xxxxxxxxx History of Berkhamsted Schools Group

Berkhamsted School is situated in the historic Hertfordshire town of Berkhamsted, a prosperous community surrounded by Chiltern countryside and within easy reach of London Berkhamsted is a leading Independent School for pupils aged 3 to 18 years, the foundation of which dates back to 1541 (when John Incent, the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, successfully applied to King Henry the VIII for a license to purchase a piece of land for a ‘freescole’).

In 1888 a Girls School was founded in Berkhamsted under the same governing body, and the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools merged to form a diamond school in 1997 The Prep School was also integrated at this stage, and the School became Berkhamsted Collegiate School.

In 2011 the School merged with Heatherton House, a small independent day School for girls in Chesham Bois, and became the Berkhamsted Schools Group. Operating as a satellite Prep School, Heatherton provides a feed of Girls to the Berkhamsted Girls School every year. In 2012 Berkhamsted Schools Group acquired Haresfoot, a small proprietary prep school in Berkhamsted. This site now houses the Berkhamsted Pre-Prep and Berkhamsted Day Nursery Limited, and Berkhamsted Prep takes children from age 7-11.

Berkhamsted is the only School in the Herts, Beds and Bucks region, and one of only a small number of Schools in the country, to offer a ‘diamond’ structure that combines the best of both single-sex and coeducational teaching. Boys and Girls are taught together until the age of 11 (Berkhamsted Pre-Prep and Prep), separately from the age of 11-16 (Berkhamsted Boys and Berkhamsted Girls), before coming back together again in a joint sixth form (Berkhamsted Sixth).

Job Description

Hoursofwork:830am-5pmMondaytoFriday,allyearround

A well-qualified and enthusiastic graduate of Philosophy/Theology/Religious Studies is required to join an experienced, supportive and friendly department. The successful candidate will contribute to the development of this lively department and be an excellent classroom practitioner. A specialism in teaching Ethics at a high level combined with enthusiasm and interest in teaching KS3, and the ability to contribute to the development of our Philosophy Society would be an advantage. The post could suit a new entrant to the profession or someone with more experience seeking to take on more responsibility.

This thriving independent school extends over two campuses, Castle and Kings, which are separated by an eight-minute walk.Pupils in Years 7-11 remain in single-sex groups; boys are taught at Castle and girls at Kings up to GCSE/IGCSE.The Sixth Form is fully co-educational and classes may be taught on either campus.

Religious Studies is taught as an academic subject to all pupils in Years 7- 11. In Years 7- 9 all pupils study RS, and cover material on the Old Testament, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and An Introduction to Philosophy and Ethics as they move through KS3 In Year 10, students can opt to take GCSE Religious Studies, and we follow the Edexcel International GCSE. Religious Studies is generally a popular choice for students, and we get an average of 4 sets each year opting for the subject. Students in sixth form study the AQA A Level in Religious Studies, and typically we have around 20 students opting for A Level each year.

Job Description

Hoursofwork:830am-5pmMondaytoFriday,allyearround

The department’s results are outstanding, and we are consistently in the top three performing departments for GCSE results in the school. In the full course in 2022, 51% of the cohort achieved a grade 9, 72% achieved grade 8 or 9, and 88% achieved grades 7-9. At A Level in 2022, 33% of our students achieved A*, 33% achieved an A grade and 33% achieved a B grade. Over the last 9 years, at least 75% of students achieve the equivalent of A*-B at KS5.

The department leads visits to sixth form conferences and to places of worship, and we have had a range of external and internal speakers present at after school lecture events throughout the year. In 2018 and 2020, we ran residential trips to Rome and have put in a request to run this trip again in 2024.

The department is currently made up of 6 members of staff. We are a very friendly department who work well together and keep pupil outcomes and the love of our subject at the heart of what we do. Members of the department also have significant school-wide responsibilities. This means that the department is busy, highly qualified, and embraces many aspects of school life, contributing strongly for example to the EPQ course, the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, sport and music. In response to the school-wide roll out of surface pro devices to all students and staff, the department has been able to demonstrate school-wide examples of best practice. We continue to look for new ways to develop and improve teaching and learning through ICT; the appointee should anticipate contributing to the department’s progress.

Job Description

Hoursofwork:830am-5pmMondaytoFriday,allyearround

In addition to teaching duties and to the specific responsibilities of the post, it is expected that members of the teaching staff will contribute fully to the life of the school through participation in the pastoral and extra-curricular activity programmes, which are an integral part of a teacher’s role in this thriving independent school. The salary for this post will be commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate and above national scales. We offer good professional development for a teacher seeking further responsibility in a supportive department or an NQT wishing to complete accreditation on a nationally recognised induction programme Accommodation may be available