Musical Theatre Associate (Prep School)
Forest School
Waltham Forest
- £32,000 - £36,500 per year
- Quick apply
- Expired
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- September 2025
- Apply by:
- 5 March 2025
Job overview
Join Forest Prep School: A Place Where Talent Thrives
As Forest Prep continues to expand, we are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for an exceptional Musical Theatre Associate to join our outstanding team from September 2025.
At Forest Prep, we are ambitious in our vision and uncompromising in our pursuit of excellence. Our pupils flourish in an environment where creativity is celebrated, and the performing arts are embedded in the fabric of school life. From dynamic productions and inspiring masterclasses to a rich and diverse co-curricular offering, musical theatre plays a vital role in nurturing confidence, creativity, and collaboration among our pupils.
This is an opportunity for an outstanding musical theatre practitioner to shape and inspire the next generation of performers. Whether directing a large-scale musical, coaching individual pupils, or collaborating with other departments to deliver innovative interdisciplinary projects, you will be at the heart of an exciting and expanding Performing Arts programme.
Why Forest Prep?
At Forest, we do things differently. We believe that education is not just about achieving academic success, but about fostering a lifelong love of learning, curiosity, and self-expression. Our commitment to excellence extends beyond the classroom, ensuring pupils leave us as confident, articulate, and resilient individuals.
This same ethos applies to our staff. We invest heavily in professional development, ensuring that every member of the team is empowered to refine their craft, explore new ideas, and contribute to an evolving educational landscape. Our Professional Learning Programme is both ambitious and extensive, featuring regular seminars, access to StepLab, LinkedIn Learning, and The National College, as well as the opportunity to learn from leading experts in the field. Recent guest speakers have included Tom Sherrington, who presented on curriculum strategy and design.
As our Good Schools Guide Review (2023) suggests, Forest is a ‘flourishing, successful and well-led school in a glorious, green setting with consistently strong results that don’t require pupils to sacrifice happiness or wellbeing on the way to achieving them… an education that’s so genuinely rounded you could make hoops from it.’
We believe that working at Forest Prep should be as fulfilling and inspiring as teaching here, which is why we offer an exceptional benefits package that recognises and rewards our staff.
A Culture of Excellence and Wellbeing
Forest Prep has long been recognised for its commitment to both academic and personal development. As described in the Good Schools Guide (2023), Forest is a “flourishing, successful, and well-led school in a glorious, green setting, where pupils achieve consistently strong results without sacrificing happiness or wellbeing.”
We are a school that takes pride in its dynamic, ambitious, and collaborative culture, where teachers and pupils alike are encouraged to take creative risks, develop their skills, and strive for excellence. This is a place where ideas flourish, new approaches are embraced, and the arts are celebrated at every level.
What We Offer
We recognise that great teachers deserve an environment in which they can thrive. Key benefits of working at Forest Prep include:
- A generous CPD budget, significantly beyond what is available in the maintained sector, supporting your professional growth and specialist training.
- An inspiring and collaborative work environment, where creativity, innovation, and professional dialogue are encouraged.
- Access to world-class training and development, including StepLab, LinkedIn Learning, and The National College.
- A stunning campus, set within ancient woodland, with outstanding facilities and a blend of Georgian, Victorian, and modernist architecture.
- A highly engaged and motivated pupil body, where musical theatre is valued, supported, and thriving.
- A thriving co-curricular scene, offering scope to develop personal interests and expertise beyond the classroom.
- A generous holiday entitlement, far beyond that offered in the maintained sector (on average, 17 weeks per year).
- A three-course, high-quality lunch every day, served in the staff dining hall, with a takeaway sandwich option available.
- A 20% fee remission (pro-rata for part-time staff) for children attending Forest, applicable from Year 3 to Year 13.
- Subsidised membership to the Sylvestrian Leisure Centre, Forest’s on-site gym and leisure facility.
- Access to the School’s Group Life Assurance scheme, Personal Accident Scheme, and contributions towards private medical insurance.
Be Part of Something Exceptional
This is an opportunity to join a school where the arts are truly valued and where your expertise will have a tangible impact on the development of pupils and the wider school community. If you are an inspirational performer and practitioner, with a passion for musical theatre and a commitment to excellence, we encourage you to apply.
Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, so early applications are encouraged. The School reserves the right to make an appointment at any stage.
Closing Date: Friday 7 March 2025, 12:00 midday
Interviews: Week commencing 10 March 2025
For more information about Forest Prep School and our thriving Performing Arts programme, visit www.forest.org.uk/prep.
Commitment to Safeguarding
Forest School is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All applicants must be willing to undergo appropriate child protection screening, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
We are an equal opportunities employer, and we welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds.
Attached documents
About Forest School
Surrounded by ancient forest and only thirty minutes from central London, Forest School is an outstanding independent day school located on the edge of Epping Forest. Forest is a large, diverse, and vibrant school, with approximately 1,500 pupils from 4 to 18. Forest is an open-minded school with both feet on the ground, in which the pupils’ all-round personal development is outstanding and academic attainment is high. It is, above all, a happy school which understands the rich inter-relationship between the curricular, the co-curricular and the pastoral. There is boldness in the school’s character, a readiness to be forward-thinking and adaptable, with pride in what we are and excitement for what lies ahead.
Our traditional House structure means that each pupil is treated as an individual, of whom we have the highest expectations, while our size enables us to offer breadth and depth of opportunity. Foresters are ‘known, liked and valued’ and this is central to our educational philosophy.
As one of the largest day schools in HMC, Forest abounds with opportunities for professional and career development. Teachers at Forest are rarely just confined to their subject area and all staff are encouraged to play an active role in Forest’s enviable super-curricular and co-curricular programme, with opportunities to lead in clubs and activities as diverse as Model United Nations, Extended Project Qualification, Jedi Warrior Lightsabre Fencing, Chapel Choir, Music Technology and Cricket, to give but a few examples. The ambition, richness, and distinct nature of the integrated curriculum at Forest offers our staff with an unparalleled experience of a modern and holistic education in our beautiful London setting. As our Good Schools Guide Review (2023) suggests Forest is a ‘flourishing, successful and well-led school in a glorious, green setting with consistently strong results that don’t require pupils to sacrifice happiness or wellbeing on the way to achieving them… an education that’s so genuinely rounded you could make hoops from it.’
The Co-Curriculum is a crucial part of the life and learning at Forest. While expecting our pupils to demonstrate a strong work ethic in their timetabled lessons, we also recognise how important it is for both staff and pupils to develop learning outside of the classroom. We ask our pupils to try new things, explore new places, learn new skills and experience real challenge. Visiting a new country, joining a new club or team, or being part of an ensemble or society, is a great way to get the most out of life at Forest. This relies on our staff being involved in Forest in its fullest sense by running all the clubs, activities, trips and other opportunities that allow the personal development that is the hallmark of Forest. All staff are therefore expected to contribute to pupil development beyond the classroom.
Forest invests heavily in the development of pedagogy, teaching and learning, with all teachers expected to engage in an ambitious Professional Learning Programme which includes seminars and contact with leading minds in the teaching and learning space; most recently, Forest welcomed Tom Sherrington who presented on curriculum strategy and design. In addition, we are immensely proud of our culture of formative and developmental peer observation and instructional coaching through our Teaching and Learning Communities and StepLab. As one of the few Independent Schools Induction Panel (ISTIP) regional hubs and training centres in the country, Forest is proud of its success, expertise, and excellence in supporting Early Careers’ Teachers and those new to the profession. We have a rich tradition of developing outstanding teachers and a genuinely supportive approach centred on coaching and mentoring.
We welcome and encourage applications from teachers who are new to the profession and are currently undertaking their PGCE or are looking to progress through the ECT Framework.
Location
Forest is a city school surrounded by Epping Forest, within easy walking distance of Snaresbrook Central line tube station and Wood Street Overground station.
Why work at Forest?
There are many benefits of working at a well-resourced School such as Forest. Our staff are our single most important asset and create the happy, collegiate atmosphere that exists at Forest. Our staff work hard, investing time and energy in our pupils, deriving satisfaction and fulfilment from their successes and development.
Key benefits include:
- A large, cheerful and collegiate staff body
- Well-resourced departments
- Opportunities to pursue hobbies and interests in support of pupil development outside of the classroom
- Our own competitive salary scale
- Free hot lunch in our lovely staff diner (takeaway sandwich lunch also available) and refreshments throughout the day
- Generous CPD budget and a culture fully committed to staff development
- Comprehensive Professional Development Review system
- Opportunities to contribute to the wider community via our Outreach Programme
- 20% fee remission (pro-rata for part time staff) for children attending Forest which is applicable Y3-Y13
- Membership of a pension scheme
- Subsidised membership to the Sylvestrian Leisure Centre
- Membership of the School's Group Life Assurance scheme and Personal Accident Scheme
- Contribution towards private medical insurance fees
Forest School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All appointments require an enhanced DBS disclosure.
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