HEAD OF ENGLISH

Hinchley Wood School, Esher, Surrey, KT10 0AQ

10 days remaining to apply

• Job start date

  1 September 2026

• Closing date

  1 May 2026 at 9am

• Date listed

  21 April 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Teacher
  • Head of department or curriculum
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Key stage: Key stage 3, Key stage 4, Key stage 5
• Subject: English
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Pay scale: Competitive London Fringe plus TLR 1.3
• Additional allowances:

  TLR 1.3 (currently £14,862)

What skills and experience we're looking for

We are looking to appoint a dynamic and highly motivated Head of English to provide strong leadership and management for our excellent English department. The successful candidate will display a genuine passion for language and literature and will be a creative, inclusive and outstanding classroom practitioner, with a proven track record of achieving strong results for students of all abilities. The right candidate will have the enthusiasm, drive and energy to inspire both colleagues and students.

If you are an excellent communicator with a clear vision and have a confident understanding of the curriculum, this could be the role for you. The English department is a supportive and hardworking team, and we are looking for someone who will build on their success, lead by example and be committed to the continuous development of classroom practice, both individually and across the department.

What the school offers its staff

We offer an exciting, recently revised, Key Stage Three Curriculum and students study both English Language and English Literature to GCSE (AQA). Year on year the department achieves impressive results. In 2025, 90% of students achieved Grade 4+ in English Language and 91% achieved Grade 4+ in English Literature. At A-level English Literature, the AQA course is taught, and again results are very strong - 96% of grades were A* - C with 26% at A* or A in 2025.

We offer:

• a competitive salary (London Fringe Pay Scale/dependent upon experience);
• professional development support and an extensive CPD programme;
• two-week Autumn half term;
• early close to students at 1.30pm on Fridays;
• a fortnightly early finish for 0.8 FTE+ staff (reviewed year on year)
• generous employer pension contributions;
• cycle to work scheme and free onsite fitness suite;
• priority admissions criteria, enabling any children of the postholder to be considered for priority admission to the school upon commencement of role;
• thriving and varied staff enrichment programme;
• 50% discount on wraparound provision fees for children of staff if they attend one of the trust schools (Thames Ditton Junior School or Hinchley Wood Primary School) TDJS or HWPS

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The position advertised is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check. Staff and governors have also established a code of conduct, included within this pack, which applies to all members of the school community.

Applying for the job

Apply for the job by following the link below.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

Additional documents

If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.

HWS Recruitment Pack final 5.24.pdf - 13.2 MB (opens in new tab)

English Department Info Final 04.26.docx - 16.9 KB (opens in new tab)

Teacher-generic-JD.doc - 71.5 KB (opens in new tab)

About Hinchley Wood School

• School type: Academy, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• School size: 1381 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Hinchley Wood School website
• Email address: mkolebuk@hinchleywoodschool.co.uk
• Phone number: 02083987161
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/hinchley-wood-school-esher

Hinchley Wood is an Ofsted Outstanding (October 2023) inclusive, high achieving and highly sought after school with 1,400 students on roll including 275 in our Sixth form. Located on the borders of SW London, we pride ourselves on celebrating student progress and development as well as academic achievement. In 2023 and 2023 our Progress 8 score of +0.87 put us in the top 5% of schools nationally, and we are in the 200 top performing schools in England and Wales in terms of the progress our students make between the end of Key Stage 2 and their GCSEs.

The last school Ofsted Inspection said “There is a strong learning culture across the school. Pupils develop a deep body of knowledge. This is reflected in external examination results, which are consistently well above the national average.” (Ofsted 2023)

Arranging a visit to Hinchley Wood School

To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email mkolebuk@hinchleywoodschool.co.uk.

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