Music Administrator
West London Free School, London, W6 9LP25 days remaining to apply
Job start date
13 April 2026
Closing date
22 February 2026 at 11:59pm
Date listed
28 January 2026
Job details
Job role
- Other support roles
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Subject
- Music
Working pattern
- Full time: Our usual working day is 8.30am to 4pm.
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- £31,586 to £35,235
What skills and experience we're looking for
About the job
We are seeking to appoint a Music Administrator to assist with the successful running of all aspects of the busy department at WLFS. This is an important and highly valued role in a thriving department which requires excellent organisational skills to support its smooth running. The department includes 20 VMTs (Visiting Music Teachers), teaching around 300 instrumental lessons per week, and the ideal candidate will oversee all aspects of their delivery. They will also have a high profile in the organisation of events, and there will be a strong pupil-facing element to the role.
We particularly welcome applications from active musicians, with opportunities for the successful candidate to be highly involved in the practical life of the department, assisting with ensembles, concerts and trips. The Music Administrator reports to the Director of Music, George de Voil.
The Music Department
The WLFS has been a music specialist school since its foundation, and the department is well resourced, with four full-time music teachers, supported by a full-time assistant and twenty visiting teachers. Twelve pupils each year enter the school as music scholars. At Key Stage 3, pupils have two hours a week of classroom music teaching, and develop a thorough theoretical and practical grasp of traditional music notation. Around half participate in either an after-school music ensemble or receive instrumental lessons, with almost 300 individual lessons taking place each week, and a scheme to encourage the study of ‘rare’ orchestral instruments.
Our proportion of pupils taking Music GCSE (OCR) in Years 10 and 11 is among the highest for any secondary school in the country. At A-level we offer both Music (Eduqas) and Music Technology (Edexcel), and former pupils often study at the country’s most prestigious universities, with alumni winning choral scholarships and reading Music, recently at Merton and New Colleges in Oxford. The department runs an orchestra, a string group, a wind band, and a number of choirs, including a staff & parent choral society. There is a busy programme of concerts, competitions, foreign and UK tours, cathedral visits, and an ambitious history of school musicals (with recent examples including The Sound of Music and Les Miserables). The programme for 2026 includes a tour to France, singing across Normandy and in La Madeleine, Paris, a performance of Orff’s Carmina Burana, and a production of Guys and Dolls, as well as concert trips to the Proms and Cadogan Hall. As such, music is central to the life of the school. We believe that music makes our pupils’ lives, and our school community, richer in spirit. In this the department is fully supported by the senior leadership team.
Key Responsibilities
- Administrative oversight of all aspect of instrumental/vocal lessons including processing new applications for lessons, promoting the ‘rare instruments’ scheme, managing the timetabling and rooming process, liaising with other departments in the school to resolve timetabling clash issues, and invoicing parents.
- Keeping the department spaces (including the practice rooms) in good order.
- Overseeing the school’s systems for administering music lessons, and liaising with school IT team when issues occur. Developing a good relationship across school departments is essential.
- Liaising with the HR department regarding the recruitment and induction of new VMTs and ensuring VMTs are up to date with safeguarding training.
- Keeping an accurate inventory of the school’s musical instrument collection, co-ordinating loans to pupils, and organising servicing, repairs and tuning as required.
- Administration and stewarding of all practical music examinations, including entries, timetables, results and billing. Providing statistics on entries and results.
- Organising the annual music parents' evening, and collating and proofreading the annual written reports by VMTs.
- Monitoring the music scholar programme, by co-ordinating the annual music aptitude tests, and keeping records of music scholars’ activities and achievements.
- Assisting with the organisation, promotion and smooth running of music department events, including external concerts, trips and musical theatre productions, willing to supervise and direct pupils as appropriate and to liaise with parents and audiences.
- Maintaining up-to-dates records of ensemble membership and attendance.
- Taking minutes and contributing to the agenda of music department meetings.
- Keeping the department noticeboards and signage up to date with relevant information, and developing its online presence through promotional material.
- Liaising closely with the finance team about purchases and budgetary matters.
- Assisting with delivering music theory classes and an interest in providing some support to the academic and co-curricular programme (e.g. assisting with the recording of performing coursework, supporting composition coursework clinics, coaching pupils in an individual or ensemble context) would be a distinct advantage.
Person Specification
- Methodical and well-organised with excellent attention to detail; flexible and able to work on own initiative
- Good verbal and written communication skills
- Able to establish a good rapport with pupils, parents and staff alike, and to work effectively as part of a team; excellent problem-solving skills and a ‘can do’ attitude
- Excellent IT skills – fully conversant with MS Office (especially Excel, Word, Teams, SharePoint and Outlook) and an excellent ability to learn bespoke systems such as Arbor. Familiarity with notation/sequencing software would be an advantage
- The post would particularly suit an applicant with a musical and/or educational background and understanding, e.g. choral singers/instrumentalists.
- Experience of having worked in a busy administrative capacity (desirable)
What the school offers its staff
The West London Free School
The West London Free School is one of the country's pioneering free schools, renowned for academic excellence, high standards of behaviour and a wide choice of co-curricular clubs. Since our foundation in 2011, we have provided all children with a rigorous, knowledge-rich education irrespective of their background. We believe that knowledge is a good in and of itself, empowering pupils to understand and take an interest in the world around them. The education we offer is not just a preparation for work, but a preparation for life. As such, we value the knowledge of our teachers, and the passion for their subject that they bring to the classroom.
We offer a challenging curriculum, with a supportive environment, underpinned by fantastic teachers. Through this combination, pupils at the West London Free School excel. The Sunday Times chose us to be their 'London Comprehensive School of the Year' in 2025, and UK 'Comprehensive School of the Year' in 2026. Our most recent exam results in 2025 were our best yet as a school:
- A-level: 60% of entries were graded A* to A, and 87% were graded A* to B.
- GCSE: 63% of entries were graded 9 to 7, and 93% were graded 9 to 4. Our Attainment 8 was 69.1, making us the fourth best comprehensive school in England for GCSE outcomes.
- WLFS students went on to study at some of the best universities in the UK and abroad, with 13 students accepted to courses at Oxford or Cambridge in 2024.
At the West London Free School, we aim to build a culture of sustainable success. We have a stable body of staff who feel supported and fulfilled.
- Senior leaders are highly visible and approachable.
- The pastoral team take responsibility for ensuring all teachers can teach without disruption. School rules are non-negotiable, and poor behaviour is met by escalating sanctions.
- Our staff surveys have regularly shown staff morale and other indicators of professional satisfaction at the WLFS to be significantly higher than national benchmarks.
As well as a knowledge rich education, the WLFS runs an extensive co-curricular programme that encourages children to develop outside the classroom. The school specialises in music and offers a range of sporting opportunities as well as general interest clubs. All staff are encouraged to share their co-curricular enthusiasm by committing one hour a week to running a school club.
Rewards & Benefits
People are at the heart of our success. We look for talented and ambitious individuals who share our vision for creating an exceptional school, and are committed to ensuring that every child has access to the best possible education. Pursuing a career at the WLFS also gives you the chance to work alongside a highly capable and committed Senior Leadership team. Senior Leaders at WLFS all teach, pay due attention to workload pressures and are highly visible ‘in the corridors’.
We have developed a positive and supportive staff culture at the WLFS, and we invest in our staff with support, coaching and mentoring as well as external training programmes. To that end, we offer:
- Teachers’ Pension Scheme for teaching staff
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Complimentary drinks
- Employee counselling
- Recommend a teacher bonus scheme
- Staff children have priority admission into the school (after 2 years’ service)
- Season ticket travel loan
Closing date and interviews
The School reserves the right to commence or complete the interview process at any time prior to the start date.
Please apply either via the jobs portal through which you found this advert, or by completing the application form on the WLFS website and returning it to the Joint Headteachers Ben McLaughlin and Rob Peal via r.peal@wlfs.org.
Informal enquiries to the Director of Music (g.devoil@wlfs.org) are welcomed.
Equal Opportunities
The Knowledge Schools Trust is an equal opportunities employer. The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the School is therefore permitted to ask job applicants to declare all convictions and cautions in order to assess their suitability to work with children.
The West London Free School and the Knowledge Schools Trust is fully committed to the principles of equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion. We want to attract and retain the very best staff in all areas of the Trust, ensuring our staff body reflects the diversity of our students and local community.
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
The Knowledge Schools Trust is an equal opportunities employer. The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the School is therefore permitted to ask job applicants to declare all convictions and cautions (including those which are "spent" unless they are "protected" under the DBS filtering rules) in order to assess their suitability to work with children.
Applying for the job
Please complete the online application.
CVs will not be accepted for this application.
Apply for this jobAdditional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About West London Free School
- School type
- Free School, ages 11 to 18
- Education phase
- Secondary school
- School size
- 921 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- West London Free School website
- Email address
- r.peal@wlfs.org
The West London Free School is one of the country's pioneering free schools, renowned for academic excellence, high standards of behaviour and a wide choice of co-curricular clubs. Since our foundation in 2011, we have provided all children with a rigorous, knowledge-rich education irrespective of their background. We believe that knowledge is a good in and of itself, empowering pupils to understand and take an interest in the world around them. The education we offer is not just a preparation for work, but a preparation for life. As such, we value the knowledge of our teachers, and the passion for their subject that they bring to the classroom.
We offer a challenging curriculum, with a supportive environment, underpinned by fantastic teachers. Through this combination, pupils at the West London Free School excel. The Sunday Times chose us to be their 'London Comprehensive School of the Year' in 2025, and UK 'Comprehensive School of the Year' in 2026. Our most recent exam results in 2025 were our best yet as a school:
• A-level: 60% of entries were graded A* to A, and 87% were graded A* to B.
• GCSE: 63% of entries were graded 9 to 7, and 93% were graded 9 to 4. Our Attainment 8 was 69.1, making us the fourth best comprehensive school in England for GCSE outcomes.
• WLFS students went on to study at some of the best universities in the UK and abroad, with 13 students accepted to courses at Oxford or Cambridge in 2024.
At the West London Free School, we aim to build a culture of sustainable success. We have a stable body of staff who feel supported and fulfilled.
• Senior leaders are highly visible and approachable.
• The pastoral team take responsibility for ensuring all teachers can teach without disruption. School rules are non-negotiable, and poor behaviour is met by escalating sanctions.
• Our staff surveys have regularly shown staff morale and other indicators of professional satisfaction at the WLFS to be significantly higher than national benchmarks.
As well as a knowledge rich education, the WLFS runs an extensive co-curricular programme that encourages children to develop outside the classroom. The school specialises in music and offers a range of sporting opportunities as well as general interest clubs. All staff are encouraged to share their co-curricular enthusiasm by committing one hour a week to running a school club.
Arranging a visit to West London Free School
To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email r.peal@wlfs.org.
School location
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