Head of Modern Foreign Languages

HEADTEACHER’S WELCOME

Our school was founded 400 years ago by Dame Alice Owen, a remarkable philanthropist with an unusually modern vision for education. She established the first school in Islington and, as demand outstripped space, it moved to its current setting, in the Hertfordshire countryside, in 1976.

Today, Owen’s is an exciting place to work where “staff overwhelmingly feel well cared for” and behaviour is “exemplary.” [Ofsted December 2023] Ours is a school where teachers love talking about teaching and learning, where relationships between students and staff are positive and strong, and where we do what we can to keep workload manageable. 

We are never complacent; we are always looking for marginal gains in order to keep what we do reasonable, but exciting. It is the combination of interested students, dedicated staff, supportive parents, a rigorous and empathetic Governing Body and school leadership team (staff and student) which makes our school such a special place to be.

Dame Alice Owen’s School is a mixed, partially selective secondary school with approximately 1,440 students including over 400 in our vibrant and highly successful sixth form. Our school benefits from some of the most able students in the country. In the 2023 A level examinations; 60% of all A level grades were A*-A with 82% of grades being awarded A*-B. In GCSE examinations, students achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 71.2 and a Progress 8 score of 0.63 with 24% of all grades awarded at level 9 and 95% of students achieving 5 or more grades 9 – 4 including English and Maths. Many of our school leavers from Year 13 have offers from top universities to choose from, including an average of 24 places at Oxbridge each year.

We were delighted to be recognised as ‘The Sunday Times Regional School of the Decade’ in 2020 and the country’s highest ranking non-fully selective state school of the year many times over. Securing a place at Owen’s has been described as “winning the lottery” in the Good School Guide, “the golden ticket” in Tatler and Ofsted judged us “outstanding” in all categories in December 2023, with no areas for improvement.

WHY WORK AT OWEN’S SCHOOL

At Dame Alice Owen’s, we appreciate that when staff are well looked after, and conditions are right for learning, students and staff thrive.

Owen’s has a relaxed, supportive environment, the atmosphere is friendly and collegial and staff are nurtured and supported. Students at Owen's are engaged, well-motivated and behavioural issues are rare and well managed. Therefore, it is a place where you can focus your energies on developing effective teaching and learning strategies and grow as a practitioner. The Senior Leadership team are fully aware of the importance of a good work life balance and are mindful of this when supporting the teams they line manage. Meetings are kept to a minimum, as is cover, courtesy of a team of dedicated cover supervisors. There are regular, whole staff and departmental social events throughout the year, and, with a nod to our 400 year old traditions, Owen’s is often a fun and interesting place to be.

Teaching at Owen's is not just a job; it's a fulfilling and rewarding experience that goes beyond the classroom, positively shaping both students' futures and teachers' careers. If you would like to work in a school where your passion for education can truly flourish, Owen's is the perfect place for you.

In addition to this, we also offer a variety of benefits including:

• Access to an Employee Assistance Package, which provides staff with a wide range of health and wellbeing services including physio sessions and 24 hour access to a
  GP;
  Excellent facilities and resources including a Fitness Suite which is open to all staff for certain hours outside of the school day;
  Free on school site parking;
  Staff child places, in line with our admissions procedures;
  A great location - the school is situated on an attractive 35-acre site in the Green Belt. Central London is easily reached, in 15 minutes, by rail from Potters Bar and
  the school is close to motorway links.

Hear from members of our Staff in the video below about why they enjoy working at Dame Alice Owen’s School.