Tonbridge Grammar School
Information Pack: Part Time Teacher of Drama
Required for: September 2014
Closing date for applications: Monday 30th June 2014
Welcome from the Head Teacher
Thank you for showing an interest in Tonbridge Grammar School. This post provides an exciting
opportunity to work at a highly successful, creative and innovative school.
Tonbridge Grammar School is a successful and heavily oversubscribed selective school located in
the busy commuter town of Tonbridge in Kent. We have an excellent academic reputation and are
very proud of the academic success of our students. Our success, however, is built on far more
than academic achievement. We are passionate about developing our students as inquisitive and
independent learners. We seek to inspire our students to develop the skills and habits of mind to
enable them develop as articulate and confident young people, able to take the best advantage of
life. We are committed to offering a broad and enriching curricular and extra curricular experience
for our students including opportunities for leadership and community service locally and
internationally.
Tonbridge Grammar School is an IBO World School and our ethos and values are closely aligned to
those of the International Baccalaureate Organisation with its focus on intercultural awareness,
holistic learning and communication.
As an ‘outstanding’ school we converted to an Academy on 1st January 2011. Tonbridge Grammar
School continues to retain its tradition and distinctive ethos including our selective arrangements.
We have a track record of successful collaboration with other schools and partnership working
with the wider community through our two specialisms (Mathematics and Computing and
Languages) and our Leading Edge Status. Now as an Academy we are supporting other schools to
further improve the educational opportunities for their students.
There is collegiality amongst the staff at Tonbridge Grammar School which creates a working
environment that is intellectually stimulating and highly rewarding. There are first class
professional development opportunities available to teachers at all stages of their career including
a full programme of development and support for those new to the profession.
I hope that after reading this information and finding out more about the school through the
information on our website you wish to apply for the advertised post. In accordance with our safe
recruitment policy, to be considered for a position you must complete the Tonbridge Grammar
School application form. Please ensure that you provide evidence within your application that you
have the skills and experience necessary for this particular position. The post is subject to a full
enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
I look forward to receiving your application.
Rosemary Joyce
Head Teacher
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The International Baccalaureate at Tonbridge Grammar School
The Diploma Programme prepares students for success in higher education
and life in a global society.
Our aim at TGS is:
‘to make available to the widest possible range of able students an educational experience that is
the richest, most diverse, and as exciting as possible in an atmosphere that provides support,
encouragement and care for everyone, students and staff. We want our students and staff to love
coming to school and to go from here prepared for all that human life has to offer.’
International Baccalaureate
In September 2004 we replaced some A Levels with the International Baccalaureate Diploma for
our Sixth Form provision, and we have continued to develop the programme over the years, until
2012 when we became an exclusively IB school. The International Baccalaureate was created in
1968 in order to bring together the best elements of the British and European educational systems
and it is now taught in 2,721 schools in 138 countries.
The International Baccalaureate Diploma embodies an entirely different educational philosophy.
The A Level system tends towards specialisation whereas the IB Diploma has at its heart a more
holistic approach. It believes that pupils should experience a wider range of different subjects students will continue to study six subjects and must study English, Mathematics, a science, a
language and a humanities subject.
It is equally important that these subjects are bound together into a coherent whole through a
common core. This common core is composed of a course on The Theory of Knowledge (ToK), an
extended essay on any subject and the Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) programme, whereby a
student gains credit for extra-curricular activity.
Our successful IB diploma programme has ranked TGS the top state school in the UK for the past
five years. Our average point score since 2008 has ranged between 36 and 38, with an average
grade per subject of between 5.72 and 6.06.
What our students say:
“My main reason for choosing the IB was that in year 11 I didn’t really know what I wanted to
study at university or what I wanted to do after that, so I decided to keep all of my options open by
doing a broader selection of subjects rather than just picking four to focus on.”
“I think the IB helped to open my mind to what was going on in the world outside the UK and
outside Europe, particularly as the study of languages is encouraged.”
“I personally believe that studying the IB has contributed hugely to getting me to where I am
today. The international aspect to the diploma is very appropriate to my degree and is viewed
highly by overseas employers and global organisations. I believe that having IB under my belt is
what helped me to gain a Legal and Compliance internship at Citi.”
“The IB helped me get into medical school, and I was informed that although my predicted grades
were slightly lower than the entrance grades, because I had undertaken the IB I was offered a
place. I am now in my fourth year of medical school and going strong!”
At TGS we are proud of the high quality education we offer, and of the way in which we prepare
our students for life and the future.
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Welcome to the English and Drama Team
At Tonbridge Grammar School we aim to instil in our students a passion for literature and
language that, we hope, will be life-long. We aim to make our students articulate communicators,
not only in speaking but in their written expression as well. Poetry, prose and drama are taught in
every year group with a strong focus on Shakespeare throughout the key stages. We also offer a
variety of trips, workshops and showcases to foster wider cultural interest and to develop an
appreciation of different genres and expression of ideas. We encourage students to take
responsibility for their learning and teach them from Year 7 to become self-directed and
independent learners. Students are fully involved in setting their own learning targets and
progress is continually monitored against these.
We see the study of literature as a seven year experience at TGS and, with the IB learner profile
running throughout the curriculum, we encourage our students to be Inquirers, Knowledgeable,
Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced and Reflective.
In order to achieve this, lessons are planned to be student-led to allow them to make rapid
progress through independent learning supported by the teacher.
An enthusiasm for literature in all its forms is a pre-requisite, over and above any experience of
the IB programme. We pride ourselves on offering a flexible and varied curriculum which includes
the full range of genres, both within the English Literary Cannon and World Literature. We are a
strong team with a keenness to develop and enhance the way we provide English. We offer a
number of enrichment activities, including reading clubs for key stage 3 which involves the
Carnegie Shadowing scheme, and for key stage 5 to help students broaden their knowledge and
tastes for university entrance. English is a popular choice of subject for extended essays on the IB
Programme. Previous titles have included: How far does Milton succeed in his aim to ‘justify the
ways of God to men’ in ‘Paradise Lost’? How effective is Sir Gawain as an archetypal chivalric hero
in ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’? How does Robin Robertson explore the liminal state in ‘Hill of
Doors’? And In what way does Ian McEwan manipulate ideas of truth in ‘Atonement’? Various
writing and poetry competitions are encouraged within all year groups, our recent Spelling Bee
contest proved very popular with the Year 7 students.
The Middle Years Programme also encourages strong cross-curricular links and focuses on how
learning is relevant to the real world. Both programmes are innovative and creative; they do not
have the constraints of a traditional educational curriculum. There is an opportunity for a
management responsibility to oversee key stage 3 MYP Drama for the right candidate.
Many students continue their study of literature at the country’s best universities. English has
become increasingly competitive to study at graduate level, but within the last few years students
have studied courses at Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, Exeter, Kings College and UEA.
The English Department produced an outstanding set of examination results in the summer of
2013; continuing a tradition of academic excellence. Out of a cohort of 149 pupils, 93 per cent
gained an A or A* in IGCSE English and 84 per cent in IGCSE English Literature. English is a
compulsory subject for the IB Diploma; of the 30 students who took English at Higher Level, 11
gained a grade 7 and 15 achieved a grade 6. Of the 32 Standard Level students 4 achieved a grade
7, 12 a grade 6 and 13 students gained a grade 5. We offered Literature and Performance for the
first time in 2013, and out of a total of 7 students, 2 gained a grade 7, 4 students attained a grade
6 and one student a grade 5. Student enrolment on this course has doubled since its introduction.
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Theatre Studies was also a new subject in 2013 and of the 4 students who took it, one gained a
grade 7 and 3 a grade 6.
Welcome from Caroline Barker, Subject Leader English
I joined TGS in 2007 as a part-time teacher and have gradually increased my responsibilities to
become subject leader very recently. I came to the teaching profession after a career in public
relations and marketing. My enthusiasm and interest in teaching and literature far outweighs
anything I undertook in the commercial world. During my time at TGS, the English department has
grown as the numbers of students taking English post-16 has increased. Teaching IB has meant
that the texts we deliver for students of all ages have become increasingly diverse and multicultural. We encourage students to take responsibility for their learning, and it has been both
illuminating and challenging to allow students some choice in the texts they study. Teaching at
TGS instils a vibrancy in the classroom which, because of the high calibre and commitment of our
students, nurtures a passion and enthusiasm for literature in all its forms.
As a team we aim to support and encourage each other. We like to share good practice and we
are very receptive to new ideas and recommendations from all involved. English, as a subject, is
continually evolving and we aim to combine innovative ideas with a strong literary heritage in our
teaching.
Profile Welcome from Marc Vickers, Subject Leader for Drama
I joined the school in 2010 after fourteen years’ experience teaching English and Drama in the UK
and the US. When I took over as Subject Leader here, I added the teaching of Drama into all years
at Key Stage 3, initiated the moved to IGCSE Drama (Cambridge) and implemented the IB courses
in both Theatre Arts and Literature and Performance. I have directed lower school productions
including “Annie,” “Arabian Nights,” “The Canterbury Tales,” and “The Minotaur.” Within our MYP
curriculum, students develop their use of voice and movement whilst learning about Greek,
Medieval and Elizabethan Theatre, exploring ways of communicating character, atmosphere and
style on stage. In year 9, all students take part in a cross-curricular showcase as performers,
directors and designers, working closely with Music and Dance. In the past three years, students
have performed “Alice in Wonderland,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and “The Wizard of
Oz.” This annual experience forms the basis of their Bronze Arts Awards.
In Years 10 and 11, students taking IGCSE Drama participate in several group scripted and devised
theatre performances. This year has seen productions of “A Christmas Carol” and “DNA.” In Years
12 and 13, students taking IB Theatre Arts direct, design and perform in several productions, such
as “Yerma.” Students taking the Literature and Performance course participate in a transformation
assignment in which they create a piece of original theatre based on a prose or poetry text. In the
past two years, these have included “The Penelopiad,” and “Strange Pilgrims,” a performance
based on short stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The current Year 12 class will be performing
their version of “The Handmaid’s Tale” in the autumn.
I feel that I am handing over the department in a very strong condition. I have really enjoyed
working with my colleagues and our wonderful students both in the classroom and on school
productions. I am leaving the school in order to relocate back to the US.
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