Teacher of Art and Design & Technology

We are seeking a well-qualified and highly motivated teacher to inspire and educate in this key academic area from January 2022. This is a superb opportunity for someone who is creative and inspirational, has evidence of outstanding teaching and learning and a desire to ensure students reach their full potential. NQTs are welcome to apply alongside those with more experience. NQTs will be fully supported by a mentor.

The successful candidate will be offered the opportunity to become involved with the varied co-curricular programme available to students.

Our Art Department at St George’s College provides excellent facilities, including four large studios, a computer suite, kilns, and a range of print making equipment including screen printing. We run life classes and portfolio preparation classes for A Level students after school once a week as well as after school sessions for GCSE students and Art Scholars.  Each Art teacher runs an Art based lunch time activity for the Lower School.  At KS3 students have three lessons a fortnight and we offer Art as an option choice at Year 9/Third year. We are looking for an enthusiast in their field but also someone who has an interest in using a wide range of media with skills in drawing. We are a friendly, energetic department who believe in encouraging and supporting our students’ visual enquiries.  

Our A level in Fine Art has consistently achieved outstanding examination success and in our recent outstanding inspection we were commended for the exceptional standard of the students’ work. Over the last three years we have had 70% of students achieve A*-A grades. At GCSE we achieved 40% 9-8 grades and 70% 9-7, with 100% of students achieving a grade 6 or higher. A large percentage of students go on to study visual arts courses following school and the department has an extremely strong record of successful applications to top courses at, for example, Central St Martin’s, Camberwell, LCC and Loughborough.

Currently our Design and Technology provision is available at  Key Stages 3 and 4, with A-Level Product Design introduced in September 2019.  The successful candidate will be enthusiastic about Design Technology and enjoy teaching the subject to all abilities. The capability to teach to GCSE is essential and to A level is desirable and there is an expectation to take on some specific responsibility within the Department.  

We offer Design and Technology at Key Stage 3 to our First and Second Years students on a carousel with Food and Nutrition. It is then part of an option process for our Third Year students. At St George’s, we follow the WJEC Eduqas GCSE Design and Technology course with our Fourth and Fifth Years and typically have around 15-19 students in each year group opting to study the subject to GCSE. We follow the AQA Product Design course for A Level.

At Key Stage 3, students study a range of projects. First and Second Form students are introduced to the basics of accuracy in measuring and marking out prior to learning the skills required to cut and shape resistant materials with a range of hand and power tools. Mechanical principles are introduced, developing the knowledge bank required to design and manufacture useful and purposeful products in future. The Third Form further build on these skills with the introduction soldering and more detailed consideration of packaging all the components of a product. Considering the battery, PCB and speaker positions with respect to the needs of the user helps students to realise the more subtle and complex issues surrounding design. Graphical techniques to develop their freehand sketching as well as technical drawing are built upon as well as 2D and 3D CAD software to develop their design ideas. Rapid prototyping is available on the school’s 3D printers and laser cutter. These CAM processes compliment the hand skills taught alongside and allow our students to feel confident to undertake a GCSE in this subject when they reach the Fourth Form.

The Design and Technology department achieves good results, where the ethos is founded on teamwork between teacher and technician instructor and in positive, helpful relationships with students. The department is expected to contribute to the various activities available, including surgeries and revision classes to support GCSE students, as well as sessions for Controlled Assessment.

Students are offered a variety of ways to learn, e.g. with hands-on projects and practical exercises.  The VLE is used extensively, both for resources and to set homework tasks and track achievement. There is a department office shared with the Computer Science staff, and teaching takes place in workshops, an IT suite and design room.

 Continuous professional development is crucial in this fast-moving subject. Members of the department are encouraged to keep updated on the examination system and attend conferences and courses. We feel that an enthusiasm for learning new skills helps us to engage our students and keep lessons fresh and relevant. We aim to give students the familiarity and confidence in using industry-standard techniques and so prepare them well for their future.

The deadline for application is by 4pm on Thursday 7 October but please note, applications will be reviewed upon receipt and shortlisted candidates may be invited for interview at short notice.

Single staff accommodation may be available on-site.