Skip to main content
Tes home
SearchBack to search
Head of Year

Head of Year

Hitchin Boys' School

Hertfordshire

  • Expired
Salary:
MPS/UPS £30,000 to £46,525 + TLR 2b (£5,531)
Job type:
Full Time, Permanent
Start date:
September 2024
Apply by:
19 April 2024

Job overview

MPS/UPS  £30,000 to £46,525

+ TLR 2b (£5,531)

Start September 2024

Hitchin Boys’ School (HBS) is an outstanding and over-subscribed comprehensive school with a mixed sixth form, which forms part of the highly successful Hitchin Schools’ Consortium.  Located in the historic and picturesque market town of Hitchin in North Hertfordshire it is conveniently located 25 minutes from London by train and close to the A1(M) and M1.

An exceptional candidate is sought for the post of Head of Year in this successful and dynamic school.  Candidates will have the ability to create a positive ethos, encouraging achievement and celebrating success. They will work with Teachers, SLT and Heads of Department to ensure that student achievement is maximised.

The post is explicitly designed to marry the skillsets of an individual who is a capable and highly organised teacher with the ability to inspire and command the respect of a diverse Year Group of talented and impressive boys. It will act as a fantastic opportunity to be involved in enacting and facilitating the work of creating the conditions in which it is “Great to be a Hitchin Boy”.

The successful candidate will have great people skills and will be highly organised, they will have initiative and a desire to constantly improve things, they will be ambitious and qualified and will almost certainly have an intention of progressing further in the Pastoral branch of school. Most importantly they will be fully supportive of the all-round ethos and strategic vision of Hitchin Boys.

We welcome applicants with any subject specialism although Science, Economics, Maths and MFL would be desirable.

Key responsibilities:

  • Work closely with Senior Colleagues to maximise the potential of individual students in the year group.
  • Support, lead and delegate appropriately to the Tutor Team to ensure effectiveness of pastoral care.
  • Take a lead role in managing, monitoring and improving progress of individual students in the year group.
  • To be proactive in managing the conduct and securing the climate for learning in the year group using SIMS and PowerBi.
  • Monitor the quality of tutoring provided to students in the year group, in terms of reliability of registration, communication, guidance, monitoring and delivery of the tutor element of the PHSE&C programme.  
  • Be alert to safeguarding issues, log and pass on concerns as appropriate, deal confidentially and sensitively with parents and students experiencing difficulties. 
  • Provide Information, advice and guidance to support students and parents with transitions as appropriate.
  • Contribute significantly to the school’s analysis of progress data and exam results, self-evaluation and development planning (both short and long term) and provide leadership to whole school developments, as required.
  • Seek innovative ways to create positive influences on students’ ability to learn successfully.
  • Provide a point of contact for parents, students, staff and external agencies regarding students in their year group.
  • Take a leading role in the administration of sanctions and rewards for the year group.

The Pastoral Deputy, Mr Dami Ajagbonna, would be happy to talk to prospective applicants about the role and can be contacted via email in the first instance on: dajagbonna@hitchinboys.co.uk

What can HBS offer you?

  • A school with great traditions, excellent reputation but with a modern outlook
  • Students who are keen to learn having made Hitchin Boys’ their first choice
  • A dedicated, well qualified and experienced staff who share the goal enshrined in our school motto “Per Ardua Ad Alta” – Striving for Excellence
  • A campus that combines state of the art facilities with historic Grade II listed buildings
  • SLT commitment to supporting the mental, physical & emotional wellbeing of staff/students in the school.

Application deadline:  9am, Friday 19th April 2024

Interviews: w/c 22nd April

HBS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. An enhanced DBS check will be carried out for all posts.

HBS welcomes applications from all applicants who meet the requirements for the position, however we are especially keen to receive applications from those in minority groups for which the school is currently underrepresented. We celebrate diversity and thrive on the benefits it brings.

Link to the  HBS Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy

Attached documents

About Hitchin Boys' School

School image 1
School image 2
School image 3
School image 4
School image 5
School image 6
School image 7
+44 1462 432181

View on Google Maps

Visit employer website

Overview:

Hitchin Boys’ School (HBS) is a high achieving comprehensive school with nearly 1,400 pupils (aged 11-18) on roll and a mixed sixth form, which forms part of the highly successful Hitchin Schools’ Consortium. We have a history that stretches back nearly 400 years but embrace fresh thinking and a modern, vibrant curriculum. We have high expectations, excellent standards of behaviour and pride in our extra-curricular activities that lead to academically successful and well-rounded students who are well equipped for life beyond school.

♦ A highly performing school with an academic ethos, with every student making exceptional progress

♦ A broad curriculum, with over 30 subjects offered at A-level via the Hitchin Consortium

♦ Student attitudes and behaviour that Ofsted called ‘exemplary’ and ‘impeccable’

♦ A campus that is historic but has also had £5m+ invested in new facilities in recent years

♦ An ethos that emphasises both learning and life, with rich experiences beyond the classroom

♦ A ‘Blended Learning’ approach with Chromebooks used in lower school and laptops in sixth form

♦ A commitment to professional development, with a strong internal and external training offer

♦ A place to grow your career with the potential for wider responsibilities and to take part in an unrivalled offering for extra-curricular clubs, trips internationally and community projects.

Hitchin itself is a historic market town of approximately 35,000 inhabitants in North Hertfordshire 25 minutes from London by rail line and close to the A1(M) and M1.

Headteacher:  Mr Tim Bennett BA (Ed)

Our Ethos:

At Hitchin Boys’ we pride ourselves on offering a warm and friendly environment where our students are encouraged to fulfil their academic potential whilst developing a solid foundation of spiritual, social, moral and cultural awareness. Hitchin Boys’ School helps all students to achieve according to their ability, and we celebrate success in many ways other than exam grades, ensuring that all our students go on to the next step in their lives with a feeling of achievement and self-worth. We are committed to caring for each and every one of our students and helping them become well-rounded, successful young adults.

Following Ofsted's visit to Hitchin Boys' School in September 2021, we were delighted to announce that we have once again received top marks by retaining the judgement of ‘Outstanding’. Inspectors concluded that the curriculum at Hitchin Boys’ is highly ambitious for all students. It is designed very well and ensures pupils not only learn rich subject knowledge, but also grow in their awareness of the world around them. As the report noted, “The school is a calm place for pupils to learn and be themselves.” The full report is available on the school website (https://www.hbs.herts.sch.uk).

Facilities:

The school is a historic site itself with Grade II listed buildings as well as state of the art facilities which opened in 2019 including a 220-seater auditorium with cutting edge recording technology

The school has consistently been over-subscribed for many years, and Hertfordshire County Council provided funding which has enabled us to increase our facilities to accommodate an additional 45 students in every new intake. This has provided some financial support to help us through these difficult times in education, it also means that there will be new roles created within the school to manage demands both academic and pastoral of these increased numbers.

Curriculum:

From 2018 the school has an 8-form entry school and runs a 25-period week. For most subjects students are taught in these groups until Year 8 when some setting takes place. Class sizes are low overall. Strong consortium links exist with the other local secondary schools, Hitchin Girls’ and The Priory School.

The curriculum has always been broad and balanced with an explicit commitment to maintaining the full range of learning, knowledge, understanding and skills in all aspects of the students’ education, including the humanities and linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technical, social, physical and artistic learning.

All students in KS4 study the usual core of English, Maths and Science, and also either History or Geography (or both in many cases) and almost every boy studies a Modern Foreign Language up to GCSE and then a wide range of option choices. The creative aspects of learning in Art, Drama and Music and Technology play a significant part in the life of the school. The uptake of Science & Maths is very strong in 6th Form and with large groups taking all humanities subjects (History, Geography, Sociology, Philosophy & Ethics) to A-Level, it is fair to say that the school provides significant breadth ensuring students keep their options for life open as long as possible.

Examination results:

Pupils traditionally score well at public examination, with over 80% going into the sixth form from Year 11 and our students continue to achieve at the highest level. 2023 public exams results are referenced below and are consistently above national averages. The following highlights are from the DFE performance tables, https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/

¨ Over a third of GCSE results are at grade 7 or above.

¨ Progress 8 score of 0.39 (above average)

¨ 71% of pupils achieving grade 5 or above in English and Maths.

¨ Attainment 8 score of 57.1

¨ At A level (2019) a progress score of 0.2 (above average)

Extra-curricular programme:

Extra-curricular activities are an important part of school life. Over 500 students playing representative sport for the school, over 250 students learning and performing music on an extra-curricular basis, a thriving House system and many other clubs, societies and events. The annual musical theatre production runs over three days every year involving upwards of 50 students and 10 staff (Lucky Stiff 2024, Young Frankenstein 2023). We hold three main charity events every year raising in the region of £ 9,000 each time. Sporting excellence is also a defining feature of the school in many sports. In 2022 the school won the national rugby competition. Finally, it would be difficult to list all the opportunities for extra-curricular school trips students because there are so many ranging from day trips to art galleries to life-changing trips abroad such as China, Malaysia, Iceland and Japan.

It is this determination to give students the best possible experience both in and outside the classroom which characterises Hitchin Boys’ School and we hope this has given you a flavour of the variety, breadth and success of our school – of which you may soon become an important part!

Please note that you are wholly responsible for fact checking in respect of the information provided by schools. Please also check for the latest visa and work permit requirements that may apply. Tes is not responsible for the content of advertisements or the policies adopted by advertising schools. Tes asks that all schools follow Tes' Fair Recruitment Policy.

Applications closed