, in the last two years our identity and success has attracted a rapidly growing number of admissions requests for Year 7. Although we have raised our PAN twice in three years, demand for places still exceeds availability and in 2019 we admitted 270 Year 7s compared to 216 5 years ago – we expect around 260/70 again in 2020. This is a result of our caring and aspirational ethos combined with our engaging curriculum and excellent extra-curricular opportunities, although our track record of exam success is surely another factor. Between 2017 and 2019 our P8 score increased by +0.36. Our students are lovely young people to work with who respond enthusiastically to good teaching and are keen to learn.

Highcliffe School is ideally situated minutes from Highcliffe and Avon beaches, Mudeford Quay and Christchurch Harbour.  A few minutes’ drive or cycle away are the beaches of Bournemouth while Poole Harbour, a mecca for watersports, is approximately 12 miles away.  As a result, sailing, kitesurfing, kayaking, paddle boarding, surfing and beach life are prominent parts of life in the area.  

Highcliffe is also on the doorstep of the New Forest, meaning that equestrian sports, cycling, walking and running are also prominent features of local life.  There is an extensive range of top-class pubs, cafes, clubs, theatres and cinemas throughout the area catering for people of all ages and tastes.  

The English Faculty Area

The Faculty is led by a Director of Learning and is composed of twelve members of teaching staff.  The English Faculty Area is mainly situated in a suite of rooms in the front of the main school building.  All classrooms are equipped with data projectors and every teacher is provided with a laptop connected to the School Network and the Internet.  The Learning Resource Centre is situated on the English corridor, managed by a full time Librarian and consisting of a lending library of some 10,000 books, computers and other resources for students and staff to use.

The English Curriculum

At Key Stage 3, all students have eight lessons of English per two-week cycle.  The curriculum is designed to cultivate skills and knowledge for GCSE studies. Literature and Language are co-taught across years 7-9, with clear links to the GCSE Assessment Objectives. Within a framework of assessed units, teachers are encouraged to develop their own approaches and utilise their personal subject interests to deliver challenging and stimulating lessons alongside the core priorities. The department takes a formal approach to end of unit assessments, implementing GCSE-style expectations from the beginning. 

At Key Stage 4, students study the AQA specifications for English and English Literature for eight lessons per cycle: this is split in to two subjects, and students spend four lessons on each.  The current year 10 students study the following texts for English Literature: ‘A Christmas Carol’ OR ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, ‘An Inspector Calls’, ‘Romeo & Juliet’ OR ‘Macbeth’ OR ‘Julius Caesar’ and the ‘Power and Conflict’ section of the Poetry Anthology. There is opportunity for teachers to tailor the choice of Literature texts to best support their class, and exploit teacher knowledge and expertise. Students complete regular end of unit exam-style assessments, to monitor progress and provide tailored support throughout their GCSE studies.

At Key Stage 5, courses offered currently include Edexcel English Literature, Edexcel English Language and Literature, Eduqas Media and Eduqas (WJEC) Film Studies. Students receive nine lessons per cycle, shared between two teachers.

The specification for Film Studies currently taught includes:

Component 1 

Section A: Vertigo/One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Section B: No Country For Old Men/Beasts of the Southern Wild

Section C: Shaun of the Dead/Sightseers

Component 2

Section A: City of God/Pan's Labyrinth

Section B: Amy

Section C: Sunrise

Section D: Pulp Fiction

Component 3

NEA: screenplay/storyboard/evaluative analysis OR short film/evaluative analysis.

Curriculum Enrichment

The English Curriculum Area is enriched by a range of additional activities.  In the past year these have included:

• Weekly ‘booster’ classes for students in Key Stage 4 in the weeks running up to the public examinations.

• ‘Bookies’ Book Club – a student reading group that meets once a cycle.

• Theatre, poetry and debating trips.

• The Sixth Form Debating Society, which holds regular debates in school.

• Two creative writing clubs: one by invitation only.

• Sixth form study days.

Ofsted Report

In the recent Ofsted inspection, the English Department received a very positive report, described as being “taught well”, and as “having an impact on literacy across the school.”