French Teacher

To register your interest quickly, please submit your TES application form. Don’t feel scared or not good enough! Apply! You have nothing to lose and you would be amazed at the variety of teachers at Michaela. Some even come to us straight from university. Unqualified candidates, ECTs, right up to more experienced staff should all apply! There is the option to train with us to obtain QTS. We will organise your visa for you and we will support you in finding accommodation.

We advertise all year round so as to find candidates who are best suited to our traditional ways. Teachers stay at Michaela on average about 4 or 5 years. Come visit the school and see!

Please include answers to these questions:

1. Why teach French at Michaela?

2. How would you fit in with our unique ethos? 

3. When are you hoping to start?

Michaela Community School is an exciting and successful free school that opened in September 2014 in Wembley, and is rated Outstanding by Ofsted. You may have heard of us: our headmistress, Katharine Birbalsingh, is often in the news saying things that others find controversial but that we think are common sense. They call her ‘the strictest headmistress in Britain’ but all that means is that she has high standards for the kids. In 2024, our Progress 8 at GCSE was 2.55, the highest Progress 8 in the country for the third consecutive year. 85% of our GCSEs papers achieved a 7 to 9 grade. Also, over 50% of our GCSEs were Grade 9. Our A level results were equally impressive with nearly 70% of our A level exams graded A* or A, and 80% of students went on to Russell Group universities, including Oxbridge, Imperial and LSE. But don’t let that put you off. We help each other get the best out of the kids, and we deliver as a team.

The ambition of our vibrant and energetic team is to transform the lives of all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Many of us are Teach First Ambassadors. Some of us are not. All of us want to change the world by showing that a child’s home circumstances don’t have to be a barrier to exceptional success. Try not to listen to what others say about Michaela. Come visit and see for yourself! Maybe we will be the right fit for you, maybe not. You can only see what we are like if you visit.

Michaela is such a friendly place to work that we now have 4 couples who met at Michaela and got married, and 2 of them have babies already! There is an annual ski trip that staff do together, a riotous annual Christmas party and the pub every Friday is packed with Michaela staff. There is so much love and support in the staff room – people really do love their colleagues here.

We are looking for someone with a lot of personality, someone who wants to own their classroom and have vibrant and authentic relationships with their pupils. We want teachers who are conscientious, enjoy being with teenagers, and love to see kids succeed. Our children work hard in lessons and at home, driven by their teachers’ ambitious expectations of them. Our excellent behaviour systems allow teachers to be themselves, and be as innovative as they like. 

In our French lessons, we teach from special booklets that the teachers in the French department have written themselves. These booklets are far better than normal textbooks, as we pay particular attention to vocabulary and structures needed to write interesting and challenging French. As with everything Michaela, we do things differently. It means the children speak French beautifully and learn at an impressive rate. 

You will get the chance to really think about what makes for great teaching. You will also become a better teacher…even if you think you are an ‘old hand’! There is the possibility of teaching Year 7 through to Year 13. Our behaviour systems are so consistently well-managed that, instead of worrying about low-level disruption, you are able to try out what works best for the pupils you are teaching. The relationships you can forge with pupils are exceptional.

There will be a lot of opportunities for promotion, and we invest in the development of our people. If you have heard of Michaela and feel a little intimidated, don’t be! There are a variety of people who teach here, all of them friendly and welcoming. Don’t think you are not good enough. We would love to hear from you. You have nothing to lose by applying.

Suitable candidates will be interviewed promptly upon receipt of application. The closing date will be brought forward in the event that the post is filled. 

There is no other school in the country like Michaela. Check out our website and watch some interviews with new staff on their experiences joining Michaela here: https://michaela.education/recruitment/

You are also very welcome to visit the school – and we would recommend it. We are 30 seconds from Wembley Park tube, accessible by both the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines. This means we are 20-30 minutes away from Bond Street or Kings Cross! Visitors often say seeing the school in action changed their minds on a variety of topics and allowed them to see the school as it really is.

At Michaela teachers are paid using the teacher inner London pay scales.

Michaela Community School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful candidates will need to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure via the DBS and/or provide police checks from other countries, where appropriate. Michaela Community School is an equal opportunities employer.