Director of Music
Wycombe High School, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP11 1TB26 days remaining to apply
Job start date
1 September 2026
Closing date
23 March 2026 at 8am
Date listed
25 February 2026
Job details
Job role
- Head of department or curriculum
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- £32,916.00 - £51,048.00 Annually (Actual) Additional Competitive TLR
Director of Music job summary
The successful applicant will be a strong classroom teacher with a track record of adding value to their own classes and their department. They must also be able to teach Music at A Level.
Candidates will have strong interpersonal skills and thrive in a vibrant, creative environment. The role is based within our successful Music Department, which plays a key role in the cultural life of the school.
Our students are passionate about learning, motivated to succeed, and demonstrate exemplary behaviour.
The department teaches across the core Key Stages, including KS5, alongside thriving ensembles, choirs, orchestras and a wide-ranging co-curricular programme. Music is highly valued across the school, with students also working in close collaboration with Drama to deliver high-quality school productions and performance opportunities.
This collaboration enriches the artistic life of the school and provides students with authentic, ambitious performance experiences.
We are committed to the ongoing professional development of our excellent staff. In a recent staff survey, 100% of staff stated they were proud to work at Wycombe High School.
We offer a culture which supports and energises people to be the best teachers they can be, where staff nurture one another and share ideas, where work life balance and wellbeing are encouraged and supported. This is matched by an excellent remuneration package and first-class teaching and leadership development.
We are looking for the right person to fill this vacancy; you are looking for the right school to work in. The characteristics we are looking for include:
- Good honours degree in academic Music
- Qualified Teacher Status
- Proven track record as an accomplished practitioner, with experience of leading or supporting departmental improvement
- Innovative, able to identify and implement strategies to raise standards and drive improvement across the department
- Confident and effective user of ICT to enhance teaching, learning, and departmental management
- Ambitious for self, the department, and students, with a clear vision for Music education
- Proactive, able to use initiative, and demonstrate leadership in developing others
- Able to work effectively and calmly under pressure, managing competing priorities
- Collaborative approach to problem-solving and achieving departmental goals
- Excellent subject knowledge, with the ability to inspire and support colleagues
- Evidence of building strong relationships with students, staff, and the wider school community
- Ability to analyse data to inform departmental strategy and improve outcomes
- Enthusiastic about curriculum development and leading change
- Committed to the ethos, vision, and values of Wycombe High School
The salary for this role will be on the Teachers Pay Scale at MPS/UPS plus a competitive TLR. The successful candidate will be enrolled into the TPS, to which the school contributes 28.68%. As a school we are committed to equal opportunities for applicants, and to Safeguarding and the protection of children and young people. Any queries about the position can be directed to the HR Manager via hr@whs.bucks.sch.uk.
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.
Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.
Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children
You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
Applying for the job
This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.
CVs will not be accepted for this application.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About Wycombe High School
- School type
- Academy, ages 11 to 18
- Education phase
- Secondary school
- School size
- 1361 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- Wycombe High School website
Wycombe High School is a girls’ selective state academy school with 1304 students on roll, of whom around 400 are in the Sixth Form. Each year 192 girls are admitted into Year 7. All students are assigned to a vertical tutor group consisting of about 21 students; usually three students from each year. group There are six houses with 10 tutor groups in each house. Our school is part of the Wycombe High School Academies Trust.
The school has educated girls of High Wycombe for over a hundred years and is very highly regarded in the local and wider community. There is a strong and shared sense of community and collective pride, built on core values. Parental support is strong. We have excellent links with other local schools, colleges and universities. We have a knowledgeable and supportive Governing Body fully involved with all aspects of school life, and an enthusiastic and active Parents and Friends Association.
Our staff are professional, forward-looking and committed to extending the horizons of our students, encouraging them to aim high, to take on leadership roles and to become independent learners. We have an ambitious development plan, with a focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning, both within and beyond the classroom.
We are a National Support School, a Teaching School and one of 35 Mathematics Hubs nationally. We are delighted to have been recently designated as a National Mathematics and Physics SCITT in 2017 and have strong community partnerships. We have invested substantially in IT systems and training. We also have an outstanding reputation for the performing and visual arts. Numerous educational visits take place each year and for every age group, at home and abroad.
Our school motto summarises our ethos and sense of community. All those who study, work at, or send their children to our school are part of this community and are role models for our ethos.
Fortiter, Fideliter, Feliciter
(Courageously, Faithfully, Joyfully)
Courageously:
Each student is encouraged to embrace our core values of honesty, respect and hard work. She is encouraged to speak out against injustice, supported to take risks, and is not afraid of failure. She learns new subjects and skills. She pushes herself to her personal limits and beyond. She is encouraged to listen to the opinions of others, as well as to voice her own. She accepts responsibility for herself and other students. She leads the school in partnership with staff and the governing body. She is independent and innovative in thought and action.
Faithfully:
Every student is expected to uphold our school rules and traditions. She acts with integrity and is truthful and honest in all she does. She keeps promises and is reliable. She works hard to achieve her full potential. Above all she is a good friend, a good neighbour and a good citizen. She contributes positively to school life and society.
Joyfully:
All our students contribute to making our school the happy and joyful place it is. Each student demonstrates mutual respect and empathy for all and is proud of her own achievements and those of others. She shows commitment to a fair and peaceful community and embraces diversity. Our students are happy and positive in approach, and support others to be the same.
As an immediate adopter of the Early Career Framework, any NQT applying will be guaranteed two years on a reduced timetable, a dedicated mentor and access to an exceptional career development programme.
School location
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