Head of Music

We are excited to advertise a unique opportunity for an inspirational Head of Music to take over the leadership of the all-through (from age 3 to 18) music curriculum at the North East’s leading independent girls’ day school.  

Our thriving Music Department is at the heart of our school and enjoys a prominent place in the curriculum and co-curriculum. Teaching Music up to A level, the successful applicant will have the skills and drive to build on the department’s strong reputation for musical excellence which has been cultivated, with great success, by the present post-holder. 

All teaching staff at NHSG have high expectations of young people; we are committed to ensuring that the pupils in our care can achieve their full educational and personal potential and establish respectful, trusting, supportive and constructive relationships with them.  

Music at NHSG

Music is embedded in every aspect of NHSG, both in academic and co-curricular life, from nursery to A Level, alongside our highly regarded Drama and Dance departments, to ensure that Music and the Performing Arts, as a whole, are celebrated and can shine.

You will join another directly employed music teacher and 12 visiting music teachers - teaching a wide range of instruments across all age groups - and be supported by a full-time performing arts technician. A majority of the girls in both Senior and Junior Schools receive peripatetic tuition on an instrument or voice, which creates further musical opportunities in school. 

Music facilities and resources are excellent at both our Junior and Senior School. Our acoustically designed facilities at the Senior School include a Recording Studio, a music ICT suite - equipped with iMacs used for Sibelius, Garageband and Logic, a purpose-built performance space for teaching and smaller recitals, a bespoke music classroom and a suite of practice rooms.  At our Junior School, we have a large and well-equipped music classroom alongside a number of individual practice rooms. In addition to our beautiful Junior School hall (a former chapel), we have a 420 seat performance venue at the Senior School, designed and equipped to professional theatre standard.

Opportunities to perform are regular and widespread throughout the year and include spring and summer concerts, solo recitals, workshops, Battle of the Bands, and our flagship annual school musical, which is of a professional standard and occurs alternately at the Northern Stage, Newcastle and in our own performance venue. 

Our pupils also have the opportunity to perform at our prizegiving ceremony, which is hosted annually at the internationally acclaimed Sage Gateshead concert hall and at other prestigious venues across the UK, as part of the GDST’s wider programme of co-curricular events and activities.

Curriculum Music is compulsory from EYFS to the end of Key Stage 3, and GCSE and A Level Music are popular options - both taught using the EDUQAS specification, which allows pupils to explore the music that excites them the most.

Our pupils go on to a variety of careers including Conservatoire study and courses around the UK and worldwide. In recent years, these have included Oxbridge, Leeds, and Memphis (USA). 

About the School

NHSG is the leading academic independent girls’ day school in the North East of England. Our pupils are ambitious, bright, enthusiastic and eager to learn, and we offer a warm and supportive community. We occupy a number of sites in suburban, leafy, Jesmond and Sandyford, close to Newcastle city centre with excellent transport links.  As part of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), the UK’s leading network of independent girls’ schools, we can offer a variety of benefits, including:

• Competitive rate of pay and conditions
• Membership of the GDST Flexible Pension Plan
• Access to the extensive GDST central training and development programme
• Training grants for obtaining further qualifications
• Discounted fees for children at GDST schools
• Free lunches and refreshments are provided to all staff during term time
• Free parking available for school staff
• Season Ticket Loans: Interest free loans for travel are available to staff to enable them to buy annual season tickets
• Computer Loans: Interest free loans are available to staff to enable them to buy a computer for personal use at home
• Cycle Scheme: The School is part of the scheme which enables staff to purchase bicycles and equipment at a tax advantageous rate and pay for the equipment over 12 months
• A great working environment, atmosphere and location

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

Closing date: Monday 28th November 2022 (12 noon). Interviews will take place on 

Monday 5th December 2022 and you must be available on that date.

The GDST is committed to diversity, inclusion and real change: a family where every individual is valued, respected and included.

NHSG and GDST are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.  Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the DBS. Applications will be considered only from candidates who are eligible to work in the UK.