Teacher of Science
Comberton Village College
Cambridge
- Expired
- Salary:
- MPS/UPS
- Job type:
- Full Time, Fixed Term
- Start date:
- January
- Apply by:
- 30 November 2017
Job overview
We are a highly successful, community mixed comprehensive school with Teaching School status in a pleasant rural setting only 5 miles from the centre of Cambridge. We currently have around 1,800 11-18 pupils on roll including our new sixth form centre that opened in September 2011.
Our pupils are well motivated, staff morale is excellent and examination results at KS4 are outstanding: 80% of students attained grades 9 – 4 in Maths and English last academic year and 39% of all grades were A*/A: whilst at A-level 84% of grades were A* - C or 9 - 4. At KS5, the Sixth Form’s results are in the top 5% nationally for student progress made against predictors, with 40% of all grades in 2016 at A*/A grades.
THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
The Department staff work in sixteen laboratories. In the main school, there are fourteen laboratories and there are two laboratories in the sixth form centre. In the main school upstairs, there are five laboratories and one prep room. The downstairs area comprises nine laboratories, the Science office and three prep rooms, pond and conservation area.
The team of Science teachers currently comprises fifteen full-time and seven part-time specialists. There are three Heads of Subject who lead the group of teachers delivering their subject in KS4 and KS5, and oversee the development and delivery of their subject in all key stages. The Head of KS3 oversees the management and development of the KS3 course. Also, there are people in posts of Head of Interventions, Head of L3 BTEC Science and a Deputy Head of Science. Three members of the department are AST’s. There is a strong sense of teamwork and consistency of approach, both as a whole department and within subject groups. This is supported by a comprehensive and detailed set of schemes of work for all key stages. The department has the support of six laboratory technicians. In addition, close working links with Special Needs Department mean that we receive in-class support from Special Needs Teaching Assistants. The department has had a long involvement with teacher training and currently is involved in mentoring students as part of the school’s Initial Teacher Training partnership with the University of Cambridge and the School Direct Initial Teacher Training programme.
We have active links to local industry and scientists and are a STEM test-bed school. We have a thriving Science club, enter pupils for science competitions, run Science themed events during the school’s Activities week and involve pupils in a range of competitions and trips during a typical year.
The Science Department has consistently achieved a high level of success at G.C.S.E. All of the pupils are entered for GCSE Science and in 2017 the GCSE results for Science were A*-C 86%, A*-A 45% and Triple results were in the region of 96% A*-C and 67% A*-A. At KS4, there is the new GCSE 9-1 Science curriculum, where we follow the AQA Trilogy Science series. Staff usually teach their Science specialism at KS4.
Since September 1997 pupils have been able to opt to take the three separate GCSE science subjects in Year 10 and 11. Currently in year 10, 130 students, and in year 11 110 pupils, follow this option. The A* to C pass rate in each Science typically exceeds 95%.
The school opened a new sixth form in September 2011. The A-level syllabuses taught are OCR Biology, OCR A Chemistry and OCR B Advancing Physics (possibly changing for Sept 2018). In the current year 12 and year 13 we are running three Biology, two Chemistry, three Psychology and two Physics groups.
THE VACANCY
The post will become available from 2nd January 2018. We would welcome applications from candidates with any Science specialism. The person appointed will be expected to teach across the sciences in KS3 and at KS4 initially. We are seeking to appoint someone who has:
· good subject knowledge
· enthusiasm for Science and the ability to convey this to pupils
· a working knowledge of the National Curriculum in Science
· successful teaching skills, including use of ICT
· efficient and systematic working skills
· effective oral and written communication skills
· a commitment to contributing to the success of the whole college
The post will offer excellent opportunities for development in a dynamic and successful Science department and a school that has professional development as a core value.
As you will now be aware, we know our Science Department is outstanding but all of us are aware that a good department has to be constantly reviewing and developing its philosophy and practice.
The successful candidate will need to meet the requirements of the general teacher job
description and person specification on the college website.
We believe the College can offer you a very good professional environment and a lively and friendly place in which to work. If you like what you have read and would like to be part of Comberton Village College, we would welcome your application.
Attached documents
About Comberton Village College
- Comberton Village College
- West Street, Comberton, Cambridge
- Cambridgeshire
- CB23 7DU
- United Kingdom
We are a highly successful, community mixed comprehensive school with Teaching School status in a pleasant rural setting only 5 miles from the centre of Cambridge. We currently have around 1,800 11-18 pupils on roll including our new sixth form centre that opened in September 2011. Our pupils are well motivated, staff morale is excellent and examination results at KS4 are outstanding: 78% of grades including Maths and English were A*-C and 39% of grades were A*/A: At KS5, the Sixth Form’s results are in the top 5% nationally for student progress made against predictors, with 38% of all grades in 2016 at A*/A grades.
The College
Comberton Village College was opened in 1960. As a Cambridgeshire Village College, it was designed to be a centre for the life of its community and to provide quality education for pupils aged between 11 and 16. This remains the case today.
In 1974, the school became fully comprehensive and, in April 1993, it became grant-maintained. It changed to a Foundation School and more recently became a Foundation School with a Trust: the Comberton Educational Trust. In February 2011 the school became an Academy overseen by the CAM Academy Trust. The pupil roll is around 1,800 while over 2,000 adults use the college for a wide range of continuing education and leisure activities. A £7 million building programme was completed in 2003 that has significantly enhanced a whole range of the school’s facilities, including major new leisure facilities. A further £4 million building project provided further specialist teaching and learning facilities across a range of subject areas and has been in use since September 2009.
Our Sixth Form opened in September 2011 following the completion of a £9.5 million building project. It offers a strong suite of academic courses, across the subject areas in conjunction with The AQA Baccalaureate, as well as applied courses. This exciting development has enabled students from Comberton to complete their sixth-form studies with us as well as providing opportunities for students from other local schools. There are already over 320 students in the Sixth Form and this is set to expand further.
The Cam Academy Trust
In 2011, the Comberton Academy Trust (C.A.T.) was formed, enabling Comberton Village College to convert to Academy status in 2011. the Trust has continued to expand and in 2016 was renamed the Cam Academy Trust. The Trust now has the following schools:
· Comberton Village College, an 11-18 Academy, is the initial school which formed what is now The Cam Academy Trust
· Melbourn Village College, an 11-16 Academy in Cambridgeshire. This Academy joined the Trust in September 2013.
· Cambourne Village College, an 11-16 Academy in Cambridgeshire, close to Comberton Village College. This has been opened as a new Free School by the Trust from September 2013, initially with an intake of Year 7 students only. It serves the new and developing community of Cambourne that was formally in the catchment area of Comberton Village College. Numbers of staff are now teaching at both Cambourne and Comberton Village Colleges as both Academies work extremely closely together.
· Gamlingay First School and St Peter’s, Huntingdon, both joined us in September 2016.
· Hartford Infants and Hartford Juniors joined us in January 2017.
Jeavons Wood Primary School is set to join the Trust this year and there is the possibility that the Trust could develop further, although this remains an open question. We are seeking to ensure that all Academies in the Trust work in effective partnership with each other and that there are opportunities for staff to share ideas and resources. For some staff, there will be opportunities to work in more than one Academy.
Standards
Comberton Village College has received a full Ofsted inspection on three occasions since 2000: in 2004, 2007 and 2013. On each occasion, the overall effectiveness grade has been ‘outstanding’. In the latest inspection in 2013, every aspect of the school’s provision was judged to be ‘outstanding’. This included the first ever judgement on Sixth Form provision where both teaching and achievement were both clearly deemed already to be ‘outstanding’. The short summary was:
“Comberton Village College is a highly successful school which enables its pupils to achieve not only academic excellence but also to become mature, confident, thoughtful and rounded individuals with clear goals for their future lives”.
Broad Education
The school’s formal day runs from 8.30 a.m. to 2.50 p.m. with 6 timetabled lessons of 50 minutes each day. Pupils see their tutors daily and have a weekly assembly.
However, we believe that true education is broad and should develop character and individual interest. Given this, there is also a very full and wide-ranging extra-curricular programme that runs each day from 3.00 p.m. There are also many school trips and visits, both national and international. We have significant school partnerships that involve exchanges in Europe, Peru, South Africa and Mozambique.
We consider the following as very important:
· Our major Duke of Edinburgh programme. Most pupils do the Bronze award with many continuing to Silver. Some now also progress to the Gold award in our Sixth Form.
· We have held the Arts Mark Gold Award for a number of years, a symbol of our commitment to excellence and breadth in Arts education and provision.
· We have been accredited as a British Council International School since 2002, a sign of our commitment to the international dimension of education.
Aims and Values
At the heart of what we do are fundamental aims and values relating to education. The Cam Academy Trust has five core principles that must be central to all Academies in the Trust. These have been at the heart of Comberton Village College for many years:
· The Excellence Principle. Education must be of highest of standards and lead to high achievement.
· The Comprehensive Principle. Excellent education must be for all pupils of all types and abilities.
· The Henry Morris Principle. Education should be rooted in and serve its local community.
· The Partnership Principle. We should always look to work in effective partnership with others for mutual benefit.
· The International Principle. There must be a clear international dimension to education.
Within these over-arching principles, we seek to ensure that all of our pupils reach their full, positive potential and become:
CAPABLE in the skills relevant to their future lives and in having the knowledge which will increase their understanding, appreciation and interest in the world in which they live.
CARING of others and considerate of the mutual dependence human beings have on each other.
CONFIDENT of their worth because they have developed their strengths, understood their weaknesses and learnt that they can achieve success.
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