Teacher of Geography in London

The Headmaster and CEO of Eltham College Family of Schools is seeking to appoint an inspirational and highly professional Teacher of Geography with the ability and commitment to enhance the life of an ‘all through’ school with a strong academic ethos, and to work effectively and collaboratively in a team at Eltham College.

The Geography Department is hugely successful and popular with the students. We have seven teachers of Geography, with a number holding senior leadership roles within the school. Typically, the timetable sees two to three classes of A-level students. We follow the Cambridge International Exam at A-level, opting for the Hazards and Arid topics in Paper 3 and Trade, Aid and Tourism and Disease and Geography in Paper 4. Students sit the AS exam in June of Year 12. A significant number of the A-level students go on to study Geography or closely related subjects at university. The subject is highly popular at GCSE level, with most years having between 70 and 80 students; for example, we currently have 5 classes in Year 10. We follow the Pearson International syllabus at GCSE level. The academic results for both A-level and GCSE are excellent.

We teach an engaging and contemporary Key Stage 3 curriculum, with topics such as ‘Is Gender Geographical’, ‘The Geography of Fashion’ and ‘Why are the Nordics so Happy’ inspiring a love of the subject. ICT and GIS are used frequently in our lessons, with students using their own devices, and most of our lessons are taught in one of the three dedicated Geography classrooms.

Fieldwork is an integral part of our curriculum; Year 7 and 8 undertake local fieldwork, Year 9 visit Stratford, GCSE students visit the River Darent in Kent and Lewisham town centre for their examined fieldwork, and the Year 12 geographers visit Bristol, Tewkesbury and Weston Super Mare for 3 days to develop their case studies for the examination. Every year we run an awe and wonder international trip; last year we visited Norway and this Autumn we will return to Iceland.

The department runs two well-attended Geography Societies every week, for Lower School and Sixth form pupils. Members of the department are actively encouraged to engage with opportunities to enrich their subject knowledge and expertise, through CPD, examining and attending the GA Conference. The Department holds the Geographical Association’s Secondary Geography Quality Mark award for excellence in geographical teaching and learning, and in 2020 we were also awarded the GA’s Centre of Excellence.

We host the annual World Wise quiz for schools in South and East London. In our 6th form, geographers won the prestigious Geological Society competition, and they were finalists in the Office of National Statistics competition.

Eltham College is a highly successful independent day school in south-east London, educating boys and girls aged 7 to 18 across both Junior and Senior Schools. The College has grown considerably over recent years: there are now over 1,000 students in the Senior School and around 400 pupils in the Junior School, and places are heavily oversubscribed. Since 2019, girls have been able to join Years 3 and 7, mirroring the Sixth Form which has been coeducational for over 45 years. The school places an equal emphasis on academic, pastoral and co-curricular excellence and has an outstanding reputation in all three areas as well as for the friendly, unpretentious nature of daily life.

A highly competitive salary is available, together with a clear programme of staff development and opportunities for promotion. Accommodation may also be available.

Application closing date: 8am on Monday 02 February. Interviews to take place on Monday 09 February. Suitable candidates may be interviewed before the closing date, and Eltham College reserves the right to withdraw the position if an early appointment is made.