* Job Type: Full-time, 1 year maternity contract
* Department: Chemistry Department
* Reporting to: Head of Chemistry
* Location: Highgate, North London
* Start: September 2025
* Closing Date: 5 February 2025 at 8:00 am
An enthusiastic and inspiring Chemistry graduate, or a closely related discipline, is required for September 2025 to teach at this academically selective, coeducational North London day school on a 1 year maternity contract.
Applicants should be able to teach Chemistry with confidence to the most able Sixth Form pupils, as well as assist in top university applications. The school has significant experience in successfully training teachers who enter the profession without formal teaching qualifications and in providing suitable opportunities for continued professional development for experienced teachers. The school supports colleagues who wish to gain Qualified Teaching Status.
The Department
All pupils study Chemistry as a separate subject in Year 8 to Year 11, before following the Edexcel IGCSE course. A General Science course is taught in Year 7, to which all three science departments contribute and which all members of the Science Faculty can be expected to teach. The majority of pupils will take IGCSEs in all three sciences. In the last year of public examinations (2024), 99% of pupils taking IGCSE Chemistry achieved 7-9 grades, and 65% achieved the top grade 9. In the Sixth Form, the OCR A specification is taught and Chemistry is a popular choice for students, with six classes per year group. Standards of achievement in the Sixth Form are also high: at least three quarters of pupils achieve A* or A grades and a number of pupils receive offers from Oxbridge to read Chemistry or Natural Sciences each year (six in 2024).
The department is located centrally within the school. There are four Chemistry laboratories (all with dedicated experimental areas), a departmental office and separate prep room. Three experienced technicians work in the Chemistry Department. The department invites guest speakers to the school, runs a rigorous and varied Sixth Form extension programme and organises a number of thriving societies that meet on a regular basis, including a Junior Science Club. Around half of our Sixth Form students volunteer to enter the annual RSC Chemistry Olympiad Competition, where the majority will gain a medal.
Teachers in the department are passionate about Chemistry and are deeply committed to teaching the whole of the subject to their pupils. Looking beyond the limitations of examination specifications, they prioritise teaching concepts from first principles wherever possible, not just in the Sixth form but in all years, and seek out opportunities to broaden or deepen their own understanding through wider reading and intra-department discussions. They challenge their pupils to be academically independent and to take risks in their pursuit of a solution to a problem.
I get to work with brilliantly curious pupils, in an inspiring and inclusive department. The ethos to support pupils to solve problems for themselves makes for satisfying, dynamic lessons.
Person Specification
Support | A welcoming, comfortable and exceptionally well-resourced environment with significant assistance from a range of support staff.
Pension | The School pays the employer’s contribution to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
Professional development | Comprehensive induction. Focus on continued learning and development for all employees.
Holidays | Terms are shorter than in the maintained sector.
Location | Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.
Facilities | Free access, at stipulated times, to our sports facilities, including a fitness suite and new swimming pool. Staff can borrow from 1,700 books held in the Sir Martin Gilbert Library.
Lunch | Free tea and coffee A complimentary lunch including hot meals, sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit and dessert.
Sustainable travel | Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme and a Season Ticket Loan scheme for public transport.
Flexible working | Flexibility for parents, enhanced maternity pay and paid dependant leave.
Working at Highgate
A culture of community, kindness and belonging
Highgate is a caring, open-minded community, where we promote kindness, empathy and friendship. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of a welcoming environment that enables them to be themselves and to thrive as individuals.
Our community extends beyond the school, through partnerships, charity work and our commitment to equality, inclusion and sustainability. All members of our school community are encouraged to look outwards and play an active role.
In a recent ISI inspection (Dec 2021), it was noted that “Pupils show exceptional respect for, and appreciate diversity within the school and wider community, and their own and other cultures, demonstrating sensitivity and tolerance to those from different backgrounds and traditions.”
Highgate is committed to staff wellbeing, which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance; trying our best to support flexible working requests; providing a nutritious complimentary lunch in the dining hall; and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool.
The Staff Wellbeing Committee, with representatives across the School, meets regularly to drive forward initiatives, and a selection of staff have been trained as Mental-Health First Aiders.
We encourage an open culture throughout our school, with regular staff surveys, action committees and opportunities to feedback. We strive for continual learning and improvement, and staff training and development is paramount. There are opportunities to participate in the wider life of our school, such as taking part in trips or societies and getting involved in partnership projects.
More details about working at Highgate can be found here:
A fun, collaborative and forward-thinking environment with a real sense of community
Charitable work and sustainability
As an independent school, we want to use our position as a charity effectively: to make high-quality education accessible to as many children as possible – through our bursary programme at Highgate and through our work with local state schools. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and we are the principal educational sponsor for London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham – an academically-selective state sixth form in a community where such opportunities are lacking.
Alongside this, our staff and pupils undertake charitable activities throughout the year. These range from staff giving up their time to neighbourhood schools and charitable organisations, focused fundraising campaigns, to pupils undertaking community work in the local area or further afield.
As a school, we have a central role to play in educating our pupils, staff and parents about the importance of environmental sustainability. We are taking positive action to adapt our operational performance to tackle the negative effects of climate change. We encourage all our staff to reflect upon their personal and professional practices, to support our environmental agenda and to make positive changes wherever possible.
Application procedure
* Closing Date: 5th February 2025
* Timing of interviews: w/c 10 February 2025
Contact: James Newton, Deputy Head (Academic) and Ella Cameron, Head of Chemistry, are happy to answer any questions about this post.
Early Application: Applications will be considered ‘as and when’ received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.
We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams, and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staff and pupils will feel a sense of belonging and will thrive. To enable us to make reasonable adjustments, please let us know of any disabilities (including neuro-divergence) when you submit your application.
Safeguarding
As this role will have regular unsupervised contact with children you must, if appointed, comply with Highgate’s Safeguarding Policy and Staff Code of Conduct. If, in the course of carrying out the duties of the post, the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety and welfare of our pupils, these concerns must be reported immediately in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy. If, while in the post, Highgate becomes aware of any safeguarding concerns to staff, pupils or the community, these will need to be followed up in line with the safeguarding policy and code of conduct which is underpinned by KCSE and other legislation. These concerns may need to be shared with other agencies. A copy of these policies will accompany all offers of employment. Training will also be provided to all staff to support Safeguarding practice.
Please read before you apply
Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities.
Please note that this role is ‘exempt’ from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore, you are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not ‘protected’ (i.e. filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not be filtered, prior to the date of the interview.
In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.
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