• Job title:Visiting Music Teacher - Singing
• Job Type:Fixed Term Contract, Casual, Part Time
• Salary:£39.19 per hour + holiday pay
• Department:Music
• Reporting to:Head of Vocal Studies
• Location:Highgate Junior and Senior School
• Start:January 2026 or March 2026
• Closing Date:8 October 2025 at 9:00 am

Highgate seeks to appoint an outstanding singing teacher(s) to teach individual lessons across both Junior and Senior Schools.

Two maternity cover positions are available both comprising 2 days teaching: January – July 2026 (with possible extension) & March – December 2026 (with possible extension), it may be possible to combine these into one, c. 4 day, role. The role requires the singing teacher to provide pupils with a rounded musical education and the successful applicant will be a talented teacher with a passion for inspiring young singers. The successful candidate may be asked to lead rehearsals of the Junior School Chorus and/or Year 2 Choir.

Highgate has a long and distinguished musical tradition: former pupils include John Rutter CBE, Sir John Tavener, Howard Shelley OBE, Jan Latham-Koenig and Daniel Hope. The Senior School Music Department has its base in Dyne House at the heart of the School.

The Senior School Music Department has three offices/teaching rooms for the full-time staff, twelve teaching/practice rooms, five classrooms (including an IT music suite and a keyboard room), and a recital/rehearsal room, as well as a 300-seater auditorium refitted with the latest technology in acoustic design. The Junior School Music Department consists of one department office for the full-time staff, two music classrooms and ten teaching/practice rooms.

Over 100 pupils have singing lessons at Highgate. It is a thriving and busy department with numerous choirs and ensembles. VMTs are involved in taking many of these and we are looking for a candidate who can complement and expand the existing vocal provision. Singing teachers are supported by the Head of Vocal Studies, Music Department Manager, Music Department Administrator and the wider departmental team. Recent pupil performances include Act 1 Mozart Marriage of Figaro, Purcell Dido & Aeneas, J.S Bach Magnificat and Legally Blonde the Musical.

Job Description

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• • To teach 35-minute or 50-minute music lessons to pupils as requested by the Head of Vocal Studies/Director of Music
  • To be actively involved in the promotion and recruitment of singing
  • To demonstrate a passion and enthusiasm for singing both in individual lessons and throughout the department
  • To provide a programme of study tailored to each individual pupil that allows for continuity from lesson to lesson
  • To engage positively with the annual VMT Continuous Professional Learning Programme
  • To provide 30 music lessons to each pupil per academic year
  • To ensure that each pupil is aware of their practice requirements for the next lesson and is following those requirements
  • To prepare and encourage pupils to perform in concerts and in other public events
  • To prepare pupils for public exams as appropriate
  • To attend the mandatory VMT Forum in September and Safeguarding training as requested by the Director of Music
  • To be available on occasion for ad hoc events such as adjudicating / masterclasses / performances
  • To feedback to parents or carers by attending a visiting music teachers’ parents consultation evening twice a year (once online and once in-person).
  • To lead ensemble rehearsals where requested by the Head of Vocal studies and agreed in advance.

These duties and responsibilities are intended as a guide. They are not exhaustive: the Visiting Music Teacher will be expected to undertake any reasonable task or responsibility as required by the Director of Music or Head of Vocal Studies.

Person Specification

• Criteria
• How will these be tested or verified?
• Qualifications and Professional Bodies
• • A Master’s degree or equivalent in voice, vocal pedagogy or a related discipline
• Skills and Experience

• Essential:

  • Experience in teaching 1-1 vocal lessons for young voices
  • An understanding of the physiology and development of young voices
  • The ability to teach initial musical development, working imaginatively with pulse, rhythm and pitch to lay the musical foundations for tuition
  • The ability to explore all elements of music, including note-reading, in an active and stimulating fashion
  • The ability to suggest voice appropriate repertoire to engage and inspire singers across genres and abilities
  • IT Literacy, comfortable using Microsoft Office 365 or equivalent
• Skills and Experience
• • Keyboard skills
  • Experience in teaching group lessons, general musicianship and musical games
  • The ability to lead a vocal ensemble at both senior and junior levels
  • Demonstrable Continued Professional Learning in vocal pedagogy

Location | Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.

Pension | AVIVA workplace pension scheme offered – 26% employer contribution, with the ability to flex up to 16% of this as additional non-pensionable salary, employees contribute a minimum of 5%.

Personal development | Comprehensive induction support for new staff. Focus on continued professional development for all employees.

Leisure facilities | Free access, at stipulated times, to our sports facilities, including a fitness suite and swimming pool (recently refurbished).

Lunch | A complimentary lunch including hot meals, sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit and dessert.

Help with sustainable travel  | Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme and a Season Ticket Loan scheme for public transport.

Family-friendly policies | Highgate appreciates that employees sometimes have family commitments so we try to be as supportive as possible, for example with enhanced maternity pay (8 weeks’ full pay, then 10 weeks’ half pay) and paid dependant leave.

Highgate is a caring, open-minded community, where we promote kindness, empathy and friendship. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of a welcoming environment that enables them to be themselves and to thrive as individuals.

Our community extends beyond the school, through partnerships, charity work and our commitment to equality, inclusion and sustainability. All members of our school community are encouraged to look outwards and play an active role.

Following a visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in September 2024 to assess Highgate’s regulatory compliance and school standards, we are pleased to share the inspection findings, which reports compliance in all five areas and a ‘significant strength’ in our teaching expertise.

Highgate is committed to staff wellbeing, which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance; trying our best to support flexible working requests; providing a nutritious complimentary lunch in the dining hall; and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool.

The Staff Wellbeing Committee, with representatives across the School, meets regularly to drive forward initiatives, and a selection of staff have been trained as Mental-Health First Aiders.

We encourage an open culture throughout our school, with regular staff surveys, action committees and opportunities to feedback. We strive for continual learning and improvement, and staff training and development is paramount. There are opportunities to participate in the wider life of our school, such as taking part in trips or societies and getting involved in partnership projects.

More details about working at Highgate can be found here:

As an independent school, we want to use our position as a charity effectively: to make high-quality education accessible to as many children as possible – through our bursary programme at Highgate and through our work with local state schools. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and we are the principal educational sponsor for London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham – an academically-selective state sixth form in a community where such opportunities are lacking.

Alongside this, our staff and pupils undertake charitable activities throughout the year. These range from staff giving up their time to neighbourhood schools and charitable organisations, focused fundraising campaigns, to pupils undertaking community work in the local area or further afield.

As a school, we have a central role to play in educating our pupils, staff and parents about the importance of environmental sustainability. We are taking positive action to adapt our operational performance to tackle the negative effects of climate change. We encourage all our staff to reflect upon their personal and professional practices, to support our environmental agenda and to make positive changes wherever possible.

• Closing Date:8th October 2025
• Video Interviews:10th October 2025
• In Person Interviews:16th October 2025

Contact: The Recruitment Team are happy to answer any questions about this post.

Early Application: Applications will be considered ‘as and when’ received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.

We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams, and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staff and pupils will feel a sense of belonging and will thrive.

We are aware that people from certain backgrounds are under-represented in independent education institutions and we’re working to doing what we can to redress this. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people from minoritised ethnic and racial backgrounds, people with a disability and/or neurodiverse applicants (including those with a ‘hidden’ disability, LGBTQ+ people, as we are working to make our staff body more representative of the UK and London population.

We are also aware that many highly capable prospective candidates nonetheless rule themselves out of applying for positions because they may underestimate their own ability to do the role. With this in mind, we strongly encourage applications from anyone who is prepared to learn and develop professionally on the job and would like to stress that past experience of working in education, or admissions is not required.

If this application process doesn’t support your needs and you would like to discuss additional support to apply, please contact Recruitment@highgateschool.org.uk  

As this role will have regular unsupervised contact with children you must, if appointed, comply with Highgate’s Safeguarding Policy and Staff Code of Conduct. If in the course of carrying out the duties of the post the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety and welfare of our pupils, these concerns must be reported immediately in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy.  If whilst in the post, Highgate becomes aware of any safeguarding concerns to staff, pupils or the community; these will need to be followed up in line with the safeguarding policy and code of conduct which is underpinned by KCSIE and other legislation. These concerns may need to be shared with other agencies.  A copy of these policies will accompany all offers of employment. Training will also be provided to all staff to support Safeguarding practice.

Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities. DBS Privacy Policy

Please note that this role is ‘exempt’ from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore, you are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not ‘protected’ (i.e. filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not be filtered, prior to the date of the interview. DBS Code of Practice

In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.