Principal

Northampton Academy, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN3 8NH

31 days remaining to apply

• Job start date

  1 September 2026

• Closing date

  16 April 2026 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  16 March 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: Competitive salary plus benefits package

What skills and experience we're looking for

Northampton Academy is a beacon of academic excellence in East Northampton. It is a highly popular, co-educational, non-selective, 11-18 academy with 1,750 students. The school has a well-deserved reputation for strong academic progress and a nationally recognised character programme, empowering students to excel in the classroom and beyond. The school’sco-curricular offering is truly exceptional, leading the way in showcasing the wealth of opportunities provided for students to develop an Education with Character.

This is an outstanding opportunity for a leader with the vision to lead the school into its next chapter as an extraordinary school with a national reputation for high achievement. The new Principal will bring a track record of excellence in educational practice, they will have the integrity, tenacity and compassion to lead this exceptional school community.

What the school offers its staff

United Learning is a big group of schools – with over 75,000 pupils and more than 10,000 staff – so we have the capacity to support you educationally and operationally. At the same time, we are values led and base all that we do on good relationships, so you will be joining a big family. Reporting directly to the Regional Director, you will be supported both personally and professionally, benefitting from the strength of a national group who will support your development and that of your staff and school.

We are committed to fairness, diversity and inclusion. We are currently working hard to improve representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic leaders at headship level and to raise our proportion of women leaders to match their representation in our wider workforce. Whoever you are, if you have a strong track record of improving young people’s education and a drive to do more, we very much look forward to hearing from you.

If you wish to discover more about this exciting opportunity, need any further information or would like to have an informal discussion please contact our Head of Leadership Recruitment, Geoff Morris on geoff.morris@unitedlearning.org.uk

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

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.

Northampton Academy_Principal pack_Mar26.pdf - 2.66 MB (opens in new tab)

About Northampton Academy

• School type: Academy, Christian, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• School size: 1719 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Northampton Academy website
• Email address: geoff.morris@unitedlearning.org.uk
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/northampton-academy

Northampton Academy is a transformational comprehensive and non-selective school of approximately 1700 students, serving a diverse community. We were proud to be judged 'outstanding' by Ofsted in all areas in March 2023. Our values, which underpin every decision we take, are Respect, Determination, Ambition, Tolerance and Integrity.

Northampton Academy is part of United Learning, one of the country’s leading multi-academy trusts. We serve more than 64,000 pupils and support around 10,000 staff in our schools, and we offer a growing range of additional services, including teacher training, professional development programmes, and a full curriculum package for schools.
Everything that we do is geared towards improving life outcomes for young people. We also believe in offering our staff 'more pay, more time and more support'.

Arranging a visit to Northampton Academy

To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email geoff.morris@unitedlearning.org.uk.

School location

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