Head of English

About the Role

St Mary's is seeking to appoint a full-time Head of English for September 2026.

THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

The English Department comprises eight members of staff. English Literature is a popular subject at A Level, with the department following the OCR syllabus. All pupils undertake the Pearson IGCSE qualifications in both English Language and English Literature.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The Head of English will be a well-qualified and experienced teacher to A Level with a proven track record, who is ready to move into a position of leadership. They will have a love of English and be able to inspire both their pupils and staff by sharing their passion with them. They should be efficient, well organised, computer literate and keen to make good use of ICT within lessons. Our public examination results are excellent, and we are looking for a keen Head of English to build upon this success. They should be able to manage a team effectively and aim to get the best from each teacher in the department. We are seeking a person with vision, drive, good judgement, enthusiasm and commitment for this vital position in the school.

The Line Manager for the Head of English is the Academic Deputy Head.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Promote English within the school;
• Keep informed of current developments in the teaching of English; and guide the Department’s conversations regarding the implications of emerging educational research in the teaching of English;
• Maintain high standards by overseeing members of the department, ensuring effective and appropriate teaching and assessment methods at A Level through sharing resources and practice, lesson observation, collaboration, mentoring and active participation in continuing professional development;
• Establish common standards and expectations for schemes of work and an overarching philosophy of pedagogy within the teaching of English, whilst allowing for departmental autonomy;
• Provide leadership in the area of curriculum development, theory and design, as separate from examination specification;
• Supervise and advise on all aspects of classroom teaching, particularly guiding new teachers and early career teachers and managing the department induction programme for new teachers;
• Ensure that schemes of work are kept up to date and take responsibility for planning new schemes as appropriate;
• Choose examination specifications;
• Enter pupils for external examinations, review specifications periodically, and attend examination board meetings;
• Organise regular assessments for all year groups and prepare and mark internal and entrance examinations;
• Conduct 16+ entrance interviews for candidates wishing to take English A Level;
• Liaise with the appropriate members of staff in matters relating to internal and external examinations;
• Arrange regular departmental meetings with an agenda provided beforehand and minutes circulated afterwards;
• Provide guidance, advice and support for department colleagues;
• Lead and monitor the Department’s work on Teaching and Learning and continuing professional development, including the use of work scrutiny, lesson observation and INSET;
• Appraise members of the department;
• Ensure that appropriate cover work is provided when absent or when a colleague in the department is absent and be prepared to cover for staff absence;
• Oversee the quality of all subject reports produced by the department;
• Plan for the development of the department on a short, medium and long-term basis within the annual Department Development Plan;
• Organise any centre assessed examinations and moderation as required by the examination boards;
• Report to the Headmistress and Academic Deputy Head on public examination results;
• Ensure curriculum enrichment is imaginative, stimulating, relevant and provides support to the relevant specification or schemes of work;
• Organise super curriculum opportunities to enrich pupils’ experience;
• Organise external speakers, visits, day and residential trips which relate to the curriculum and enrich pupils’ experience;
• Organise a university preparation programme for university courses of study including Oxbridge;
• Oversee the writing of university references;
• Encourage pupils to aspire to English-related careers;
• Liaise with the appropriate member of staff regarding timetabling;
• Manage the departmental budget and the effective allocation of resources;
• Oversee rooms, resources and associated areas within the department;
• Ensure the department is up to date with paperwork for inspection including maintaining an up-to-date Departmental Handbook containing details of all departmental procedures and policies;
• Complete a termly departmental self-review;
• Attend Heads of Department meetings;
• Share best practice during Heads of Department meetings as appropriate;
• Attend Open Mornings for prospective parents and pupils;
• Be available, remotely or in person, on public exam results days and subsequently to support the review of marking process;
• Liaise with and advise the Headmistress on appointments within the department;
• Represent the department at external bodies, including the Rugby Group, and national/regional conferences;
• Teach up to A Level English and communicate an enthusiasm for the subject;
• Plan lessons carefully according to the A Level specifications, as appropriate;
• Keep efficient records of all lessons and homework assignments and set and mark homework regularly;
• Assess and report on pupils’ progress according to the school’s systems and policies, adhering strictly to deadlines;
• Teach and support pupils of all abilities and provide appropriate levels of work for pupils with special educational needs;
• Support the whole school provision for pupils with special education needs and liaise with the SENDCo as appropriate;
• Support the aspirations of able and gifted pupils;
• Support the school enrichment provision, in particular the HPQ and EPQ as reasonably required;
• Deliver university preparation lessons, including Oxbridge, to the Sixth Form pupils;
• Support the supervision of private study lessons as required;
• Being able to teach more than one subject is desirable but not essential;
• Take responsibility for pupil welfare and discipline in lessons, within the framework of whole school policies;
• Promote ICT as a learning tool throughout the department and keep up to date with developing the use of ICT, including artificial intelligence;
• Partake in continuing professional development by engaging in teaching and learning initiatives and lesson observations, attending relevant courses and continually developing classroom practice;
• Maintain an attractive and well-ordered environment, encouraging pupils’ pride in their display of work;
• Attend relevant parent teacher meetings as shown in the school diary;
• Be involved in co-curricular activities depending on interests and experience;
• Carry out break and lunchtime duties according to a rota;
• Invigilate public and internal examinations as and when required;
• Run after school study sessions for pupils;
• Liaise with other departments as appropriate;
• Attend school functions, training or fulfil other duties as required by the Headmistress.

Other duties:

This job description sets out the main duties of the Head of English. No job description can be fully comprehensive and the Head of English will be required to support the Headmistress in any work reasonably required to support the operation of the school. Each member of the teaching staff is a tutor and a member of one of the Houses.

Working at St Mary's

A Catholic school. Nearly all pupils and about 50% of the staff are Roman Catholic. It is not a requirement of this post that applicants should be Catholic but all staff at the school are expected to be sympathetic to the religious and boarding character of the school.

Full-Time/Part-Time: This is a full-time appointment.

Accommodation: The post holder is not required to be resident on site and accommodation is not offered with this role.

Salary: The salary for this role will be paid in accordance with the St Mary’s Pay Scale. All teaching staff enjoy an additional St Mary’s Allowance which in 2025/26 is £5,880 per annum which reflects the additional commitment required of teaching staff in a full boarding school.

Working Days and Hours: A full-time teacher will be required to work Monday to Friday during term time. The school day begins at 8.10 am and lessons finish at 4.30 pm. The post holder will be expected to deliver a weekly session beyond the timetabled school day up to around 6.00 pm to contribute to the co-curricular offering and/or departmental support. All teachers are also expected to do an evening duty twice per term and to do one day of weekend duties on six weekends per year. There are no lessons on Saturday mornings at St Mary’s.

Additional Days: The Head of English is required to attend one day of new staff INSET and a further six full days of INSET per year which are currently scheduled in the week before the start of each term. The Head of English is required to attend the school’s annual Open Day which currently takes place on a Saturday during the summer term.

Holidays: Holidays must be taken during the school holidays and must not clash with INSET.

Pensions: All teachers are auto-enrolled into the Aviva Pension Trust for Independent Schools (APTIS) defined contribution scheme.

Probationary Period: The first three months of employment is a probationary period during which the notice period by both the post holder and the school is one month.

Notice Period: Following the successful completion of the probationary period, the notice to terminate employment by either side will be one full term.

Meals: Teachers are currently able to enjoy lunch and, for staff on duty, a supper meal in the refectory. This privilege is currently provided free of charge but this is kept under review and the school reserves the right to change the arrangement.

How to Apply

Please complete the online application form selecting Head of English from the drop-down menu.

https://www.st-marys-ascot.co.uk/recruitmentapplicationform/

A short letter of application addressed to the Headmistress, Mrs Danuta Staunton should be included with your application form. Closing date: 9am on Monday 11 May 2026. Interviews will be held in weeks commencing Monday 11th and Monday 18th May 2026.

We reserve the right to interview suitable candidates before the closing date or to close the vacancy prior to closing date if deemed appropriate. Interested applicants are advised to submit their application as early as possible to avoid missing your opportunity to apply. Applicants must have a valid right to work in the UK.

St Mary’s School Ascot is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Applicants will be required to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) and social media checks.