Whole School Careers and Higher Education Lead
Oakwood Park Grammar School
Kent
- £32,933 - £37,188 per year
- Expired
- Salary:
- Oakwood Scheme
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- September 2025
- Apply by:
- 19 May 2025
Job overview
‘Aspirational for its pupils.’ Ofsted, 2024
Whole School Careers and Higher Education Lead
Full time, term time only (plus 4 additional weeks)
OPGS Band 9 – (£32,933-37,188 FTE)
Start Date: September 2025
We’re looking for a motivated and experienced Careers and Higher Education Lead to drive our whole-school CEIAG strategy and support students through UCAS, Oxbridge, apprenticeships, and beyond.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading the full UCAS application process and Oxbridge/Early Entry preparation
- Organising student finance support and HE visits
- Coordinating work experience, enrichment activities, and external careers services
- Managing platforms like Unifrog and running the annual Careers Fair
- Supporting the transition from Year 11 to Sixth Form
What We’re Looking For
We’re looking for someone who is:
- Knowledgeable in post-16 and post-18 pathways including UCAS and apprenticeships
- Experienced in working with secondary or post-16 students
- An excellent communicator with strong organisational skills
- Student-focused and inspiring
- Familiarity with Unifrog and the Gatsby Benchmarks
- Experience supporting Oxbridge/early entry applicants
What we offer:
- A supportive, collaborative, and forward-thinking staff team
- Opportunities for ongoing professional development
- Flexible working when required
- A generous pension scheme
- The chance to make a real impact in students’ futures
To apply, please send your completed application form and covering letter to the Headteacher, via Mrs J Nichol at jnichol@opgs.org by the closing date of 19th May 2025.
Applications will only be accepted on the school application form: CVs and other forms are not accepted.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy if a suitable candidate is appointed.
OPGS is committed to creating an inclusive workforce. We welcome applications from all individuals regardless of background, identity, or personal circumstances, and we actively promote equality of opportunity for all.
OPGS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. An enhanced DBS check will be required for the successful candidate.
Attached documents
About Oakwood Park Grammar School
Oakwood Park Grammar School is a five-form entry (usually 160 in each year) Boys’ Grammar School of approximately 1100 students, including the Sixth Form. We have a co-educational Sixth Form with a pan of 180 in each year group. Entry at 11 to the school is through the Kent Test (11+) where students sit three papers in Mathematics, English and Reasoning.
We have been on the site since 1959 and we share an attractive campus with two schools (St Augustine Academy and St Simon Stock) and a college of Further Education (Mid-Kent College). We remain committed to improving school facilities and providing high quality learning environments for our students. Our teaching and support staff are dedicated and hardworking and very loyal to the school.
Oakwood Park Grammar School has a wealth of extra-curricular activities for its students. Sport is very strong with national success in football, alongside rugby, cricket, basketball and athletics. We also cater for rowing, fencing, table tennis and climbing. Music and Drama are also popular with an annual production and brand new facilities which opened in October 2023. Other extra-curricular opportunities include robotics, debating and chess.
Academic standards are high at both GCSE and A Level. In the Sixth Form, on average, well over half of our students who apply to universities will secure offers from prestigious Russell Group universities and we regularly send students to Oxbridge colleges.
In 2024, an ungraded inspection made clear the school continues to be ‘Good’ overall by Ofsted. However, our grading of Outstanding for our Behaviour and our Sixth Form provision remains.
We are a welcoming, open school with a clear focus on developing staff, with teaching and learning at the heart of our professional development.
Headteacher
Mrs Sarah Craig
Values and vision
At OPGS, we hold firm on our responsibility to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum, an exceptional standard of teaching and learning and a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities. We have high standards of behaviour and our pupils are ‘polite and courteous,’ contributing significantly to our consistently positive learning environment.
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