Headteacher

Sandringham School, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 9NX

21 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  September 2026

• Closing date

  23 February 2026 at 8am

• Date listed

  2 February 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Headteacher
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: L37 to L43
• Additional allowances:

  L37 to L43

Headteacher job summary

Headteacher

Permanent / Full Time

Leadership Scale: L37-43

Required: September 2026

Have you ever imagined leading a school where excellence, warmth and ambition sit side by side? Do you believe deeply in the power of education to transform lives, for young people and for the adults who work alongside them? Are you excited by working in a high-performing team environment and the chance to shape something truly special? If so, this may be the opportunity you have been waiting for.

The Local Governing Body of Sandringham School is seeking to appoint an exceptional Headteacher to lead the school into its next chapter. Following 21 years of principled leadership, Alan Gray is retiring from his position as Headteacher. With our interim Head of School choosing to step away from senior leadership, we are offering a rare and exciting opportunity for a visionary leader to take the helm of a remarkable school.

This is a moment of genuine promise. You will join Sandringham at a position of strength, working closely with two highly experienced Deputy Headteachers, an expert Senior Leadership Team, and a committed LGB, to build on firm foundations and shape the future with confidence and creativity.

We are looking for an inspiring, values-driven leader who leads with empathy, integrity and energy. You will bring:

• a strong and credible track record of senior leadership
• an unrelenting commitment to outstanding teaching and learning
• the ability to communicate with clarity and warmth, and to unite students, staff, families and partners around a shared moral purpose

Sandringham School is proud of its history, recognised for its academic excellence, inclusive ethos and deep commitment to the personal development of every student. As one of ten schools within Ambition Education Trust, the school sits at the heart of a thriving learning community in St Albans, combining high expectations with genuine care and opportunity for all.

Our curriculum is broad, balanced and ambitious, with strengths across all subject areas. Our dedicated staff are passionate, reflective and relentlessly focused on making a difference every day. The school holds International School Status and champions global learning through meaningful partnerships. Facilities are exceptional and include purpose-built teaching spaces, extensive sporting provision, a 4G multi-surface pitch, athletics track, indoor swimming pool, and a professional theatre.

As Headteacher, you will be fully supported and professionally trusted. You will work closely with the Senior Leadership Team, Local Governing Body, the Trust’s CEO and the Trust Board, enjoying the autonomy to lead decisively while benefiting from the strength of a collaborative and ambitious Trust network.

If you are an aspirational leader with the courage, creativity and moral purpose to make a lasting impact on a truly special school community, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Prospective applicants are warmly encouraged to visit the school. Visits can be arranged through Lesley Dunkley or Penny Powell, (please note that the school is closed Thursday 12th and Friday 13th February for staff conference). Further details, including the application pack, are available on our website, please visit sandringham.herts.sch.uk.

Closing Date for applications: Monday 23rd February 2026 at 9am

Interview Date: Thursday 5th and Friday 6th March 2026

Ambition Education Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Appointment to a post at AET is subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, as well as other pre-appointment checks including an online check, as outlined in Keeping Children Safe in Education.

We are committed to the aim of ensuring that everyone who applies to work for us receives fair treatment and we positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of age, disability, race, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership and caring status. We expect all our staff to demonstrate a commitment to advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations.

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 Sandringham School

• School type: Academy, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• School size: 1817 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Sandringham School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/sandringham-school-st-albans

Sandringham is a co-educational academy school, based in St. Albans, Hertfordshire. Sandringham is a non-selective school with over 1600 students, including nearly 450 in the thriving sixth form. Our aim is simple – to be 'World Class' where our students receive the best education possible in a state school.

We believe that every child can succeed in life if challenged and inspired appropriately. A strong academic curriculum supported by outstanding extra-curricular provision helps Sandringham students develop as individuals with the necessary skills to be successful in adult life. Our ethos is summed up by our motto: 'Everybody can be somebody'

School location

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