Head
King Alfred School
Barnet
- Expired
- Salary:
- Competitive
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- September 2026
- Apply by:
- 27 May 2025
Job overview
The Council of The King Alfred School (KAS) invite applications for the role of Head from September 2026 to succeed Robert Lobatto after 11 years of exceptional service. This is a rare opportunity for an inspirational and forward-thinking educationalist to lead a thriving and vibrant school.
KAS adopts a progressive approach to education through its innovative curriculum, focussing on the whole child’s academic and personal success. Located on the fringes of Hampstead, in two green and leafy wooded settings, it is informal, relational, co-educational, mixed ability and non-denominational. Since its foundation in 1898, KAS has been committed to education reform and is a leading voice in current educational change through its co-founding role in Rethinking Assessment.
There are currently more than 700 pupils from ages 4-18 in the School, which is spread across two sites: Manor Wood, which houses most of the School, and Ivy Wood, which houses the Reception and Year 1 classes, the design and technology centre, and the Phoenix Theatre. In 2022, the ISI’s most recent inspection of KAS judged the quality of pupils’ academic and personal development as ‘excellent’.
The next Head will inherit excellent foundations upon which to shape the School’s future development with energy, vision and aspiration. The Head will work collaboratively alongside a dedicated school community to further cement KAS’s position as an innovative school at the forefront of education research and development.
The successful candidate will be wholeheartedly committed to the School’s unique purpose, values and ambitions, with tangible ambition to become a figurehead for the future of education. The successful candidate will be naturally outward-facing and forward-thinking with a strategic mindset that will build upon the School’s existing successes whilst bringing to bear exciting plans for the future.
Further information on KAS can be found via the School’s website - www.kingalfred.org.uk
A candidate brief can be downloaded from www.odgers.com/92452
Letters of application, CVs and completed application forms should be submitted by the closing date of 9am, Tuesday 27 May 2025.
The King Alfred School 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 (DBS).
Attached documents
About King Alfred School
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King Alfred School is an informal independent day school situated on the edge of Hampstead Heath in London. With over 700 students from Reception age through to a flourishing Sixth Form, we are a vibrant and friendly community where the emphasis, both academically and socially, is on discovering and maximising the potential of each child.
The school stands out from the prevailing educational environment as a school which achieves academic success without unnecessary pressures and social success through the development of relationships and responsibility rather than external discipline. At the heart of our ethos is a child-centred approach. We appreciate that every child is unique, and we get to know every individual. It is a school that is genuinely loved by students, parents and staff alike.
The village green setting of the main school site contributes to the community feeling with Lower School classrooms all opening out directly onto the play areas, parents encouraged to spend time in the grounds and all children offered opportunities for outdoor learning. Most children will join at Reception and continue on to the Sixth Form. Transition from Lower to Upper School is a natural one and for KAS students does not depend on assessments or examinations.
KAS is divided into two parts (Lower School: Reception to Year 6 and Upper School: Year 7 to 13), but we operate as one school in which all parts belong to a whole. Age groups are encouraged to mix, with Upper School students helping out in Lower School, and so enrich each other’s lives.
We offer a wide curriculum with specialist teachers in Lower School covering subjects outside the core areas: Information Technology, French, Art, PE and Music. In the Upper School GCSE studies include six core subjects and three optional subjects and students all take part in Choice afternoon where they can choose from a range of non-academic activities. At Sixth Form students usually take three A levels and we offer a full range of subjects alongside the UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Performing Arts & Production Arts and The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). All students are also involved in a wide range of enrichment activities and there is a huge variety of after school clubs available.
The King Alfred School is a happy, compassionate school in which the emotional, physical and social development of our students are held in equal regard to their academic progress.
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