Visiting Music Teacher – Cello
VISITING MUSIC TEACHER - CELLO
St Mary's School CAMBRIDGE
SEPTEMBER 2026
St Mary’s School
Bateman Street
Cambridge
CB2 1LY
T: 01223 353253
F: 01223 280254
hr@stmaryscambridge.co.uk
St Mary’s School Cambridge – A Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered Office: Bateman Street Cambridge CB2 1LY – No. 184031 England Registered Charity No. 290180
Welcome from the Head
Thank you for showing interest in this role at St Mary’s School, Cambridge.
We are an independent day and boarding school for girls aged 3 to 18. We have a school roll of over 500 students. Approximately 15% of the students are boarders. Reflecting the cosmopolitan community of Cambridge, on average 25% of students originate from overseas, from around 30 countries.
The School offers a secure and welcoming learning environment for girls: we are delightfully situated in the heart of the academically renowned and culturally vibrant city of Cambridge. The Junior School is adjacent to the famous backdrop of Coe Fen, and the Senior School and Boarding House overlook the University of Cambridge Botanic Gardens.
Cambridge is an outstanding place to live and work. As a university city, Cambridge has the cultural advantages of a much larger settlement but with a population of approximately 145,000, it is a safe, clean and attractive location. The city has an international reputation owing to its world ranking university and the school benefits from its proximity to the digital and enterprise communities in the various high-tech science parks and enterprise hubs. We are within easy travelling distance of London, less than an hour by train and a short hop from London Stansted Airport.
There has been major investment in new facilities at the School over the past decade: a new Junior School; a new Sixth Form Centre; new provision of Art & Photography; the creation of our Science Hub; and our new boarding facility, Mary Ward House. We have developed our sporting facilities through an ambitious collaboration with Homerton College, University of Cambridge and have invested in a new boat house in a joint partnership with City of Cambridge Rowing Club and Homerton College. We are proud to have opened our Mary Ward Educational Suite in January 2024 which provides new state of the art teaching spaces.
High quality facilities are only as good as the people who work in them, so we invest heavily in our staff, who we know are our greatest asset. We encourage staff to develop themselves through training and facilitate bespoke CPD opportunities for all.
St Mary’s School promotes equal opportunity for all staff and pupils and is committed to its culture of diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates from a wide range of backgrounds.
Above all, St Mary’s School, Cambridge is a very happy place. We have an excellent local reputation for being very friendly and nurturing, and yet ambitious, for the young women in our care, enabling strong progress to next steps at university, the world of work or a gap year. Our girls are genuinely delightful, the teachers and support staff are exceptionally dedicated; we are a very close-knit, loving, joyful and purposeful community.
St Mary’s really is a warm and welcoming environment for all staff, whatever their role, and we look forward to receiving your application.
Hannah Helliar
The St Mary’s Approach
We are proud to be a Christian school in the Catholic tradition and founded on the principles of our 17th century foundress, Mary Ward, our vision is that ‘By God’s grace, women in time will do much’ (Mary Ward 1585-1645). The challenge for women is not over, and whilst there are now more opportunities for 'women to do much' there are still considerable barriers and so our work continues via our mission to develop curious, creative and compassionate young women with the aspiration, confidence and integrity to shape a better world for the common good. Our approach is based on the core values of Freedom, Joy, Justice, Love and Truth and we live these values in school through our HEART habits of
H – Hard work We show perseverance and sustain focus.
E – Empathy We are kind, joyful, generous, value friendship and celebrate diversity.
A – Adaptability We adjust to difficult situations, are open minded, discerning and take calculated risks.
R – Responsibility We act justly and strive to uphold truth and lead by example.
T – Thoughtfulness We are creative, reflective, attentive, show gratitude, hear others and disagree well.
Our unique approach to education fosters a love of life and of learning, while growing the academic curiosity and spiritual wellbeing of each individual girl so that they can look beyond themselves and enter adulthood aspiring to be more and to give more, not just to have more. We warmly welcome girls, and staff, of all Christian denominations and other faith and secular backgrounds to join our thriving community.
The school recently celebrated its 125th anniversary, and building on our 400-year tradition, St Mary’s School, Cambridge belongs to an international network of approximately two hundred Mary Ward schools.
A Love for Learning at St Mary’s
At our school, our values — freedom, joy, justice, love and truth — shape a respectful, inclusive and engaging learning environment where every student can be herself and achieve her best. We nurture curiosity, ambition and a genuine love of learning, inspiring students to pursue academic excellence with confidence and purpose.
Through expert teaching, a challenging curriculum and personalised support, we empower each pupil to embrace opportunities, overcome challenges and fulfil her potential. Our commitment is not only to outstanding results, but also to developing independent, reflective and critical thinkers who are ready to thrive at university and beyond with adaptability, creativity and determination.
As a learning community, we are proud to be continuously refining and enhancing our practice, and we welcome applications from colleagues who share our ambition, curiosity and dedication to high-quality, research-informed teaching.
Digital St Mary’s
St Mary's is a digital school. The goals of the School are supported through
• developing a community of staff and students which learns in, responds to and engages with an ever-changing digital world;
• preparing students for their future by giving them the confidence to work in a digital environment;
establishing creative teaching and learning environments;
• employing teaching staff who are trained and supported to be technologically and digitally skilled.
All members of St Mary's work digitally using Microsoft 365 as a platform. All students in the Senior School and Sixth Form have access to an individual device (Microsoft Surface Pro) which are used extensively in lessons and for home learning.
Job Description: Visiting Music Teacher – Cello (Junior and Senior Schools)
Reporting to: Directors of Music Junior & Senior School
Hours of Work: Approximately 2.5 hours per week (to be confirmed with successful candidate)
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £55 p/h (nb instrumental lessons cost parents £275 for 10 half-hour lessons)
Start Date: Tuesday 1 September 2026
The successful candidate will teach Cello on both our Junior School (Chaucer Road) and Senior School (Bateman Street) sites.
Department Summary
The Music Department at St Mary’s School is a vibrant, successful and friendly department, and we are seeking an enthusiastic, inspiring and experienced cello teacher to join our thriving department. This is a self-employed role.
Both curricular Music and extra-curricular activities at St Mary’s lead to outstanding examination results and a thriving programme of musical events, ranging from large-scale annual concerts at the University of Cambridge Concert Hall, to internal Young Pianist and Young Musician of the Year Competitions. The biennial musical production is also a major highlight of the Music Department’s calendar.
Emma Fisher, Director of Music (Senior School) & Elise Dudley, Director of Music (Junior School)
Line management
The Visiting Cello Teacher will be directly responsible to the Director of Music (Emma Fisher in the Senior School, Elise Dudley in the Junior School).
Responsibilities and Duties
The candidate will be required to teach students from Years 1 to 13 with a wide range of abilities and experiences, from complete beginners to advanced performers. They should be keen to employ a variety of teaching methods and musical styles in order to develop both their students’ technique and musicianship skills, as well as offering encouragement and guidance. The role also involves preparing students for ABRSM (or similar) Music examinations as well as preparing students for the practical components of both GCSE and A Level examinations where applicable.
The successful candidate will be enthusiastic and imaginative in finding ways to grow the ranks of cello players in years to come. Whilst we are currently only able to offer approximately half a day’s teaching from September 2026, there is scope for this role to grow.
Individual instrumental lessons are invoiced directly to parents/guardians of students in a private agreement. The hourly rate is agreed by all self-employed visiting music teachers in advance of the academic year. The agreed rate for September 2026 is £275 for 10 lessons. Lessons are 30 minutes in length, and we aim to provide 30 lessons across the academic year per student. Individual lessons operate on a rotational basis for students in Years 1 to 13, with students in Years 11 to 13 having fixed lessons during lunchtimes or free academic time during the day.
The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate competence and experience as follows:
Essential
Highly qualified, skilled and experienced cello teacher
Enthusiastic, confident and able to inspire students of all ages and abilities
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills to engage positively with both students, parents and staff
Thorough and up-to-date knowledge of Music examination requirements
A willingness to contribute to support the academic team in preparing students for musical showcases – from large-scale concerts to music competitions to Junior School Tea-time concerts where the pupils perform to an audience of peers and parents
• Excellent administration skills, ensuring invoices have been issued, informing parents of nonattendance etc.
Desirable
• The ability to accompany your own students for music examinations
The above list is not an exhaustive list of duties, and you may be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by your line manager and your changing role within the School and overall business objectives of the School.
Person Specification
| SPECIFICATION Qualifications | DETAIL |
| Advanced performing qualification is essential | |
| Qualities and Attributes | Teaching Diploma is desirable |
| Accompaniment skills are desirable | |
| Commitment to musical excellence | |
| Ability to work effectively in a team | |
| Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail | |
| Ability to communicate articulately and confidently with all stakeholders High levels of personal and professional responsibility and integrity | |
| Experience, | Resilient, flexible and responsive to challenge |
| Prioritise deadlines and work under pressure | |
| Self-motivation, enthusiasm and approachability | |
| Good rapport with students, colleagues and parents | |
| Appropriate levels of personal presentation | |
| Knowledge and Skills | Outstanding performing skills |
| Experience of teaching a range of ages (from 4-18) | |
| Excellent written and verbal communication skills | |
| Proficient in appropriate IT skills | |
| Proven organisational skills, capable of multitasking, prioritising and working to deadlines | |
| Experience working in a school environment is desirable | |
| Personal Values | Understanding of how independent boarding and day schools operate is desirable |
| Commitment to the ethos of the school | |
| High expectations for student attainment and conduct | |
| Commitment to own personal development | |
| Commitment to a culture of continuous improvement Readiness to contribute to the whole school when required |
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
St Mary’s School is committed to ensuring equal opportunities in all aspects of employment and selects staff on merit irrespective of race, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, marital status, sex, sexuality/gender preference, disability or age. You are not obliged to complete the Equal Opportunities Form, but any information given will help us monitor the effectiveness of our policies and procedures.
If you have a disability, you are invited to request any special arrangements that you may require for interview or any adjustments that you would consider necessary to your working arrangements by contacting our Human Resources department (hr@stmaryscambridge.co.uk, 01223 353253).
Process
Application is welcomed by completing the Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form which can be found on the Vacancies page of our website. This may be accompanied by a covering letter and a curriculum vitae. We are unable to accept applications supported by a CV alone.
Interviews will be conducted in person, and they will explore candidates’ suitability to work with children. Candidates are required to bring with them the necessary ID documentation and any relevant qualification certificate(s), all of which must be originals. Further information of the interview format will be provided if you are shortlisted for interview.
If you have any question, please contact the HR Team by email: hr@stmaryscambridge.co.uk or call: 01223 353253.
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Interview date: Thursday 11 June 2026
We will review applications on receipt. Suitable candidates may be interviewed before the closing date, and we reserve the right to withdraw the position if an early appointment is made.
Child Welfare and Child Protection Issues
The interview for this post will include exploring issues relating to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children including:
motivation to work with children and young people;
• ability to form and maintain appropriate relationships with children and young people;
emotional resilience in working with challenging behaviours;
attitudes to the use of authority and maintaining discipline.
Any relevant issues arising from the take up of references will be discussed at interview. The school is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful applicants are subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Check.