Head - Blackheath High School

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) as the next Head of Blackheath High School.

Blackheath is a wonderful school which provides 740 girls aged 3 to 18 with a broad and holistic education. Rated “excellent” in the most recent ISI Inspection (2022), Blackheath High School is a dynamic and innovative school where co-curricular activities are valued, pastoral care is strong and achievement is high. Girls have thrived in an environment which has been tailored to their needs since 1880 and the Blackheath pioneering spirit lives on today; the young women who leave Blackheath have the ambition, confidence, courage and intellectual rigour to flourish, no matter where their life takes them. Blackheath continues to evolve and to provide an education that challenges perceptions and widens the horizons of the diverse student body.

Just five miles from Canary Wharf and eight miles from central London, the School benefits from all that the capital has to offer while enjoying the village atmosphere and extensive heathland of Blackheath itself. £18 million has been invested in Blackheath in the last five years, providing state of the art facilities and ensuring that the physical site matches the excellent standard of education on offer.

The Chief Executive and Trustees of the GDST are looking for an energetic and talented Head, who can build on Blackheath’s current strengths who will ensure it remains at the cutting edge of educational innovation and achievement. In joining GDST, you will become part of a varied and inspiring group of Heads, all working together, alongside and supported by experts across the organisation, to shape the future of girls’ education.

The next Head will promote and raise the School’s distinctive profile within a competitive local market, and develop further the quality of the academic, pastoral and co-curricular provision. The Trust would welcome applications from aspiring or existing Heads but are looking for the potential to become an inspiring leader for this community. The successful candidate will be a first-class communicator, an outstanding partnership facilitator and a visionary academic leader who can set the highest standards for attainment and inspire the idea-makers of the future. A forward-looking approach and a strong belief in the value of girls’ education are essential. 

Applications are welcomed from educationalists with senior leadership experience, who would relish the opportunity to lead this progressive school through its exciting next phase.  We encourage applications from all backgrounds recognising the importance that the leadership at Blackheath reflects the diversity of the community which it serves as best as possible.

For further details and to apply please click the apply button.

The closing date for applications is 17:00 on Friday 16th December 2022.

Safeguarding

The GDST Safeguarding Strategy forms a fundamental part of our approach to providing excellent pastoral care to all pupils, including those who may be over the age of 18 years.  We believe that all pupils, regardless of age, sex, special needs or disability, racial/cultural heritage, religion or belief, gender identity and sexual orientation have the right to protection from all types of harm and abuse and the promotion of their welfare. 

We recognise that Safeguarding covers much more than child protection, and so this strategy will operate in conjunction with related policies and procedures, such as the GDST Teacher Standards and effective whole school policies on Anti-Bullying, Behaviour Management, ICT Acceptable Use, Social Media and Online Safety.

Our approach to safeguarding is based on, and reflects the current principles recognised in UK legislation and statutory guidance, including those around maintaining confidentiality and reporting concerns about pupils likely to suffer significant harm to the child protection agencies.

We are committed to working in partnership with pupils, parents and child protection agencies to continuously develop and improve the Safeguarding Culture within our schools.