Teacher of Biology (Term 2, January 2025-April 2025)

Package Description

When you join the team at Heriot’s, you become part of our community, where the contribution of every individual is important and valued.  The Heriot’s motto, to “distribute chearfullie”, is at the heart of school - distributing of kindness, of support and of generosity remains as live today as it was in 1628 when George Heriot founded the school.

Our most recent staff survey reported that 97% of employees at Heriot’s feel motivated and happy to work here and we aim to provide a friendly, welcoming, and supportive environment for all of our people.  This aim is reflected in the package we offer which, for our teaching staff, in addition to salary (which includes a Heriot’s enhancement), teacher holidays and pension, includes:

• Enhanced sick pay, maternity and paternity pay
• Family friendly policies (Including Personal Emergency Leave Days)
• Continued professional development opportunities
• Travel to work schemes
• School Fee Remission (non-contractual benefit)
• Employee Assistance programme, including 24/7 counselling helpline and high street, supermarket, and general retail discounts
• Opportunities for involvement in the wider school community

We aim to attract and retain a diverse group of talented people, who are committed to upholding the school’s ethos. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we welcome applications from all sections of the community.

The Role

We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic and committed Teacher of Biology to join our successful Biology Department from January 2025 until April 2025. We will consider applicants who would like to work on a full-time and part-time basis. 

The Biology Department comprises four full-time and two part-time teachers in addition to the Principal Teacher. The Department is extremely well-resourced, with five modern laboratories and is supported by a full-time dedicated Technician. We seek to make the teaching and learning of all aspects of Biology challenging and rewarding and encourage the development of knowledge and understanding and problem-solving skills in a variety of contexts.

All pupils in S1 and S2 study Biology and in S3 and S4 pupils can opt for National 5 Biology. In S5, both Higher Biology and Higher Human Biology are offered and in S6 we deliver Advanced Higher Biology. This is a busy, high-achieving Department, with very high pupil uptake and has consistently enjoyed excellent success rates in SQA National Examinations. The successful candidate must be willing to teach across all levels and appropriate support will be provided in line with his/her level of teaching experience.

In addition to curricular commitments, the successful candidate will be required to participate fully in the extra-curricular life of the School.

All applicants must be registered, or eligible for registration, with the GTC Scotland.

Main Responsibilities

Please see attached job description. 

The Ideal Candidate

• Appropriately qualified and successful teacher – registered with/eligible for registration with GTCS (essential attribute)
• Proven ability to relate well to and communicate effectively with pupils, staff and parents
• A collegiate working style with the ability to work well as part of a team
• Understanding and commitment to the Heriot’s aims and values.
• Ability to prioritise effectively and to work under pressure and to tight deadlines.

Additional Information
Heriot’s is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment.
This post is considered Regulated Work with Vulnerable Children and/or Protected Adults, under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 and the successful candidates will be required to obtain membership of the PVG scheme.

Please note that parking is not available on our campus

George Heriot’s Trust is an Equal Opportunities employer and we welcome applications from all sections of the community.

George Heriot’s School is governed by George Heriot’s Trust, Scottish Charity number SC011463

About the school/organisation

George Heriot’s School

George Heriot’s School is Edinburgh’s leading independent school. Academically proven and recognised as sector-leading by Education Scotland in June 2024, the school’s best practice expertise in wellbeing, equality and inclusion, and in raising attainment and achievement, is acknowledged. The school has 1,670 pupils aged from 4-18, with a distinct family feel shaped by its 400-year motto: I distribute chearfullie. Working hard, being kind, and being yourself are the values which bind staff and pupils into a cohesive whole. Put simply, Heriot’s cares about its staff and pupils.

As Edinburgh’s oldest school, Heriot’s was founded through the generosity of George Heriot, jeweller and goldsmith to the court of King James VI/I and his wife Queen Anne. Goldsmiths at that time were the principal money lenders and Heriot was able to amass a small fortune which he left to found a school for the ‘poor bairns of Edinburgh’.  Since it opened, the Foundation at Heriot’s has developed an unrivalled understanding of providing bereavement support and over the years has educated in excess of 5,700 Foundation pupils, each of whom received a fully funded education in keeping with the Founder’s wishes.

Separately, the school has continued to apply the transformative powers of education, opening 21 Out Schools in the 1800s which educated over 100,000 boys and girls in Edinburgh before the advent of the Children’s Act, and more recently supporting Serbian, Syrian and Ukrainian refugees to build a better life in Scotland. Each year the school spends approximately £1.3 million to support the education of bursary and Foundation pupils.

Today the school is an award-winning beacon: the only school in Scotland to receive the Gold Award from SAPERE for its teaching of philosophy in Junior School; awarded a third consecutive gold award for being a UNICEF Rights Respecting Schol and being voted the Sunday Times School of the Decade by readers in their Parent Power survey.