Job Description
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Start Date: June or September 2026
Salary: MPS/UPS + TLR
Contract Type: Full Time
Closing Date: 12th January 2026
Interview Date: w/b 19th January 2026
English at Helena Romanes School:
The English and Media Faculty at Helena Romanes School is a high-performing department with a proven track record of delivering strong academic outcomes for its students. We maintain a clear ethos of high standards, expecting and fostering hard work, resilience, and ambition in the classroom. This success is underpinned by an expert team possessing a wealth of collective experience, which is actively utilized for robust, in-house Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and continuous departmental improvement. Furthermore, the team is integral to promoting strong literacy skills across the curriculum and fostering a genuine love of English through engaging initiatives, including theatre trips, book swaps, and reading challenges.
The faculty's curriculum is challenging and meticulously planned across all key stages, utilizing AQA specifications for our core courses. At GCSE, both English Language and English Literature are taught in mixed ability groupings. Our Literature texts of choice are established classics including Macbeth, A Christmas Carol, An Inspector Calls, and the 'Power & Conflict' poetry cluster. This focus on rigour yields excellent results, as demonstrated by the 2025 GCSE English Language outcomes where 74% of students achieved Grade 4 or above, and almost 20% achieved the top Grades 7-9.
At Key Stage 5 (A Level), we offer the successful AQA combined English Language and Literature course, featuring stimulating texts such as The Handmaid's Tale, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Kite Runner. Looking ahead, we are excited to introduce the OCR English Literature course in 2026 to further broaden student choice and academic depth. The faculty also leads a successful and growing Media Studies programme spanning from Year 9 through to successful GCSE and A Level uptake, adding a vibrant and popular dimension to our provision.
Successful candidate profile:
Exceptional Curriculum Leader and Subject Expert: Proven ability to lead the strategic development and delivery of a challenging English curriculum across KS3, KS4 (AQA), and KS5, including an awareness of contemporary educational shifts (e.g., the introduction of OCR at A Level).
Inspirational Classroom Practitioner: A highly effective teacher with a track record of implementing high-quality teaching and learning strategies that significantly raise achievement and maintain an ethos of hard work, resilience, and ambition (evidenced by strong outcomes like the 74% Grade 4+ at GCSE).
Collaborative and Developmental Coach: Skilled in utilizing the team's collective wealth of experience to drive robust, in-house CPD and foster a culture of professional growth and high standards among colleagues.
Visionary for Literacy and Enrichment: Ability to champion the importance of literacy across the curriculum and lead engaging enrichment initiatives (theatre trips, book swaps) that successfully foster a genuine love of English among students.
Effective Faculty Manager: Proven capability to successfully oversee and develop the broader faculty provision, including leading the popular and growing Media Studies programme alongside the core English curriculum.
Information about the School
Helena Romanes School is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating diversity, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
We are committed to raising student achievement by providing a rich and challenging curriculum delivered by high quality staff. Excellent opportunities exist for professional development.
All applications must be made using our application form. Please visit www.helena-romanes.essex.sch.uk for more information
Visits to the school to meet with our students and staff are welcomed, Please contact Eleanor Ball, HR Officer to arrange a convenient appointment or to answer any questions that you may have. eball@hrs.education
Helena Romanes is a popular all through school situated in the beautiful North Essex countryside with good communications to London and the South East and is approximately 7 miles from Stansted Airport.