Principal

Required for September 2020

Principal 

(L37 – L43) 

A unique opportunity to become a Principal in an exceptional Trust

A well-qualified, enthusiastic and inspirational leader is required to assume overall leadership responsibility at our flourishing academy. 

This is a key role in our future development and the successful candidate, in partnership with the Executive team, will oversee all aspects of our work. The successful candidate will be an exceptional leader who can demonstrate passion, integrity and a strong record of successful practice.  Our standards are high and we expect our new Principal to lead our continuing drive for excellence.

In September 2015 the school became part of The GORSE Academies Trust led by Sir John Townsley. The Trust is a vibrant and forward thinking teaching community which places all students, in particular those who come from the most challenging backgrounds, at the centre of its work. The Trust officially has two outstanding 11-16 academies and one of the largest and most successful Post-16 free schools in the country: Elliott Hudson College, the Post-16 provider of choice for the majority of Bruntcliffe’s Year 11 cohort.  Furthermore, in 2016 the Trust opened an Alternative Provision free school, The Stephen Longfellow Academy (graded Good by Ofsted in October 2019), a direct partner to all of the academies in the Trust.  In addition to four primary academies, two of which have been graded by Ofsted as Outstanding, the Trust also includes two Teaching Schools which provide leadership development and initial teacher training and the opportunity to be involved in innovative and exciting teaching and learning opportunities; the GORSE SCITT was also graded by Ofsted as Outstanding in 2017 adding testament to the fact that the Trust is one of the highest performing Multi Academy Trusts in the country. 

Bruntcliffe Academy was Inspected in February 2018 and achieved a grading of Good overall with Outstanding for Teaching and Learning, Leadership and Management and Personal Development and Welfare with the journey of rapid improvement of the academy, since joining the Trust, being clearly evident.  This trajectory has continued and for the last two years, students at Bruntcliffe Academy have achieved performance in line with the top performing schools nationally.  In 2019 the unvalidated Progress 8 score for the whole cohort is confirmed as +0.29 (top 17% of schools nationally) with performance in all pillars of progress 8 being in the second quintile or higher.  We expect this to rise significantly in 2020 as predicted data is showing progress as ‘well above average’ (DfE classification).  Furthermore, the rapid improvement and quality of provision on offer at Bruntcliffe is now evident to the community and depicted in the strong student application profile: in current Year 11 there are less than 70 students, however, in current Year 7 there are over 245 students and the academy is oversubscribed for incoming Year 7 in September 2020.     

This role represents an exciting opportunity for a candidate who has a strong moral compass and is determined to ensure that all students thrive within an academic curriculum with plentiful enrichment opportunities, no matter what their background is. The successful applicant will enjoy regular, personalised CPD opportunities within a culture which offers collaborative peer support and opportunities to review the academy's practice in a manner which is conducive to supporting colleagues in continuing to provide the very highest standards of education, care and guidance, so that all students are afforded the gift of a rigorous, academic education.

An Application Pack is available from our website, www.tgat.org.uk within the jobs section, or on request from Christine Watson, PA to the Chief Executive Officer via email: Christine.watson@tgat.org.uk . 

Closing date for applications: Monday 20 January 2020 (9am)

Applications to be returned to: Christine Watson, PA to the CEO via recruitment@tgat.org.uk 

Bruntcliffe Academy is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children, and applicants will be subject to full employment checks, including an enhanced DBS disclosure. We promote diversity and want a workforce which reflects the population of Leeds.