HARROW SCHOOL

TEACHER OF ART
The School seeks to appoint a Teacher of Art for September 2015.
The School
Harrow is an all-boy, full-boarding School in northwest London. It was founded in 1572, under a royal charter
from Queen Elizabeth I, by John Lyon, a local landowning farmer, whose original intention was to provide thirty
poor boys of the parish with a classical education.
Today, the School’s 260 acres maintain a collegiate feel, our historical architecture complemented by modern
buildings that meet our developing needs. About 820 boys aged between 13 and 18 attend the School, from across
the UK and further afield. There are over 100 members of academic staff and almost 400 members of support
staff in a range of operational roles.
Every member of staff works to a single, uniting purpose: To prepare boys with diverse backgrounds and abilities for a
life of learning, leadership, service and personal fulfilment. Our statement of purpose has Harrow boys at its heart and
is borne out through our various areas of activity: teaching that helps boys achieve their best academically, pastoral care
that matures them both emotionally and spiritually, and an extracurricular programme that develops their characters and
interests.
The academic curriculum for the first year, which we call the Shell, is a foundation course in which boys have a choice
of languages. In the second and third years, Remove and Fifth form, boys study ten subjects to GCSE. All boys are
expected to take at least four subjects to AS-level and three or four to A-level. We offer Critical Thinking and an
Extended Project to the more able. Lessons are taught in the mornings, Monday to Saturday, and in the afternoons of
Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
We have 12 Boarding Houses, each of which has unique character and their own gardens and facilities. Each House
accommodates approximately 70 boys. Pastoral care is delivered by the House Master, Assistant House Master and
Matron (all residential), as well as the Year Group Tutors and Health Education Tutors. The Chaplaincy, full-time
Psychologist and Pastoral Support Committee provide further layers of support.
The whole School gathers in Speech Room once a week. This is an important time for reflection, keeping abreast of
news and events and lauding individual successes. Harrow has a Christian foundation and ethos, meaning that Chapel
also plays a significant part in our daily life. We have two Anglican and one Roman Catholic Chaplains, and most boys
attend services three times each week. Boys of all faiths are welcome at services, where together we worship and
contemplate important issues.
Harrow has a breath of sporting opportunities to match every interest and ability. An extensive games programme caters
for almost all the established School sports and we hold afternoon games five times a week, sporting fixtures against
other schools and regular inter-House competitions. Our elite sportsmen have an impressive record of excellence and
some go on to enjoy professional sporting careers. Many Harrovians, who never considered themselves athletes when
they arrived, discover new sports and the talent to play them with great skill and flair. Many continue to enjoy the
sporting abilities they discovered at Harrow long after leaving the Hill.
Many parents send their sons to Harrow because of our strong Music department. We aim to raise the best musicians to
a very high level of skill, while involving every boy in enjoyable musical activity. Over half of our pupils learn an
instrument and most of these boys are involved in ensemble work too. There are more than 80 performances each year.
There are two major Drama productions annually (one is often a musical and the other always a Shakespeare play), six
full-length House Plays, the Shell drama festival, AS-level and A-level exam productions, a Junior production, a Sixth
form play and several smaller scale boy directed events. We often host external productions from visiting companies
and practitioners regularly offer workshops, careers advice and lectures on all aspects of theatre. Since 2014, we have
offered Drama at GCSE.
The Art department provides a rich art education, as well as a creative oasis for both boys and staff in the centre of our
busy School. We encourage boys to use the facilities on a regular basis, to develop their interest in creativity and to
foster a lifelong interest in making and looking at Art.
All boys are encouraged to join our many clubs and societies. Some are organised by academic departments or are
related to games and sports; others are less easy to classify, such as the Debating Society, the Law Society and the
Conservation group. Our close proximity to London means that we regularly attract excellent speakers. The Harrovian
is the School magazine. Edited by a group of boys, it began life well over a century ago and appears every week during
term-time. Boys also help to run the School farm. The Harrow Rifle Corp is one of the largest combined cadet forces in
a school in the country, and it has a proud record of preparing boys for scholarships in the armed services. We offer the
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme at all levels, with 174 boys taking part last year. Every boy participates in
charity work, whether this is raising sponsorship money by running in the annual Long Ducker, providing
companionship for local elderly people through Community Service, or organising their own fundraising events.
Culturally, Harrow’s way of life is steeped in tradition. From playing Harrow Football and carving new boys’ names on
boards in the Boarding Houses, to singing Songs, wearing the straw hat and using our distinctive terminology, these
customs have developed over centuries and they continue to pervade our community on the Hill.
Harrow School is part of a much larger Harrow Family, which is made up of The Harrow Foundation, the three Harrow
International Schools, the Peter Beckwith Harrow Trust and the Harrow Club W10, a centre for sport and education for
young people in Notting Dale that the Foundation helped to establish. The Harrow Foundation is a Charter Corporation
comprising Harrow School and The John Lyon School, and John Lyon’s Charity. The John Lyon School is a nearby day
school for boys. John Lyon’s Charity is a grant-giving charity that gives over £5 million a year to schools and other
organisations in the boroughs of northwest London.
Masters
We are a very friendly Masters’ Room. Many of the Masters are young and a growing proportion are women. Some
joined Harrow straight from university, others after taking a PGCE. Some have taught in an independent school before,
others have not. What Masters have in common is an enthusiasm for their subject and a willingness to be involved in
the life of the School beyond normal school hours.
Harrow on the Hill is a community, an oasis in the middle of suburban north London. It has a rural feel because the
streets resemble a village and the whole area is surrounded by woods and playing fields. It is a good place to bring up a
young family - there are many other children and some local schools are excellent.
Housing in north London is expensive and Masters work late, so you are given a house or flat on the Hill. Housing is
allocated by the Head Master. Properties are maintained by the School Works Department. Water Rates and Council
Tax are paid by the School. Masters are encouraged to buy their own house elsewhere, either to live in during the
holidays or to rent out as a source of additional income.
The School has its own salary scale with generous additional benefits including private medical insurance. Masters are
eligible for an allowance towards the cost of educating their sons and daughters. Further details of the scheme may be
obtained from the Bursar. Bursaries are available to John Lyon School and other local schools, and Masters educate
sons at Harrow at a reduced rate.
The Boys
What are the boys like? They come from a wide range of backgrounds. A quarter of boys are on reduced fees - up to
full bursaries in many cases. Some live in the London area but many live in other parts of the UK such as Yorkshire,
East Anglia and Scotland as well as abroad.
The upper third of boys are highly intelligent and should achieve top grades in all exams. The bottom third are less
academic but will achieve A-level grades sufficient for entry to good universities; these boys may have been offered a
place because they have a particular talent in music, art or sport. Successful Masters at Harrow are able to stretch the
more able while encouraging the weakest pupils to obtain high grades.
Harrow aims to stretch and challenge each boy academically while achieving excellent results and maintaining an
emphasis on the principle of an all-round education.
The Department
The Art Department is a centre of excellence at Harrow. All boys study the subject in their first year and some sixty
boys will continue to GCSE (AQA Fine Art and Art and Design). Around thirty normally take the A-level (Edexcel
Fine Art and Photography). History of Art (AQA) is also offered.
Our philosophy is centred around every boy reaching his potential in the subject through a mixture of exploration and
experimentation. There is a strong emphasis on drawing which is an empowering experience for boys, engendering
confidence and a palpable sense of ambition which is fostered in the department. Boys are introduced to a range of
processes and techniques for both two-dimensional and three-dimensional Art at every level. At A-level candidates are
given considerable independence and impressive, ambitious work is made. Every year a number of students go to Art
foundation courses of their choice or enter degree courses directly. We have a high success rate in placing boys at
prestigious institutions such as the Slade School of Fine Art (UCL), the Ruskin School of Drawing (Oxford) and
Mackintosh School of Architecture (Glasgow School of Art).
The Art department at Harrow comprises of six large studio spaces with specialist areas for painting, printmaking,
sculpture, ceramics and photography. There are several iMac suites and a separate History of Art seminar room. The
department also has its own gallery (The Pasmore Gallery) with a rolling programme of exhibitions by both established
artists and Harrow boys. There are currently four full time and two part time members of specialist staff, an artist in
residence and three full time art technicians. The studios are open daily outside lesson time, including at the weekend.
All the staff, at one time or another, find themselves in the studios in the evening, whether running extra classes or
hanging one of the several exhibitions held annually. Recent Pasmore exhibitions have included the first solo show by
BP Portrait Award winner Susanne Du Toit, Gulf War artist John Keane and work from the Alan Cristea Gallery. Solo
shows are planned for Alison Lambert in September 2015 and Jane McAdam Freud in June 2016. Boys and Beaks
exhibit work regularly.
Facilities include a Columbia and an Albion press for relief print making, three etching/lithography presses, equipment
for welding and carving, four potters’ wheels and gas and electric kilns. There are networked computer suites in the
Photography Studios and in the History of Art Suite and single (networked) computers in the Painting and Sculpture
Studios. The well-stocked library is distributed throughout the department. London’s galleries are just a half hour
away.
Examination results are exceptional, with 90% or more candidates annually graded A or A*. GCSE results have been
100% A/A* over the past two years. Group sizes are generally around a dozen.
The Post
We seek to appoint a skilled Teacher of Art, ideally with a background in sculpture or three dimensional design. In
October 2015, the sculpture department will be moving into a new ‘re-imagined’ space which will be shared with
Design Technology. This new space will afford the successful applicant to recalibrate and strengthen sculpture at
Harrow as well as facilitate synergy between both Art and Design Technology departments. The Art department aims to
encourage boys to work in a plethora of three dimensional ways, with the emphasis on experimentation and visual
problem-solving. Going forward, it is envisaged that there will be greater use of digital technology within the discipline
including three dimensional printing.
The Job
The successful applicant
 will teach at all levels throughout the School;
 will be expected to make enthusiastic contributions to the department;
 will be expected to attend Chapel regularly and Speech Room (assembly) once a week;
 will be a tutor in a boarding house; this involves supporting the House Master in the pastoral care of a group of
boys in that House;
 will be expected to contribute to extra-curricular activities, which are an important part of boarding school life.
NQTs will be given full support and training leading to Qualified Teacher Status. We occasionally appoint Masters
with outstanding qualities and a good degree who do not have a formal teaching qualification.
The Person
The successful candidate will have:
 strong subject knowledge;
 enthusiasm for his/her subject;
 high expectations of pupils;
 first-rate teaching ability;
 strong inter-personal and communication skills;
 a creative mind;
 impressive academic qualifications, including a good degree;
 resonance with Harrow School’s ethos;
 an understanding of the full boarding environment;
 stamina and resilience;
 tact and discretion;
 integrity.
Application Procedure
A letter of application together with a fully completed application form should be sent to The Head Master, Harrow
School, 1 High Street, Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, HA1 3HT by Wednesday, 6th May 2015. Should you prefer to
submit your application by email, the address is [email protected].
Short-listing procedure
Only those best fulfilling the job and person specification will be shortlisted.
Interview procedure
In addition to teaching a lesson, you will be interviewed by the Head Master, Deputy Head Master, Head of Subject and
the Director of Studies.
The selection process and interview questions will relate to these details – in particular, The School, the Department,
The Job and The Person.
You will be asked to explain any discrepancies or anomalies in the information you have provided either on the
application form or in your covering letter as well as any issues arising from references which will have been taken up
before your interview. Questions will be asked about child protection procedures and your suitability to work with
children.
Jim Hawkins
Head Master
April 2015