Spanish Language Assistant
Brighton College
Brighton and Hove
- New
- Salary:
- The salary for this role will be £23,280 per annum.
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- August 2025
- Apply by:
- 25 November 2024
Job overview
Reporting to: Head of Spanish
Brighton College is seeking to appoint a Spanish Language Assistant to start in August 2025.
General Duties and Responsibilities
At Brighton College, French, Spanish, German, Russian and Mandarin are taught to A level within the timetable. Languages are taught in a well-equipped classroom block using a wide variety of physical and webbased resources.
The Spanish Department comprises four full-time teaching staff, all of them native level speakers, as well as an assistant who provides support primarily to our GCSE, A-level and bilingual pupils. The department’s results in public examinations are exceptional: in the last five years, 93% of pupils at A2 achieved an A* or an A, 79.5% of our GCSE pupils achieved an 8 or a 9 at GCSE and 97% achieved a 9-7.
Spanish is an increasingly popular choice at GCSE and A level. The department currently offers three annual trips to Spain which are very popular: a Spanish immersion trip to Salamanca for 5th and 6th form pupils; a trip to Valencia for the 4th form; and a reading trip to Madrid for the Lower Sixth.
The successful candidate’s primary responsibility will be guiding Sixth Form pupils through the A-level Independent Research Project (IRP), giving pupils support in their cultural understanding as well as their spoken Spanish. In addition to overseeing the pupils’ IRP, the successful candidate will create and deliver small group and 1 to 1 sessions to our GCSE pupils and support bilingual pupils with their examinations.
Furthermore, the candidate will assist the department in creating authentic resources and displays for all year groups. They will also be involved in running and administering school trips and running additional classes for native level speakers.
Person Specifications
The successful candidate will have experience in the following areas:
The academic success of Brighton is due to excellent, innovative and well-planned teaching. We are looking for individuals who foster a passion for learning and who can demonstrate an ability, and genuine desire, to develop pupils to their fullest potential.
In this role, language skills in Spanish will obviously be of paramount importance, with native or near-native level fluency required. The ability to communicate with and inspire teenagers in both English and the target language is also crucial.
Knowledge and understanding of GCSE and A-level requirements would be advantageous but is far from necessary, although the ability to learn fast is.
Those applying for the wider assistant teacher role will also need to demonstrate willingness to support the ambition and values of the school and to be involved in a breadth of College life. Successful
Hours of Work
Monday to Friday, 8:15am to 4:45pm with a 30 minute unpaid lunch break (40 hours per week) during term time (35 weeks).
Additional Saturdays are to be worked for Open Mornings, admissions and weekend duty, as well as attending school trips (two of which fall outside of term time).
Holidays
Holiday entitlement is included in the salary for this role. All holiday is to be taken outside of the working weeks.
Benefits
• Contributory pension scheme with matching contributions from the employer up to 9%, which all eligible employees will be automatically enrolled into within three months of commencement of employment.
• Life Cover is provided whilst working at Brighton College after successfully passing probation period.
• Complimentary lunch is provided.
• Free tickets to the College’s music, dance and drama performances.
• Job specific learning and development programme available to all employees.
• Employee* benefit and rewards platform with a wide range of discounts, employee benefits and wellbeing resources.
Wellbeing
• Subsidised gym membership for the School of Science and Sport is available, which includes access to yoga and Pilates classes and use of the gym and swimming pool.
• Healthy heart checks.
• Generous sickness policy.
• Meditation sessions.
• English Language classes.
• Access to books, magazines and DVDs from the College Library.
Safeguarding Responsibilities
- This role will involve daily contact with pupils and you will be engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.
- All staff and volunteers have a responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young persons for who you are responsible and with whom you come into contact.
Attached documents
About Brighton College
THE SCHOOL
Brighton College is an inspiring place to work. As the leading co-educational school in the UK, it is renowned for its inspirational teaching and innovative education, whilst placing kindness and community at the heart of our approach to education. Named ‘UK School of the Decade’ by The Sunday Times in November 2020, we educate 1,300 pupils between ages 11 and 18.
Established in 1845, the College has grown exponentially in recent years. The Principal, Richard Cairns, a recent Tatler UK Head of the Year, has been in post since 2006 and, under his leadership, pupil numbers have doubled. Since 2006, the College has moved from 147th in The Sunday Times results table to 3rd – the best position ever achieved by a co-educational school.
The school site in Kemptown has seen the addition of stunning new facilities, sustainably designed by leading international architects, with recent investment well in excess of £100 million. These include the Nicola Leach Music School and Sarah Abraham Recital Hall (2015), the Yeoh Building teaching complex (2017), the School of Science and Sport (2020) and The Richard Cairns Building (2024), a stunning new performing arts complex and Sixth Form Centre, with a 400-seat theatre and Global Futures hub. World-class facilities enable us to share a huge variety of opportunities with pupils, and allow for innovative and exciting approaches to teaching and learning.
We believe that we are a part of society, not apart from it, and so activism and community involvement are key components of the curriculum. We have a thriving volunteer programme, driven by pupils, and are proud of our progressive stand on diversity, equality and inclusion. Brighton College also has a family of schools, which includes our three Sussex prep schools: Brighton College Prep School, Handcross Park School and St Christopher’s, and our London prep school, Brighton College Prep Kensington. Overseas, we have opened schools in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore and Vietnam.
Our approach to education is regularly celebrated. As well as being named 'UK School of the Decade', we have been named ‘School of the Year’ twice by The Sunday Times, and The Week named us ‘Most forward-thinking school in Britain’ for two years running in 2017 and 2018, ‘Best in the UK for STEM’ in 2020 and 2024, and awarded us 'Best Sixth Form in Britain' in their 2025 Awards. Our most recent ISI inspection in November 2021 gave us the highest possible grade (‘Excellent’) in both categories: the quality of pupils’ academic and other achievements, and the quality of pupils’ personal development.
Most importantly, Brighton College is a happy school. Staff and pupils feel fulfilled, and our emphasis on kindness lends itself to a thriving intellectual, sporting and performing arts culture. Our location in the city gives us the best of all worlds: we are a mere five minutes from the sea and the city centre, ten minutes from the South Downs, and in the heart of the local Kemptown community.
We hope that you will want to come and join the fantastic group of professionals and pupils who work here.
LIVING AND WORKING IN BRIGHTON
The College enjoys its location in Brighton, one of Britain’s youngest cities and one of the most vibrant and progressive in Europe. A recent national survey identified Brighton as the ‘happiest city in the UK’ and it regularly features within the top cities for quality of life nationally. With an extensive beach and seafront, and proximity to beautiful rural areas including the South Downs National Park, the opportunities for recreation and leisure are varied and numerous. Transport links are also excellent, Brighton being within easy travelling distance of London (50 minutes by train), and 30 minutes from Gatwick Airport. Brighton is also a university city, and the College has good links with both the University of Sussex and Brighton University. Our annual involvement in the Pride parade has strengthened existing links with the local community.
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