German Language Assistant

Whitgift is a leading independent day and boarding school for boys, with approximately 106 boarding pupils and flexi boarding pupils.  It set in an attractive 48-acre parkland site in South Croydon enjoying excellent links to London, Surrey and the south coast.  

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a fluent German speaker to join our vibrant and dynamic German Department as a full-time German Language Assistant from September 2017. The Languages Faculty at Whitgift is one of the largest in the country, comprising eight languages.  In addition to German, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, German, Italian, Latin and Ancient Greek are also taught within the School. There are ten German teachers in the Department, and German is taught from Year 7. Many pupils take IGCSE German, and continue their studies in the Sixth Form, where we offer both IB and A level. We offer a wide co-curricular provision, and students have the opportunity to take part in Exchanges to Nuremberg and Munich, as well as a Sixth Form trip (most recently to Hamburg).    

As a full-time language assistant, the successful candidate will be pro-active and enthusiastic about promoting German across the School.  He or she will play an important role in preparing students for examinations, working with students in small groups and assisting teachers in the classroom.  He or she will be able to produce resources and lead enjoyable discussions that challenge students while simultaneously building their confidence and ability to converse in both a natural and articulate manner. In addition to preparing resources for his or her own teaching, the successful candidate will work with the Head of German to assist in the production of high quality and innovative resources to support classroom teaching. A high level of accuracy in both spoken and written German and English will be essential, and the ideal candidate will excel in encouraging our students to engage with current social and political issues in German-speaking countries, drawing inspiration from the media and other authentic sources.  Flexibility and a willingness to engage with the broader life of the school is a prerequisite. An ability to teach German literature would be an advantage.  

In return we offer a generous salary and benefits package including a money purchase pension scheme (plus Life Assurance over), Employee Discount Club, discounted school fees for the Foundation Schools, discounted off-peak membership at our on-site gym (Nuffield Health), membership of a healthcare plan, a range of family-friendly benefits and season ticket loan.  

We welcome applications from all parts of our community as we aspire to attract staff that matches the social and cultural diversity of our student intake.  

For further information and an online application form, please visit www.whitgift.co.uk/vacancies.  For any queries, please telephone Andrew Hunt on 020 8688 9222 or e-mail   ajh@whitgift.co.uk.

Applications will be reviewed on a daily basis and we invite interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.  

Closing date is midnight on Monday 5th June.  Interviews will be during week commencing 12th June 2017.  

Whitgift School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening including checks with past employers and the Disclosure & Barring Service