Head of Sixth Form (Assistant Head) from September 2026 in Stourbridge

We are seeking an ambitious, inspirational and forward looking individual with strong leadership qualities and the vision, passion and skills to drive up academic standards and lead the Sixth Form.

Welcome to Old Swinford Hospital, one of the country’s leading state boarding schools. A large number of the School’s students are boarders who come from a wide range of backgrounds in the UK and also from the EU and overseas. A third of our pupils are day pupils, who usually go home after lessons, unless they are involved in sport or music, CCF or DofE. The School is now fully co-educational.

Old Swinford Hospital is a calm place to work. It is inclusive, tolerant and welcoming. The atmosphere is supportive and orderly, and it is also very relaxed because for many of our pupils their school is also their home. Parents, pupils and staff are all on the same side and our pupils want to learn before going out into the wider world and making their own contribution to it.

We have had two very favourable Ofsted visits, one for boarding and one for curriculum. We enjoy a very good academic reputation and regularly feature in the lists of the most academically successful maintained schools. We pride ourselves on developing in our pupils a balance of academic achievement, character and resilience.

Our extensive extra-curricular programme contributes to our pupils becoming happy, healthy and interested young people, for whom sport, music, art, drama, and outdoor pursuits feature in their everyday lives.

About the Sixth Form: The Sixth Form has been co-educational for over 20 years, and our year groups are made up of students who board as well as day students. Sixth Form lessons take place all over our extensive site but most Sixth Formers are based in their own learning resource centre in a modern and well-equipped teaching block in Swinford Court.

The vast majority of students start their Sixth Form career on three A-level subjects, often complemented by the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). We are committed to academic rigour through our 'Dynamis' pathways specialist enrichment streams in the Arts, Social Sciences or STEM. These provide undergraduate-level lectures on topics ranging from the Enlightenment, Chaos Theory to International Security, encouraging students to engage in super-curricular research and MOOCs that go far beyond the standard specification. Leavers’ destinations regularly include Oxbridge and Russell Group universities; we celebrate with equal enthusiasm those students who enter the world of work or find highly competitive degree apprenticeships and vocational placements.

One of the major attractions helping to recruit students to the Sixth Form at Old Swinford Hospital is the range of extracurricular activities on offer. Students recognise the value of these activities and virtually all of them participate at some level in sport, music, drama or inter-house competition. Our Sixth Formers take a lead in the Combined Cadet Force (CCF), the student-led 'Interact' charitable society and the 'MAFIA' (Mentoring and Friendships in Action) peer-support programme.

All students in the Sixth Form are assigned to tutor groups, where they meet around 20 students each morning for registration and tutorials. Students in the Sixth Form are rightly proud of themselves and of the school. Guided by our motto Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), we expect the highest standards in terms of academic and social behaviour. Members of Y12 and Y13 set the tone for the whole school, acting as ambassadors, mentors, role models and leaders who embody the unique spirit of a boarding community.

Who are we looking for? The Head of Sixth Form is a key role at Old Swinford Hospital which combines both academic and pastoral leadership for the two year groups at the top of the school. The successful candidate will require personal drive and determination, combined with excellent attention to detail, genuine care for the wellbeing of the students and a keen desire to support them towards success.

The Head of Sixth Form is a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), responsible to the Head for all matters concerning the leadership, management, culture and ethos of the Sixth Form, and the careers programme at Old Swinford Hospital. As a member of SLT they take collective responsibility for the overall leadership, management and administration of the School under the direction of the Head and also manage a number of subject leaders.

The Head of Sixth Form will ‘walk the talk’, be a key role model to students and colleagues in terms of hard work and learning, uphold the ethos and aspirations of the Sixth Form and be able to articulate a vision for the Old Swinford Hospital Sixth Form to a range of stakeholders, including prospective students and parents. They will be generous with their time and will attend frequent events at the School and be supportive of the co-curricular programme and the Church of England ethos of the School.

The role would equally suit a serving Head/Head of Sixth Form wishing to find a new challenge or an ambitious teacher wishing to join a forward thinking and innovative SLT.

Old Swinford Hospital welcomes applications for employment from all sectors of the community.

Suitability to Work with Children: Old Swinford Hospital is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants are required to undertake an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check. The School reserves the right to close the job advert early where sufficient applications have been received and so we encourage early applications to ensure consideration for the post.