Working at Highgate is an opportunity to be part of a vibrant, diverse and welcoming community. We currently employ around 650 people who work together to maintain and develop our School and its community.
Work with us
Highgate’s success depends on the quality of our teaching and support staff.
Working at Highgate is an opportunity to be part of a vibrant, diverse and welcoming community. We currently employ around 650 people who work together to maintain and develop our leading co-educational school for pupils aged 4-18.
We are proud to be able to claim some of the top academic results across the UK, as well as winning numerous awards including TES Independent School of the Year, 2020 and the Sunday Times London Independent School of the Decade.
Our attractive North London location is a short distance from central London and adjacent to Hampstead Heath. Transport links include good bus routes and the Northern line of the Underground, meaning central London is just twenty minutes away.
Highgate staff are welcoming, supportive, and always put the pupils' wellbeing first —Mr Zucker, Deputy Principal, Pre-Prep
A dynamic and progressive culture. With yoga lessons, access to the pool and healthy lunches —Miss Knight, Teacher of SpEx
Just so many nice people —Mr Pullan, Assistant Head
Many rewarding opportunities and a culture of connectedness, where your expertise can truly shine —Mr Eltman, Graphic Designer, Support Staff
A fun, collaborative and forward-thinking environment with a real sense of community —Ms Studd, Principal, Junior School
Life at Highgate
Community, kindness and belonging
Highgate is a different kind of independent school. Highgate doesn’t exist in a bubble, but is connected to, and part of, a community. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and, in 2017, Highgate co-founded the free sixth form school, The London Academy of Excellence Tottenham (LAET), with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club as principal business sponsor.
From the Pre-Prep right up to the Sixth Form, we are actively seeking to embed a real sense of belonging at Highgate. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of an environment that:
- welcomes them, understands them, enables them to be themselves
- encourages questioning, self-knowledge, and self-expression
- helps them not just to manage, but to thrive, to discover and pursue their passions, and to develop as individuals and members of a community.
To do this, we are evaluating diversity in our professional, curricular and co-curricular life, exploring how to attract pupils and staff from all backgrounds to work and learn at Highgate and providing opportunities to share our own experiences as well as learning from alternative perspectives.
Staff wellbeing and sustainability
Highgate recognises the value of staff wellbeing which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance, trying our best to support flexible working requests, providing a nutritious food offering and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool. Our ethos is to be a reflective community and we encourage mindfulness and an open culture throughout our school, with our leadership team having an open-door policy and making use of regular staff surveys.
Highgate endeavours to be a sustainable school and we support a number of environmentally-friendly local and national initiatives on a daily basis. For example, our staff have embraced our initiative of no longer having single-use cups and, by providing everyone with a re-usable cup, our usage of plastics cups has fallen by 1,000 per week! We also encourage and have been recognised for a number of green transport initiatives.
Charitable work
We are a school whose charitable ethos is an inextricable part of both staff and pupil DNA. Highgate offers a significant number of bursaries to pupils who would otherwise be unable to access our excellent teaching and enriching activities. We are also the principal educational sponsor of the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham, which was opened to provide an academically-selective, well-governed free sixth form in a community where such opportunities are lacking.
Alongside this, our staff and pupils undertake a number of charitable activities throughout the year. These range from staff giving up their time to neighbourhood schools and charitable organisations, to pupils undertaking community work in the local area or further afield.
Benefits
- Pension contribution
- Induction, support and personal development
- Generous holiday allowance
- Family-friendly policies
- Complimentary lunch in our Dining Hall
- Free access, at stipulated times, to our extensive sports facilities including our swimming pool and yoga classes
- Friendly staff common room and active programme of social activities
- Cycle to Work Scheme and season ticket loan
- Access to borrow books from our library
Joining Highgate as a teacher
As a teacher at Highgate, you will be joining a team of intelligent professionals who are committed to academic excellence and the highest standards of pastoral care. Their subject knowledge, dedication and inspiring guidance enable our pupils to discover and pursue intellectual passions, take risks and develop a love for learning as a way of living. Teachers come from a wide range of professional backgrounds and the staff body is characterised by warm, informal relations.
Pupil wellbeing is at the heart of our thinking and staff are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of each child and young person at Highgate. All teaching staff are given a pastoral role, for example as a tutor, and are expected to lead and participate in the popular programme of co-curricular activities where teachers’ enthusiasm and expertise are highly valued.
Joining Highgate as support staff
As a member of support staff at Highgate, you will be joining a group of talented professionals who are working in supportive, dynamic teams across the three schools.
Staff frequency come from a wide range of professional backgrounds; many have never worked in a school before, and they bring their expertise and experience of working in other industries to the school environment.
Depending on the role you are applying for, you may have contact with pupils every day or have little contact, but you will be working for organisation that is making a difference to the lives of young people.
Working at Highgate means being part of a dynamic, inclusive, warm and friendly team. We encourage our support staff to be continuously engaged in their role by providing opportunities to participate in the wider life of our School.
Highgate People
‘Highgate Junior School is a happy place to work. I’m often the first point of contact for our pupils and their parents, who are always friendly and respectful.’
Highgate Junior School Receptionist
Miss Duah
‘At Highgate, our approach to pedagogy means we explore and adopt, where appropriate for our School, the most up-to-date methodologies for the most effective teaching that leads to deep learning.’
Assistant Head (Teaching and Learning)
Dr Weston
‘I’ve worked at Highgate since 1987! In that time I’ve seen pupils progress through the School, go to university, start careers and have their own families join the School.‘
Highgate Pre-Prep Early Years Practitioner
Mrs Jarocki
‘My Department is comprised of supportive teachers who help pupils become the best mathematicians they can be. Our success shows in our uptake, Highgate’s most popular A level is Mathematics!’
Head of Mathematics
Mr Wright
‘The pupils bound in everyday with smiles, they leave smiling – in some ways it’s a very easy job.’
Highgate Pre-Prep Deputy Principal (Pastoral)
Mr Zucker
Useful policies
Safeguarding Policy
Health and Safety Policy
Code of Practice for Disclosure and Barring Service
Disclosure and Barring Service Privacy Policy
Recruitment of Ex Offenders Policy
Disclosure and Barring Policy
650
Staff at Highgate
Completing your application
When completing your online application form, if you have any questions please contact the HR team recruitment@highgateschool.org.uk
If you need technical assistance with the form, please email our recruitment support provider support@vacancy-filler.co.uk and include the advert reference in the subject line. Alternatively, please call 01509 236 434 for assistance.