Head of English

Thank you for the interest you have shown in the role of Head of English at the Robert Napier School.

We are seeking a well-qualified, enthusiastic Head of English to build on the excellent work of the outgoing post holder and to take the English Department onto the next stage of its journey. The English team is a highly qualified, effective and stable team, who deliver high quality lessons to all students in keys stages 3 and 4. English is also an option at sixth form, with the team responsible for the delivery of A Level English as well as GCSE resit English where necessary.

This is an exciting opportunity for a middle leader to make their mark, by leading our large English team to achieving the best outcomes from our students, through the continued development of the high-quality pedagogy embedded across the school. The successful candidate will be looking to build on the successes of recent years at GCSE, whilst developing the sixth form curriculum to attract more students to take up the key stage 5 offer.

Based in the heart of the Medway Towns, The Robert Napier School is a non-selective, mixed secondary school of 1100 students, including 130 in the Sixth Form. The school is an eclectic mix of the old and the new, with the original buildings constructed in the 1850s when the school was the original ‘Gillingham Grammar School’. Since then, the school has grown to include a range of buildings, the most recent being the ‘Caxton’ block, formally opened in 2011. The school has excellent facilities including state of the art ICT provision, a purpose built lecture theatre, retractable bleacher seating in the hall to accommodate up to 380 people, a permanent stage with full lighting and sound rig, a multi-use games area, large playing fields and excellent sports facilities. The school also provides specialist Access to Mainstream Provision for vulnerable students, as well as a dedicated Visually Impaired unit.

The school is a proud member of the Beyond Schools Trust. Working in partnership with The Robert Napier School, the Trust is made up of Fort Pitt Grammar School for Girls, The Thomas Aveling School, Balfour Primary School and Phoenix Junior School. All the schools are located within a 5-mile radius and work closely to provide an outstanding education and opportunities for the children of Medway.

In January 2019, the school was delighted to be rated Good by Ofsted, having been rated requiring improvement and satisfactory in its three previous inspections. This was well deserved recognition of the hard work and dedication of the staff to drive improvements. The school continue to drive standards in all areas of the school, to ensure the students receive the best quality education and opportunities.

We value our staff, investing in their training and development at all stages of their career. Comprehensive, individualised training plans are drawn up for all staff, designed to meet their needs and enable them to take the next step in their career. New staff engage in a comprehensive induction programme and are allocated a mentor to help them settle into their new role.