Teacher of Geography

Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School is a selective-entry, co-educational grammar school located in the centre of the attractive Thames-side town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire. The school has an excellent academic record, placing well on a variety of national league tables, and is very heavily over-subscribed. Standards of attainment are well above the national average, and above those achieved by comparable selective schools at all age levels. The school also has a justifiably high reputation for the performance of its various school sports teams and for its many other extra- curricular activities.

Permanent Full Time

Required for September 2017

Required for September 2017, a well qualified and inspiring teacher to teach up to and including A-Level Geography. The ability to teach A-Level Geology would be advantageous. The post would suit an ambitious NQT or a more experienced teacher.

For an application form please visit www.swbgs.com and click on Job Vacancies or email [email protected] for more information

Closing date for applications is 9.00 am on Monday 20th February 2017

Applications submitted via email should be sent to Mrs Anna Summerfield at [email protected]

The school is fully committed to the DCSF guidance on Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education and all candidates for the post will therefore be subject to vetting procedures following Buckinghamshire County Council's guidance on Safer Recruitment and Selection in Schools. Geography Department

Geography is a compulsory subject in years 7 & 8, with four classes of 30 pupils in each year group. The GCSE course runs over three years covering years 9, 10 & 11. Geography is a very popular option with about 80-90 of the 120 pupils choosing to study it each year. We follow the Edexcel (9-1) Geography ‘A’ GCSE specification. In 2016 86% of Geography GCSE candidates achieved an A* or A grade.

A level Geography is also a popular option with 50 students in the current year 12, taught in 3 sets. We follow the new Edexcel Geography specification, teaching the ‘Coastal Landscapes’ option in the Topic 2 ‘Landscapes’ section and the ‘Regenerating Places’ option in the Topic 4 ‘Shaping Places’ section. The department also achieves outstanding results at A level, with 71% of students achieving A* or A grades in 2014 (39% were A*s) - making us the top performing department in the school in that year. The vast majority of our students will go on to university, with most going to Russell Group or Oxbridge institutions. Sixth form students lead the school’s Geography Society & Geology Club. About a dozen also act as Geography mentors to GCSE pupils or assist in lower school lessons.

Geology is taught only at A level, where we follow the OCR Geology specification. There is one Geology class in both Y12 & Y13, typically with about 16 students in each. The Geology results are also outstanding; three years ago one of our students achieved the highest mark nationwide for OCR Geology.

The Geography department is an experienced and friendly department with two full time members of staff (including the Head of Department) and staff who teach part time or teach Geography in conjunction with other subjects. The department is at the forefront in school pedagogical initiatives including assessment for learning strategies and use of the Rafl system. The department subscribes to the ArcGIS system and seeks to expand the role of GIS use further.

Fieldwork is an integral part of teaching Geography and Geology. Residential trips are run each year for the sixth form to the Cranedale Centre in Yorkshire (Geography) and to Lochranza Field Centre on the Isle of Arran or Leeson House Field Centre in Dorset (Geology). In the past residential fieldwork trips have also taken place to Barcelona, Greenland, South Wales, Somerset and Suffolk. Day trips for lower year groups include visits to Chichester Harbour, Amersham Field Centre, the Earth Gallery at the Natural History Museum in London & local fieldwork in Marlow.