CORE PURPOSE
We require an inspiring, highly skilled Art & Design Teacher to deliver high-quality visual arts instruction across Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, with potential opportunities to contribute to post-16 pathways. Operating within an ambitious, oversubscribed secondary academy widely celebrated for its strong academic progress and deep community pride, the successful candidate will facilitate a knowledge-rich, studio-led curriculum designed to foster advanced technical mastery, critical contextual analysis, and creative innovation, preparing all pupils thoroughly for exceptional outcomes in terminal GCSE Fine Art and Art, Craft and Design examinations.
THE SCHOOL
Our academy operates as a proud, community-focused secondary provider dedicated to raising academic standards, celebrating creativity, and serving the wider Shropshire community. The campus features light-filled, specialist art studios, dedicated printmaking areas, digital media facilities, and a vibrant exhibition space. Our behaviour management framework relies on strict organizational structures, clear behavioural expectations, and mutual respect, maintaining an exceptionally safe, orderly, and highly purposeful studio environment where pupils are encouraged to explore advanced mediums, engage in critical debate, and take pride in their portfolios.
KEY TASKS & DAILY OPERATIONS
Rigorous Fine Art & Technical Instruction: Plan, resource, and deliver high-impact art lessons across all attainment pathways, embedding structured skills-based workshops in drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and mixed media.
Contextual & Critical Analysis Studies: Cultivate critical thinking by integrating art history, contemporary visual culture, and critical theory into practical design work, guiding pupils to articulate complex analytical concepts within their sketchbooks.
GCSE Portfolio & NEA Optimization: Guide Year 11 examination cohorts systematically through the demanding requirements of their personal portfolios (Component 1) and externally set assignments (Component 2), tracking progress metrics to ensure high-grade boundary retention.
Studio Logistical & Safety Management: Oversee the department's specialist equipment and materials with meticulous care, managing stock allocation, preparing individual student workstations, and ensuring a safe, highly functional workspace.
Inclusive Pastoral Support: Fulfil full form tutor responsibilities within an established year group structure, supporting pupil wellbeing, managing daily registration routines, and maintaining proactive, positive communication with families.
PROFILE REQUIREMENTS
Qualifications: Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or a recognised equivalent teaching credential, paired with a strong honours degree in Fine Art, Visual Communication, or a closely related contemporary arts discipline.
Pedagogical Capability: A proven track record or clear capacity to deliver strong progress metrics and high-grade retention in terminal public GCSE examinations through structured, explicit, and highly engaging visual arts pedagogy.
Enthusiastic & Adaptable Ethos: An unwavering commitment to comprehensive education, possessing the exceptional communication skills, technical passion, and organizational clarity required to challenge high-attaining pupils while building artistic confidence in pupils of all backgrounds.
REGIONAL CONTEXT
Shropshire Heritage & Vibrant Artistic Footprint: Based in the historic county town of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, the school capitalizes on a unique regional identity defined by its medieval architecture, stunning loop of the River Severn, and rich cultural heritage. The town's thriving visual arts scene—anchored by the Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery, local independent creative hubs, and proximity to the inspiring landscapes of the Shropshire Hills—provides a spectacular, real-world backdrop for historical context modules, drawing excursions, and contemporary media analysis, connecting classroom fine art directly to regional artistic expression.
Connectivity & Infrastructure: The campus benefits from excellent regional transport infrastructure, offering straightforward road commuting via the M54 motorway link, the A5, and the A49 trunk roads, seamlessly connecting the town to Telford, Oswestry, and Chester. Public transit networks operate efficiently across the borough, utilizing comprehensive local bus networks alongside Shrewsbury railway station—a major regional rail hub providing high-frequency Transport for Wales and West Midlands Railway services that link the school directly to Wolverhampton, Birmingham New Street, Crewe, and Manchester Piccadilly.
APPLICATION INTAKE
Please submit your current CV to begin the application process.
