Head of KS5 Mathematics
Comberton Village College
Cambridgeshire
- Expired
- Job type:
- Full Time, Part Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- April 2019
- Apply by:
- 14 January 2019
Job overview
We are a highly successful, community mixed comprehensive school with Teaching School status in a pleasant rural setting only 5 miles from the centre of Cambridge. We currently have around 1800 11-18 pupils on roll including our sixth form centre that opened in September 2011.
Our pupils are well motivated, staff morale is excellent and examination results at KS4 are outstanding: in summer 2018 the total grades at 9-7/A*-A were 42%, 9-4/A*-C were 92% with 88% of pupils achieving at least a grade 4 in English and maths. Our Progress 8 figure in 2018 was +0.78 which placed us in the top 5% of all secondary schools. At KS5, the Sixth Form’s results are in the top 5% nationally for student progress made against predictors, with 36% of all grades in 2018 at A*/A grades. The school has consistently been rated by Ofsted as Outstanding over very many years; at the last full inspection we were rated as Outstanding in every measure.
We are seeking to appoint an excellent teacher to develop our leadership capacity within the maths department. The successful candidate would take a lead with our team of sixth form mathematics teachers. Attainment in maths is exceptional: 89% of pupils were awarded at least a grade 4 at GCSE, with 40% awarded at least grade 7 and over 10% gaining the highest grade 9. At KS5, 35% of pupils were awarded at least a grade A and 88% of pupils awarded at least a grade C.
Recruitment into Comberton Sixth Form continues to strengthen and a high proportion of students choose to study maths. We now have two groups studying further maths in year 12, and a number of pupils are planning to continue to maths degrees at leading universities. As early adopters of the Core Maths qualification you could also teach this exciting new course.
Our philosophy is to play to the strengths in our team: we have colleagues who are involved with NRICH and the teaching of problem solving. Others specialise in sixth-form teaching and have attended or delivered the TAM or TFM courses. Comberton Village College is now an AMSP Partner school and an AMSP Area Coordinator is based at our college.
The department are involved with a number of NCETM and Maths Hub projects and have been working with ICCAMS to develop the early algebra skills in our youngest pupils. We are proud to be a teaching school and many members of the department have a significant focus on initial teacher education and continuing professional development. We look forward to welcoming new team members and the ideas they bring to the department.
We have a strong track record of supporting and developing our teaching staff. Our programme includes:
• Supporting colleagues moving into their first leadership role through the Developing Middle Leaders programme. Or, for those with more experience, the NPQML programme.
• For experienced teachers the school appreciates the need for time out to reflect on what makes excellent practice. Teachers are offered a place on the Developing Outstanding Teaching programme which features four days looking at high-level skills and strategies for the classroom including a focus on how coaching and mentoring can develop other colleagues and lead change in the department.
• Many of our maths teachers have been supported to complete their Master’s in Education degree.
• Access to the development opportunities offered through our teaching school alliance (camteach.org.uk) and our Maths Hub (cambridgemathshub.org).
This is an exciting time to join our maths department: Cam Academy Trust are proud to be the base for the Cambridge Maths Hub. In this role we are helping every school and college access locally-tailored and quality support to develop the teaching and learning of mathematics. Many new members of the Comberton maths department have gone on to lead workgroups for the Maths Hub.
THE VACANCY
The post will become available from April 2019 and arises due to the ongoing growth of the school and trust. The person appointed will be expected to teach mathematics across all key stages at Comberton Village College. There may also be the potential opportunity to work in other secondary schools within the CAM Academy Trust.
We are seeking to appoint someone who has:
• good organisational skills
excellent communication and presentational skills
• outstanding teaching ability
• excellent subject knowledge
• an understanding of current developments in maths education
• a commitment to contributing to the success of the whole college
• confidence in the use of ICT to enhance learning in the maths classroom
The post would provide excellent opportunity for personal development within a well organised and forward looking department and a school that has professional development as a core value.
As you will now be aware, we know our Maths Department is outstanding, but all of us are aware that a good department has to be constantly reviewing and developing its philosophy and practice.
The successful candidate will need to meet the requirements of the general teacher job description and person specification on the college website.
We believe the College can offer you a very good professional environment and a lively and friendly place in which to work. If you like what you have read and would like to be part of Comberton Village College, we would welcome your application.
All staff are inducted in child protection processes and have a responsibility to operate within the school’s framework in this.
If you would like to join us, please return your application to compersonnel@combertonvc.org, or via the post, by 9 am on Monday 15 January 2019. If you wish to discuss the post further or to arrange a visit, please contact Jamie Freeman, Head of Mathematics, at the College via email jfreeman@combertonvc.org
Attached documents
About Comberton Village College
- Comberton Village College
- West Street, Comberton, Cambridge
- Cambridgeshire
- CB23 7DU
- United Kingdom
We are a highly successful, community mixed comprehensive school with Teaching School status in a pleasant rural setting only 5 miles from the centre of Cambridge. We currently have around 1,800 11-18 pupils on roll including our new sixth form centre that opened in September 2011. Our pupils are well motivated, staff morale is excellent and examination results at KS4 are outstanding: 78% of grades including Maths and English were A*-C and 39% of grades were A*/A: At KS5, the Sixth Form’s results are in the top 5% nationally for student progress made against predictors, with 38% of all grades in 2016 at A*/A grades.
The College
Comberton Village College was opened in 1960. As a Cambridgeshire Village College, it was designed to be a centre for the life of its community and to provide quality education for pupils aged between 11 and 16. This remains the case today.
In 1974, the school became fully comprehensive and, in April 1993, it became grant-maintained. It changed to a Foundation School and more recently became a Foundation School with a Trust: the Comberton Educational Trust. In February 2011 the school became an Academy overseen by the CAM Academy Trust. The pupil roll is around 1,800 while over 2,000 adults use the college for a wide range of continuing education and leisure activities. A £7 million building programme was completed in 2003 that has significantly enhanced a whole range of the school’s facilities, including major new leisure facilities. A further £4 million building project provided further specialist teaching and learning facilities across a range of subject areas and has been in use since September 2009.
Our Sixth Form opened in September 2011 following the completion of a £9.5 million building project. It offers a strong suite of academic courses, across the subject areas in conjunction with The AQA Baccalaureate, as well as applied courses. This exciting development has enabled students from Comberton to complete their sixth-form studies with us as well as providing opportunities for students from other local schools. There are already over 320 students in the Sixth Form and this is set to expand further.
The Cam Academy Trust
In 2011, the Comberton Academy Trust (C.A.T.) was formed, enabling Comberton Village College to convert to Academy status in 2011. the Trust has continued to expand and in 2016 was renamed the Cam Academy Trust. The Trust now has the following schools:
· Comberton Village College, an 11-18 Academy, is the initial school which formed what is now The Cam Academy Trust
· Melbourn Village College, an 11-16 Academy in Cambridgeshire. This Academy joined the Trust in September 2013.
· Cambourne Village College, an 11-16 Academy in Cambridgeshire, close to Comberton Village College. This has been opened as a new Free School by the Trust from September 2013, initially with an intake of Year 7 students only. It serves the new and developing community of Cambourne that was formally in the catchment area of Comberton Village College. Numbers of staff are now teaching at both Cambourne and Comberton Village Colleges as both Academies work extremely closely together.
· Gamlingay First School and St Peter’s, Huntingdon, both joined us in September 2016.
· Hartford Infants and Hartford Juniors joined us in January 2017.
Jeavons Wood Primary School is set to join the Trust this year and there is the possibility that the Trust could develop further, although this remains an open question. We are seeking to ensure that all Academies in the Trust work in effective partnership with each other and that there are opportunities for staff to share ideas and resources. For some staff, there will be opportunities to work in more than one Academy.
Standards
Comberton Village College has received a full Ofsted inspection on three occasions since 2000: in 2004, 2007 and 2013. On each occasion, the overall effectiveness grade has been ‘outstanding’. In the latest inspection in 2013, every aspect of the school’s provision was judged to be ‘outstanding’. This included the first ever judgement on Sixth Form provision where both teaching and achievement were both clearly deemed already to be ‘outstanding’. The short summary was:
“Comberton Village College is a highly successful school which enables its pupils to achieve not only academic excellence but also to become mature, confident, thoughtful and rounded individuals with clear goals for their future lives”.
Broad Education
The school’s formal day runs from 8.30 a.m. to 2.50 p.m. with 6 timetabled lessons of 50 minutes each day. Pupils see their tutors daily and have a weekly assembly.
However, we believe that true education is broad and should develop character and individual interest. Given this, there is also a very full and wide-ranging extra-curricular programme that runs each day from 3.00 p.m. There are also many school trips and visits, both national and international. We have significant school partnerships that involve exchanges in Europe, Peru, South Africa and Mozambique.
We consider the following as very important:
· Our major Duke of Edinburgh programme. Most pupils do the Bronze award with many continuing to Silver. Some now also progress to the Gold award in our Sixth Form.
· We have held the Arts Mark Gold Award for a number of years, a symbol of our commitment to excellence and breadth in Arts education and provision.
· We have been accredited as a British Council International School since 2002, a sign of our commitment to the international dimension of education.
Aims and Values
At the heart of what we do are fundamental aims and values relating to education. The Cam Academy Trust has five core principles that must be central to all Academies in the Trust. These have been at the heart of Comberton Village College for many years:
· The Excellence Principle. Education must be of highest of standards and lead to high achievement.
· The Comprehensive Principle. Excellent education must be for all pupils of all types and abilities.
· The Henry Morris Principle. Education should be rooted in and serve its local community.
· The Partnership Principle. We should always look to work in effective partnership with others for mutual benefit.
· The International Principle. There must be a clear international dimension to education.
Within these over-arching principles, we seek to ensure that all of our pupils reach their full, positive potential and become:
CAPABLE in the skills relevant to their future lives and in having the knowledge which will increase their understanding, appreciation and interest in the world in which they live.
CARING of others and considerate of the mutual dependence human beings have on each other.
CONFIDENT of their worth because they have developed their strengths, understood their weaknesses and learnt that they can achieve success.
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