Bourne Grammar School

BOURNE GRAMMAR SCHOOL A co-educational, selective Academy OfSTED ‘Outstanding’

TEACHER OF ENGLISH

September 2013

Working at Bourne Grammar School Bourne Grammar School offers an exceptionally pleasant working environment. It is a calm place, where staff and students work hard, achieve a great deal and enjoy excellent working relationships. Classroom discipline is good and major pastoral/discipline issues are very rare. Most of our school buildings are modern, are maintained in excellent order and are well equipped throughout. The Area Bourne is a small but growing market town with easy access to both rural Lincolnshire and the larger centres of Peterborough, Grantham and Stamford. House prices in the area are moderate. London is under an hour from Peterborough by train. Local Schools Bourne is exceptionally blessed with good schools. The two large primary schools, Bourne Abbey and Bourne Westfield are also both OfSTED Grade 1 Academy schools and Bourne’s non-selective secondary school, the Bourne Academy (formerly the Robert Manning Technology College), enjoys an excellent local reputation. The School Bourne Grammar is a co-educational selective school founded in 1636 which occupies a pleasant site with playing fields to the south of Bourne. Retaining its name, uniform, selectivity and traditions the School converted to Academy status on 1 January 2012. There is currently over 1,000 students on roll, with 247 in the Sixth Form. In recent years the School has admitted 150 students each year at Year 7 level, in five forms of 30, but from September 2012 this was increased to 180 (six forms of 30 students), reflecting the heavy demand for our places and our ambition to expand and improve.

The School is focussed on academic success, consistent with our academic selection of the top 25% by ability. However, ours is not a ‘hothouse’ atmosphere; we place great importance on pastoral care and on the atmosphere of mutual respect, good relationships and of helping each other.

Our strength and wide involvement in the performing arts is a particular feature. A splendid new Drama Studio was opened in 2008.

All our accommodation is post-1960, with the majority of the teaching accommodation being post-1990. Several million pounds was invested in major building work between 2000-2005 when all the temporary accommodation was removed. Further projects totalling £1 million are in progress now.

The School is particularly well equipped with ICT facilities and there is an established commitment to continued significant annual investment here. Every teaching room has an integrated data-projector. Every member of the teaching staff is provided with a laptop computer and iPad, and the school has a wireless network. We are a SIMS school. We are presently developing a very sophisticated VLE, based on the excellent FROG platform.

In light of the conversion to Academy status, the coming expansion to an annual intake of 180 students, strong retention into the Sixth Form (and significant external recruitment each year) and very careful financial management, the School is in a very strong and confident position as we enter challenging times for state-funded schools.

Admission to the School is presently based on Lincolnshire Grammar School Consortium’s 11+ procedure.

Results in public examinations are outstanding, with the majority of our students progressing to university, including Oxford and Cambridge and medical/veterinary courses. In terms of academic performance we are dominant in a wide area around the School..

There was a very successful OfSTED inspection in March 2008 at which the School was graded 1 (outstanding). In 2011 the School received a letter from OfSTED confirming that we continue to be regarded as outstanding and will therefore not be subject to regular inspection. The English Department was found to be outstanding in every category at an OfSTED review in March 2009. Students have the opportunity to develop their interests through an extensive extracurricular programme in which the performing arts, a very full sporting programme and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme all feature prominently.

The Leadership Team structure consists of the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher, Assistant Headteacher (Pastoral), Assistant Headteacher (Teaching and Learning) and Director of Business & Development. Middle management consists of The Head of Sixth Form, Heads of Department and Heads of Year. There is a House System in which each of the four houses has a House Leader. The Heads of Department and Heads of Year report directly to their LT line managers. The collegiate atmosphere is seen as being extremely supportive to colleagues new to the School. There is an excellent and much-appreciated programme of induction for NQTs.

The English Department

The English Department consists of seven teachers – all are specialists. All its members are well-qualified, dedicated to promoting the highest standards of achievement and attainment among able students.

The Department is enjoying a very successful era; overall standards of achievement are well above those achieved nationally and towards the top end of other selective schools in the county.

The Department was rated outstanding following an OFSTED Departmental Inspection in March 2009.

Members of the Department are highly committed to imaginative, high quality teaching of their subject, and are a dedicated team sharing a common ethos. AMONGST Departmental members there is close co-operation, mutual respect, and a very friendly atmosphere. All colleagues are encouraged to contribute to departmental planning and development through regular meetings and day-to-day informal contacts.

The Department teaches in a single teaching area comprising a corridor of six dedicated English classrooms. Each room is equipped with a ceiling-mounted data projector. A Department office/workroom is situated within the teaching corridor.

At KS3, Year 7 students are currently taught in mixed- ability form groups for the first two terms, with setting introduced from Term 3. Year 8 and Year 9 students are set from the start of the academic year. At the end of each KS3 Year, sets will be reviewed .

At KS4, Year 11 students currently study for the AQA Syllabus A Higher Tier exams in both Language and Literature, but the Department has commenced the Cambridge IGCSE English and English Literature courses with Year10 students from September 2012. In Language, last year 38% of our students obtained an A*/A grade and 78% of students obtained a B grade or higher. In Literature, last year 37% of our students obtained an A*/A grade and 78% obtained a B grade or higher.

At KS5, the Department teaches popular A Level courses in both Language and Literature. At present there are two parallel teaching groups in each cohort taking English Language (AQA Syllabus B). English Language is one of the most popular courses at Bourne Grammar: across both AS and A2 we have approximately 50 students. In 2012 at AS level, 74% of students attained a grade B or higher. At A2, 92% of students attained a C grade or higher. English Literature is also popular and results at A2 are among the best in the school. We currently have 2 parallel teaching groups in each cohort. The Department commenced the WJEC AS English Literature syllabus from September 2012. At present we have approximately 60 Literature students in total. Last year at AS level, 56% of students obtained a C grade or higher. At A2, 64% of students obtained a B grade or higher; 95% of students obtained a C grade or higher.

The Post

The successful candidate will be well qualified and possess outstanding teaching skills. The appointee will be expected to play a full role in the Department and to teach English across the age range.

The salary will be on the teachers’ pay spine.

A generous incentive/relocation package may be available for an outstanding candidate. Expenses will be refunded to all those interviewed; overnight accommodation can be arranged at the School’s expense to assist candidates whose travel arrangements necessitate it.

Application Procedure

All applicants MUST complete our application form together with a short covering letter, maximum ONE side of A4 please, outlining the reasons why you feel you are particularly suited to this post at this school.

There is no need to send a CV as the information required should appear on the Application Form.

The closing date for applications is 9.00 am on Friday 7 December 2012. (We reserve the right to bring forward the closing date if we consider that we have received an appropriate number of suitable candidates for the post).

The Headteacher and the Head of English are happy to be contacted by telephone by any prospective candidate and visits are welcome.

General information about the application process may be obtained from Mrs Chamberlain by emailing [email protected] or by telephone on 01778 391648.