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Music plays an integral part of life at both schools, where pupils are encouraged to learn and participate as fully as possible in a weekly routine of rehearsals, recitals and concerts. Many internationally renowned musicians have been educated at the schools including Henry Purcell, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Roger Norrington, Ian Bostridge, George Benjamin, Julian Anderson, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gavin Rossdale, Mika, Dido and members of the band Clean Bandit.

Westminster musicians regularly attend the junior departments at the Royal Academy, Royal College and Guildhall, and a good number are members of the National Youth Orchestra, National Children’s Orchestra, National Youth Jazz Orchestra and National Youth Choirs of Great Britain.

Music awards at 11+, 13+ and 16+ are awarded each year. Academic music standards are extremely high, with a good proportion of music students going on to read music at University or Music College.

Staff

A team of c.60 visiting teachers across both schools provides instrumental and vocal tuition. The post holder will be joining as the second teacher within the organ department which is coordinated by the School Organist, Mr Ben Bloor.

If you would like any more information regarding music at Westminster please contact Ben Bloor. Email: [email protected]

The Schools seek an organ teacher to teach c. 2-4 hours per week on a self-employed basis. We are seeking an outstanding teacher, performer, and communicator with the ability to inspire the exceptionally talented and the less advanced in equal measure. Ideally, the successful applicant will have a proven track record of teaching at other establishments.

The post holder will provide pupils with the opportunity to play the organ at a suitable stage within their development as keyboard players, and take a leading role in encouraging meaningful progress throughout a pupil’s time at both schools. Where appropriate, Westminster School (WS) pupils (13-18) should be encouraged to play the Harrison & Harrison organ in the school’s Abbey services, and the organs in the School and the Chapel for Latin Prayers and evensong. Westminster Under School (WUS) pupils (7-13) should be encouraged to play the organ at St Stephen’s, Rochester Row, during weekly services.

More able organ students should be trained as recitalists, repetiteurs, improvisers and choral directors, in order to prepare them for future studies should they wish to continue their organ playing in higher education.

Where possible, the successful applicant would cover for the School Organist where necessary, accompanying services for WS and WUS in Westminster Abbey and St Stephen’s Rochester Row.

This is a part-time position on a self-employed basis, and hours will vary from term to term depending upon pupil numbers.

VMTs invoice parents directly at a rate of c. £55 per hour.

Please refer to the attached person specification for further details.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Westminster School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Working at Westminster

Westminster School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of 750 pupils, 120 teaching staff and 108 support staff.

Our teaching staff — the Common Room — are friendly and welcoming and all new teachers quickly become part of the rhythm of life here, both inside and outside the classroom. Common Room social events are regular and varied, with plenty of opportunity to socialise outside working hours.

It also does not matter where you come to us from. Some teachers come to us straight from university or having just taken a PGCE. Some have taught in independent schools before while others come from the state sector, or another industry altogether. The common ground is that all our teachers have a great knowledge and love for their subject and are willing to be fully involved in the life of the School and the lives of the children who study here. The School has a vibrant co-curricular programme that offers a wide range of opportunities beyond the academic curriculum. We welcome candidates who can contribute their energy and expertise to the co-curricular life of the School as well as the academic.

At Westminster we will always select the best candidate for every position. However, we know we can only truly choose the best person on every occasion if a broad and diverse pool of candidates see the job advertised and are encouraged to apply.

As such, we continue to work on how our job roles are encountered, and particularly welcome applications from groups who have traditionally been underrepresented here.

Westminster School is for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. We hope you are encouraged to apply.

The School

Westminster School is a selective day and boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 and girls aged 16 to 18. There are approximately 360 boys in the Lower School (Years 9 to 11) and 400 boys and girls in the Upper School (Years 12 and 13). One quarter of the pupils board, and the School is structured and run as a boarding school, with an extended day and week and a strong House-based system of pastoral welfare, for boarding and day pupils alike.

Westminster is an ancient school, whose origins can be traced to a charity school established by the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey. Its continuous existence is certain from the early 14th century. Henry VIII personally ensured the School’s survival by statute and Elizabeth I, who confirmed royal patronage in 1560, is celebrated as the School’s foundress. Westminster is rare amongst long-established schools in remaining on its original site in the centre of London. Its proximity to Parliament and Westminster Abbey, and the use of the Abbey for its chapel, together with the stimulating diversity of the South Bank and West End, account in part for its special atmosphere and outlook.

The School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence both in this country and internationally. Central to its academic ethos is the dialogue between teachers and their pupils, whether in the classroom or in tutorials, inspiring enjoyment of intellectual enquiry, debate and search for explanation and the development of skills of rational, independent thought well beyond any standard examination syllabus. The desired environment is happy, busy and purposeful; the pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged, with plenty of opportunities to develop initiatives and to articulate and defend their views, in line with the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the School’s Charter. That tradition is fully committed also to the nurture of each pupil’s spiritual, moral, emotional and physical development and wellbeing – with a particular emphasis on drawing out individual talent wherever it lies - and to the preparation of young people for fulfilled private and public lives beyond School.

Required for: September 2023

Location: Great School and Under School

Contract: casual/zero hours contract

Salary: Visiting Music Teachers are self-employed and parents are invoiced directly at a rate of c. £55 per hour.

The deadline for applications is Monday 24th July 2023. Interviews will take place Monday 7th August 2023.