Contact Us

Jobs

News

St. Clare's Home

Job Description
Please see Notes for Job Applicants for general background information on St. Clare's and Additional information for teachers on pre-university courses for general background to teaching posts.

The post
French is a strong and popular language at St. Clare's, with currently some 55 students taking it at various levels. Most of the teaching is on the International Baccalaureate Diploma course and our need is for someone who can teach French Literature (Language A) to native speakers as well as teaching French as a foreign language (Language B). The attached sheet gives further information on languages in the IB Diploma.

Generally there are one or two teaching groups at Higher Level and one or two at Standard level in each year for French B. For French A there are two groups, normally of 5 students or fewer, one in each year, each group usually receiving 2 hours teaching per week. Classes for French B are normally larger, with between 7 and 15 students and about 9 on average. Higher Level students are currently taught for 4 hours per week and Standard Level students have 3 hours per week in the first year and 2.5 per week in the second year.

Currently neither French A2 nor French ab initio is offered. There is also the possibility of additional teaching on the Liberal Arts Programme. Here, US undergraduates come with language learning requirements from their home universities and the teacher tailors the course to meet their needs. The levels of French required can vary from beginners to advanced. Classes are small and the students are often highly motivated. The Liberal Arts programme runs on a semester basis, most students staying one semester.

There is considerable diversity in levels of students studying French on the various programmes in the College. While classes are small, it is still likely that within a group there will be variation in level. The Language Centre in the Library is designed to help students to work independently on their language acquisition. It also provides satellite access to French language broadcasts.

Study visits to France are regularly arranged, and a number of students will also attend summer language courses. Opportunities for development of students' interest and competence in French are provided by regular showing of French films and the presence of the Maison Française cultural centre.

The person appointed will share teaching of French with Catherine Gospel, the Head of Modern Languages. As the requirements for French teaching can fluctuate somewhat from year to year, and indeed during the course of a year (as Liberal Arts students normally stay for one semester only), ability to offer Spanish will be a considerable advantage. Currently, Spanish is offered at ab initio level as well as language B.

Person Specification
The person appointed will be a well qualified graduate teacher of French who is a native speaker or of native speaker quality. Good knowledge of French Literature and experience of teaching French as a foreign language would be preferred.

Ability to offer Spanish as a foreign language will be a considerable advantage.

In view of the range of linguistic and ability levels among students, an interest in developing independent learning by students and other strategies to cater for this variation is important.

We are looking for a lively and enthusiastic teacher, able to promote French within the
College. An interest in leading and promoting extracurricular activities will also be advantageous.

Applications from newly qualified teachers will be welcomed.

Teaching load and length of year
735 student contact hours distributed over 175 teaching days. This averages out to 21 hours per week, although actual teaching load may vary from term to term. Availability is for 185 days per year, with staff and parents' meetings and professional development taking place on non-teaching days.

In addition teachers are also expected

• to be involved in activities with students outside class contact hours for at least 36 hours per year
• to make a reasonable contribution to College thinking and development, for instance by membership of working parties.
• to undertake personal professional development.

Additional responsibilities as a Personal Tutor, with an additional allowance, are available.

Hours of work
Classes are timetabled between 09.00 and 16.30, Monday to Friday. Activities and meetings are scheduled from 16.30 onwards, before and after supper. Teachers are expected to be available for teaching and meetings between 09.00 and 18.00, but are not required to be on the premises except for scheduled activities. Some weekend attendance is required for parents' meetings, open day and graduation.

Pension
National pension scheme for teachers administered by the Teachers' Pensions Agency.

Other benefits
Assistance with relocation expenses.
Free lunch in the dining room or café/bar on working days.

Closing date for applications: Monday 18 April 2005
Appointments will be subject to enhanced CRB check.

Return to vacancy information page