and relish challenge.
Pupils display excellent attitudes to their learning. They are passionate, motivated and enthusiastic. ISI Inspection
Thank you for your interest in the post of Music Department Administrator at the Royal Grammar School Guildford.
The RGS boasts a diverse, vibrant community of individuals in both teaching and support roles who take pride in the success of their School.
Our boys are “excellent listeners who contribute to discussion with great respect” and “display excellent attitudes to their learning” (ISI report, February 2022). The academic standards in the School are excellent and the curriculum is enriched by an extensive extra-curricular programme in which all academic staff are expected to participate; sports and the arts are an important element in School life.
The RGS is an exciting place in which to be a member of staff; I look forward to receiving an application from you.
Music plays a central role in the life of the RGS and the Music Department is based at the very centre of the School in the magnificent original 16th Century building on Guildford’s attractive High Street. It possesses a dedicated rehearsal room, classrooms equipped with keyboards for junior school teaching, a computer suite for composition lessons and a recording studio.
There is a very full programme of extra-curricular music and currently the following ensembles have weekly rehearsals:
• The School Choir (80 Boys)
• The Joint Schools Chamber Choir (with Guildford High School) (40)
• The Symphony Orchestra (50)
• The Intermediate String Orchestra (45)
• The Concerto Consort (Senior Strings) (20)
• The Big Band (a symphonic wind band) (50)
• The Swing Band (20)
• The Concert Band (50)
• Plus many additional smaller ensembles, quartets etc.
Every term the major ensembles perform in School or local venues. During the Lent Term the major School performance in G Live (1000 seat concert hall) is usually supported by the Parents’ Choir (more than 100 strong) and on these occasions the total forces of choir and orchestra approach 400, almost exclusively GHS & RGS pupils and parents.
Every other year the School performs a musical (with girls from GHS) and at the end of the Trinity Term there is usually an opera performance. In recent years these have been baroque operas presented in the Courtyard of the Old Building.
At the beginning of the Trinity Term there is an annual Concerto Concert performed with Southern Pro Musica (a professional orchestra with which the School has strong links) and recent performances have included Rachmaninov, Ravel and Tchaikovsky piano concertos, Mendelssohn violin concerto, Saint-Saëns cello concerto etc. There is an annual overseas tour alternating between Choir & Orchestra and the Big Band.
The School is proud of its links with the local community and music is one of its most active outreach activities. Pupils regularly go on to read Music at university with many securing places at both Oxford and Cambridge. There is also a strong tradition of pupils being awarded choral and organ scholarships at various Oxbridge colleges and recently these have included King’s, Trinity and Clare College, Cambridge.
The high degree of mutual respect between pupils and teachers is a key feature in [the pupils’] success.
ISI Inspection
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Job Title: Music Assistant
Responsible to: Director of Music
Responsible for: No direct reports
The Music Administrator will work within the School’s outstanding Music department. They will provide comprehensive organisational and administrative support to the Director of Music and other music staff to ensure the smooth day to day operations of this very busy and successful department.
Detailed Duties:
• To be the point of contact for music requests and enquiries from internal departments and external organisations/individuals.
• To deal with enquiries from parents, prospective parents, prep schools, visiting teachers, members of the public by telephone and email.
• To deal with any pupil queries in relation to music lessons, trips, events, exams, etc.
• To act as a liaison to the VMTs and assist them with all school facing matters.
• To attend departmental and any associated meetings, take the minutes and distribute them once approved.
• To assist with any photocopying, typing, filing and other administrative aspects as required in the department.
• To assist with the dates and approval forms for the calendar.
• To liaise with the marketing department on all aspects of concert promotion and administration whether internal or external, including marketing and publicity.
• To liaise with the marketing department and assist with the production of programmes for all Music events.
• To organise the schedule for 11+ and 13+ music scholarship auditions in consultation with the Head of Admissions and the Director of Music.
• To keep the music libraries in good order so that staff can make good use of the facilities.
• Ensure that all rehearsal material is ready for ensembles each term.
• Ensure that rehearsals are set up in line with the weekly schedule of ensemble.
• To liaise with the Heads of Section regarding the various music competitions –including the promotion of competitions and creation of timetables for each event
• To liaise with the Head of Keyboard in the administration of the termly ABRSM music exams
• Maintain and update the inventory of school instruments and oversee pupil use
• Liaise with the Director of Music regarding the bookings of internal and external concert venues.
• Work in conjunction with the Estates Team in the transportation of equipment to external venues
• Help with Front of House at concerts wherever possible.
Your career at the RGS begins with a warm welcome and comprehensive induction. You will be introduced to department colleagues, key people within the School and fellow new starters from across the departments.
Opportunities to get involved in wider school activities are many and varied; sporting fixtures, theatre productions and field trips to name just a few. Then there are the social groups set up by and for colleagues which include a running group, book club, theatre trips, football and a wind band. However you choose to get involved, you are guaranteed to find yourself among like-minded individuals.
Head of Woodwind and Brass, joined 2017
What’s the best thing about working at the RGS? Every day is different.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? Rock climbing, being outside and cooking.
Head of Strings, joined 1992
What’s the best thing about working at the RGS? The people.
Which staff social groups are you involved in? Staff football.
Head of Keyboard, joined 2008
What do you love about your department? Great colleagues, full of humour and a passion for our subject.
If you could give one bit of advice to your younger self what would it be? To know that no-one else knows much either. There's no need to pretend.
In addition to joining a successful and sociable staff body you will also receive the following benefits:
Hours of work
Remuneration
Fee reduction
20hrs per week over five days; term time plus one week.
£17.16 per hour inclusive of holiday pay
Fee reduction for son(s) of staff is available (after a qualifying period and subject to success at the entrance examination).
Private healthcare
Private medical cover is available for all staff. This is paid for by the School, but is a taxable benefit so there is an indirect cost to the individual.
Pension
All support staff are automatically enrolled into the company pension scheme. The level of contribution by the individual is 5%; the School will contribute 10%.
Commuting Loan
Interest-free loans are available for rail season ticket holders.
Gym Use of on-site gym at certain times of the day.
Dining
A choice of hot lunches, a delicious salad bar and range of desserts are provided daily in the staff dining room during term time.
Employee Assistance Programme
A free, confidential counselling & wellbeing support service that can support you, your partner or spouse, and dependent children over 16 still living at home.
The RGS is a kind, inclusive, tolerant community where diverse opportunity, personal development, high achievement and collaborative partnership define who we are.
Our values of inclusivity, scholarship, integrity, respect, courage and collaboration underpin all we do.
Boys come to the RGS from around 140 different schools in Surrey and the neighbouring home counties and this number is growing each year. We regularly receive four applications for every place.
The RGS curriculum aims to combine breadth with balance. In the first three years all boys study a broad range of subjects, choosing options at the end of their third year which sees them sitting ten GCSE subjects including English Language, English Literature, a Modern Foreign Language, Mathematics, three separate sciences and a humanities subject. From the Third Form, a Tutor Period is introduced during which boys study Information Technology, Problem Solving, First Aid, Health Education and Study Skills. It is also during this time that initial careers and higher education guidance is given which then continues throughout the boys’ time at the School.
The RGS boasts a thriving Sixth Form with all boys studying four subjects in the Lower Sixth and then continuing with three or four subjects to A Level in the Upper Sixth. This is complemented by a range of General Studies courses which are co-educational, organised jointly with Guildford High School.
All boys are encouraged to engage in independent research and activities throughout their time in the School via our Scholarship for all programme. Whilst not curricular, there is an expectation that staff will support this provision as their experience and expertise enables.
All members of the teaching staff help with co- and extra-curricular activities, of which there is an impressively wide range. Music, Art and Drama all flourish with performances, exhibitions and workshops. There is a well-equipped auditorium, a large Art School and a purpose built Music Department. We have a very active clubs and societies programme that takes place before, during and after school each day. All the Third Form take part in our curricular, weekly expedition and adventure programme, EXAD. We have five Field Days per year and also offer overseas expeditions, a large Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Programme and numerous sports tours. Staff are invited to attend and support all of these events.
Guildford is a vibrant and exciting place in which to live. Rich in history, it is a welcoming town with a flourishing and varied cultural life. Entertainment is diverse with a number of lively and nationally renowned venues including G Live, the Yvonne Arnaud theatre and the eclectic Electric Theatre. There are outstanding sport and leisure facilities which include the state-of-the-art training venues and sports complexes of Surrey Sports Park and Guildford Spectrum. Guildford offers one of the south east’s best shopping experiences with the iconic High Street combining exclusive and popular national chains as well as a number of independent retailers. Dining options cater for every taste and budget with local traditional and gastro pubs in nearby Surrey villages drawing customers from a wide area.
Educationally, Guildford is thriving. RGS Guildford and Guildford High School are regularly ranked in the top ten single-sex schools in the country. RGS also enjoys close links with other girls’ schools, Tormead School and St Catherine’s, Bramley. The University of Surrey was awarded ‘University of the Year for Graduate Employment’ by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.
Guildford has the advantage of being very accessible and enjoys excellent transport links. London is just over a 30-mile drive via the A3 and well served by trains (just 29 minutes to Clapham Junction and 39 minutes to London Waterloo). International airports London Gatwick and London Heathrow are only 30 minutes from the town.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are close by; the Surrey Hills and North Downs are on the School's doorstep and provide opportunities to enjoy the stunning countryside; the south coast is approximately one hour by car.
The town of Guildford, which I, who have seen so many, many towns, think it is the prettiest, and… most happy-looking, that I ever saw in my life.
William Cobbett
The setting:
The Surrey Hills
North Downs
South Downs
Picturesque villages
The south coast
Travel by rail:
Clapham Junction 29 minutes
London Waterloo 39 minutes
Portsmouth Harbour 60 minutes
Gatwick Airport 45 minutes
Travel by road:
London 32 miles via the A3;
Heathrow 22 miles; Gatwick
34 miles via A3 and M25;
Portsmouth 44 miles;
Brighton 59 miles
The North Downs
The Royal Grammar School Guildford meets the requirements in respect of exempted questions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. All applicants who are offered employment will be subject to an enhanced criminal record check from the DBS before the appointment is confirmed. This will include details of cautions, reprimands or final warnings, as well as convictions. It is of fundamental importance to The Royal Grammar School to ensure, so far as possible, that those who take up appointments do not pose a risk to the children in its care.
We are proactively committed to creating a diverse staff body, which reflects the community that we teach. At RGS we value diversity and inclusion; we want to attract the best people for the roles available. This is regardless of age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, disability, socioeconomic status or religious beliefs.
Please note: applications will be considered on receipt and we reserve the right to close applications early.
