Geography 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 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 Geography 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.

We are looking for a teacher who would most likely teach both lower and upper school. But we would happily consider excellent candidates who can only offer the A-Level or who would prefer to only teach lower school from Year 7.

Geography at Michaela provides our pupils with a strong grasp of both physical and human processes that shape the modern world within which they live. Our curriculum introduces Geography of both the UK and the wider world, giving pupils a chance to apply theory and concepts to a broad range of contexts. Pupils develop a strong sense of place and have robust understanding of the fundamental principles in fields such as Coastal Landscapes, Development Geography, The Environment, Natural Hazards and Fieldwork.

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 do not 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 5 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.

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’! 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. All Michaela staff say that they have better relationship with the kids at Michaela than they did with the kids at their previous schools.

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 and all of them are 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 highly 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 in a variety of ways 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.