Future staff

Dear Future Staff Member

I am delighted that you are interested in working at Epsom and Ewell High School. I hope that you have got a real insight into the school from our website and by visiting us to see us at work. I would encourage all job candidates to visit us prior to submitting your application. Not only would it be a pleasure to show you around but you could also confirm external agencies' views of us:

• In 2011 the local authority graded us as 'outstanding' in all key areas and overall
• In 2011 our exam results were outstanding and showed that we performed well above the progress made by the top 25% of schools nationally.
• In 2010 OFSTED grades us a 'good' with a number of outstanding features, particularly in the key areas of leadership, progress and capacity to improve
• In 2010 we were named in the OFSTED Chief Inspector's Report as one of the 8 most improved schools in the country and one of only 3 schools that jumped four levels in their grading categories in one go. The Chief Inspector of Schools for England and Wales stated that to "... become a good or outstanding school after being in an Ofsted category in the previous full inspection shows a singularity of purpose that comes from highly capable leadership."
• In both 2010 and 2011 we were ranked 5th in Surrey for our GCSE results in terms of added value
• In 2011 were appointed as one of Surrey's support schools whereby we offer assistance to other schools in making changes. There are only 8 such schools in Surrey. Since that appointment we have supported the establishment of a new school and will provide quality teaching to two others throughout 2011-12.
• During the last year we have provided leadership training to the Metropolitan Police, 5 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire and have been asked to do the same for Philips, the consumer lifestyle business based in Guildford.
• We are part of the SJB (Woking) and George Abbott (Guildford) teaching school partnership to train new recruits to the profession. Only 20 such partnerships have been established for the 2011-12 academic year.

Importantly for everyone associated with the school we are not content to stand still as shown by strategic and development plans for this year and beyond. They reflect our ambition to continue to provide the best education we can for our students and be the highest performing school in Surrey.

I am also determined to provide an outstanding experience for the staff that work here. All members of the team have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills – we have one of the youngest (and most effective) middle leadership teams in Surrey – and both teaching and support staff have had opportunities to undertake outreach work or develop themselves through taking additional qualifications. When you visit you will have opportunities to speak to the staff informally so that you can get a better idea of what is on offer here and the support provided to all by my senior leadership team.

We are not content to stand still. Having improved rapidly we now want to sustain our standards year in, year out so that all our students perform at FFT D + 10% as an expectation. Equally we want to ensure the highest standards of leadership at all levels across the school and support the professional development and retention of good and outstanding teachers as the norm. Most importantly, we see the school as being at the centre of our community and are launching 'EEHS Africa' during 2011-12.

I am looking to appoint inspirational staff to the school to help us achieve our goals. You must have real ambition for yourself, the students and the school. You need to be an outstanding practitioner who can inspire and guide others.

I hope that you are inspired by what you have read. If you do decide to apply then I would be grateful if you completed the application form and submit no more than two sides of A4 on how you can help us achieve our goals.

Regards

Alex Russell