Headteacher
Heckmondwike Grammar School, Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, WF16 0AH15 days remaining to apply
Closing date
26 June 2026 at 9am
Date listed
22 May 2026
Job details
Job role
- Headteacher
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Key stage
- Key stage 3, Key stage 4, Key stage 5
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Pay scale
- L37 – L43 (£125,345 – £143,796)
What skills and experience we're looking for
The Governing Body of Heckmondwike Grammar School are seeking to appoint a suitably experienced and inspirational Headteacher to lead Heckmondwike Grammar School, a popular and successful co-educational, selective Grammar School, situated in the pleasant town of Heckmondwike in West Yorkshire and within easy reach of both the M1 and M62.
Applications are welcomed from experienced Headteachers or ambitious Deputy Headteachers or Assistant Headteachers with the necessary qualities and skills to lead our school in the next, exciting stage of its development. Heckmondwike Grammar School is a friendly and welcoming school and an exciting place in which to learn (OFSTED 2022). It enjoys a local and national reputation for high standards of achievement. Furthermore, the development of personal skills and the importance of extra-curricular are crucial components of everyday life in the school.
We are passionate about using evidence-informed practices in teaching and learning, curriculum, behaviour management and CPD. We regard academic achievement and pastoral support as being of equal importance. We value teachers as experts in their subject and provide them with high levels of trust and autonomy. We are committed to staff well-being and have taken steps to reduce teachers’ workload.
We are seeking a Headteacher who will be:
- an inspirational leader with outstanding communication skills and an ability to work successfully with all stakeholders;
- committed to continuing to raise educational standards whilst ensuring a wide curriculum offer for all students;
- able to contribute to and develop the vision and values of the school; and
- able to demonstrate a track record of success in their current post.
This is an excellent opportunity for a suitably talented and motivated senior leader who is ambitious to lead our popular and highly regarded school.
What the school offers its staff
If you are interested in the post which we very much hope you will be, please contact the Headteacher’s PA, Mrs J Dunn, at jdunn@heckgrammar.co.uk who can arrange informal visits which we strongly encourage. To apply, please complete the application form which includes a supporting statement. Completed applications should be sent by email to: recruitment@heckgrammar.co.uk
Further information about the job
Closing date for applications: 9.00am on Friday 26th June 2026
Interviews will be held on: Wednesday 8th July 2026 and Thursday 9th July 2026
This appointment is supported by Peter Monk from ASCL’s Leadership Appointment Service
Interested candidates who wish to have a further conversation about the post should contact Peter Monk at peter.monk@ascl.org.uk who will make contact with you and arrange a telephone conversation.
Commitment to safeguarding
Safeguarding Statement:
Heckmondwike Grammar School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its
students and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
Full details regarding our Safeguarding Procedures can be found on our website in the Safeguarding section, alternatively, please contact Recruitment to obtain a copy.
Applying for the job
This job requires you to download an application form, you will be able to upload the application once complete.
CVs will not be accepted for this application.
Additional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About Heckmondwike Grammar School
- School type
- Academy, ages 11 to 18
- Education phase
- Secondary school
- School size
- 1468 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- Heckmondwike Grammar School website
- Email address
- djepsonnorth@heckgrammar.co.uk
Heckmondwike Grammar School is a unique school, with students who are eager to learn, keen to know more and want to enjoy their educational experiences. It is exceptional in many ways: a very diverse school community that produces results of the highest quality. We work effectively with our young people, really care about them and their futures and have an ultimate success measure of enabling them to proceed to where they want to go. Excellent relationships between staff and students are the norm, expectations are high and students perform very well as a consequence.
We are delighted to have been named “Secondary School of the Year”, in the North of England, for 2024 and 2025 in the Sunday Times Parent Power Guide. This is a measure of school performance for GCSE and A level outcomes.
At GCSE our students typically exceed government set target grades by more than 1 grade in each subject and we are ranked second nationally for state coeducational schools.
At A level, we rank in the top 20% of providers nationally for grades AAB or above and typically 3 times the national average of our students attend Oxbridge universities.
We are very proud of our academic heritage.
Misbehaviour is rare; and excellent relationships between staff and students are the norm: teachers are able to ‘get on and teach’. Working here is still challenging, however, but in different ways: expectations are high and potential applicants will need to be able to operate effectively in a top performing environment. However, one of the principal joys of working at this school is our eloquent and motivated students. Consequently, outcomes are amongst the very best in the country, and this is the result of able cohorts being provided with high quality teaching that is supported by strong pastoral care for each student. The school is justifiably proud of the focus on academic attainment and knowledge of each individual that enables education to be tailored to every student’s needs; but also prioritises the support it provides to enable any barriers to progress to be addressed. The focus is and will always remain teaching and learning in the classroom, with staff training and development being the main means of achieving this end.
The school is very popular and heavily oversubscribed, with well over 1500 students applying for entry into Year 7 each year, competing for one of 210 places. Post 16, we are similarly oversubscribed with around 800 applications for one of approximately 225 places in year 12. The majority of our year 11 students continue into the sixth form and are joined by a number of similarly aspirant students from across the region.
We work in partnership with an extensive group of schools, including the Northern Grammar School Alliance (NGSA), and have a significant reputation both locally and nationally. This means we offer our staff opportunities to be involved in professional development on a larger scale and see it as a sign of our high quality when members of our community are promoted to posts elsewhere, or progress internally. As a result, all staff feel very privileged to work here and to work with our young people.
Further information about the school including main school and sixth form prospectus may be found on the school website at www.heckgrammar.co.uk
Arranging a visit to Heckmondwike Grammar School
To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email djepsonnorth@heckgrammar.co.uk.
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