Headteacher

Mercia School, Sheffield, S7 2DY

22 days remaining to apply

• Job start date

  1 September 2026

• Closing date

  20 March 2026 at 8am

• Date listed

  26 February 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
• Full-time equivalent salary: L32-L36 (£110,892 - £122,306)

Headteacher job summary

Salary: L32 - L36 (£110,892 - £122,306)

Contract term: Full time, 1.0FTE, permanent

Start date: September 2026

Closing date: 8am Friday 20 March 2026

Mercia Learning Trust

Mercia Learning Trust is a successful partnership of four primary and three secondary schools located in the south-west of Sheffield. Established in 2012, with one secondary school, our trust has grown to serving over 5000 pupils, with 650 staff.

Why do we exist?

• To empower everyone in our communities, especially the most disadvantaged, to succeed.
  

How do we behave?

• We are kind - showing care and supporting each other.
  
• We have integrity - doing the right thing and always putting children first.
  
• We work with diligence - overcoming obstacles and having no excuses.
  

What do we do?

• We run schools that focus on academic excellence, cultural capital and the development of character.
  

How will we succeed?

• A culture of excellence – high standards shaped by clarity, not control.
  
• Academic focus – empowering all children through an exceptional curriculum.
  
• Purposeful collaboration – relationships built on trust, reducing sub-optimisation and driving collective success.
  

Our staff are a crucial part of our trust, just like our pupils. We are devoted to recruiting, training, retaining and taking good care of our highly skilled and dedicated team.

Mercia School

Mercia School (11-18) opened in 2018 in a brand-new building. Since opening, the school has secured a strong national reputation for educational excellence.

In February 2023, Ofsted inspected the school and graded all aspects of provision to be ‘Outstanding’. GCSE results are consistently exceptional, with all pupils securing high levels of attainment. In the summer of 2023, Mercia School achieved the highest Progress 8 score for disadvantaged pupils, this high-level of performance was repeated in 2024.

In September 2023, Mercia Collegiate Sixth Form opened and the first set of results in 2025 were the highest of any state school in Sheffield.

The role

Due to Mercia School's current headteacher taking up a new post within our trust, we are looking for a new leader who has experience of working in high performing schools. Ultimately, this individual will have the drive and skill to keep Mercia School as one of the best schools nationally, maintaining the successful model that has already been created.

The successful candidate will be supported by our trust leadership team to implement strategies with fidelity and rigour.

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

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.

About Mercia School

• School type: Free School, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• School size: 1046 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Mercia School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/mercia-school

At Mercia School we offer an education that is traditional and academically rigorous.

It is our belief that all pupils, whatever their background, have a right to a culturally rich education.

We strive to ensure all pupils can access the very best universities in the land, or a valuable alternative.

School location

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