Head of English

ST MARY’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Newcastle upon Tyne

Headteacher: E Patterson NOR c.1450

Head of English

Full-time - Permanent 

Main or Upper Pay Range + TLR 1 £10,202

Required for September 2021

The Governors wish to appoint an excellent Head of English to lead our flourishing English department.  The successful candidate will lead and contribute to a department that prides itself on very high standards of teaching and learning. There will be a need to work closely with the Deputy Heads of Department, to build on the existing strengths of our English department, to ensure that achievement, teaching, the curriculum and leadership and management, all remain first-class, at each key stage.  The successful candidate will require the necessary skills and experience to develop the practice of staff within the department by providing leadership, motivation and training.  This role should appeal both to candidates seeking their first significant leadership post, or to more experienced candidates already in a leadership role, looking to develop in an outstanding school which is totally committed to English. This post has arisen, due to the internal promotion of the current post holder to Assistant Headteacher from September 2021.

St Mary’s is a great place to work and provides excellent job satisfaction, as it is a very supportive environment. We provide excellent CPD for NQTs and recently qualified teachers, as well as on-going training for more experienced teachers. There are opportunities for teachers at all levels to help develop teaching and learning across the school, working collaboratively with teachers from other departments, whether as coaches, researchers or SLEs. The working environment is, therefore, a very stimulating one for all staff and is an added attraction of this post.

St Mary’s is widely recognised as a consistently high performing school, rated Outstanding by the Diocese and Ofsted.  DfE Performance Tables confirm the school’s exceptional academic performance at each key stage and in each curriculum area.  Outcomes have been in the top 10% nationally consistently over many years.  We are very popular with parents and one of the most oversubscribed schools in the north-east.  We have around 1200 students in the main school and our Sixth Form of over 250 is expected to grow to around 300 in the next couple of years.  We have fantastic teaching and support staff and also benefit from superb facilities in a lovely building which opened in 2011 and has been subsequently extended.    We joined the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust in June 2020. 

At St Mary’s, English is a well-established and highly respected department with excellent results. Recent highlights include:-

Key Stage 4

• 90% of pupils achieved grade 4 and above in the challenging new specifications in English Language and Literature in 2019, and 41% achieved a grade 7 or above.  
• Consistently outstanding Progress scores in English, averaging +0.57 over the past 3 years.  

Key Stage 5

• 100% pass rate in A Level Language and A Level Literature over the last 3 years.
• 100% A* - C in A Level courses offered by the department in 2018 and 2019. 
• In English Language A level in 2019, 70% of students achieved A*-A, whilst in English Literature this figure was 63%. 

Leadership, teaching and the climate for learning in English are all outstanding, as they are across the whole school.

Above all, the Governors wish to appoint a leader with:-

• A clear commitment to nurturing and promoting the school’s distinctive ethos
• A passion for providing the best possible holistic education for all students
• A commitment to maximising achievement through excellence in teaching and learning
• An excellent track record as a classroom teacher
• The ability to promote a love of learning English in our students

Application packs are available to download from our school website, or by e-mailing the Director of Finance and Support Services, louise.douds@st-marys.newcastle.sch.uk.  If you require any further information about the post, please do not hesitate to contact Suzanne Fisher, Acting Deputy Headteacher or Anne Clough, Head of English on 0191 215 3260.

Closing date: 9.00am on Monday 19th April.  

The school is fully committed to safeguarding and the welfare of children and young people.  This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.