Information for candidates

Graduate Musician

For boys 3-18

Excellence, integrity, and distinction since 1561 www.mtsn.org.uk

Contents

03 The School05 The Person06 The Department10 The Position13 The Benefits14 The Process

The School

Merchant Taylors’ School has been one of thetop ten boys’ schools in the UK since itsfoundation by the Merchant Taylors’ Company, one of the twelve Great Livery Companiesof the City of London, in Suffolk Lane in 1561. One of the nine original ‘Clarendon Schools’,its alumni have achieved great distinction.However, the school wears its heritage lightly,its strong sense of tradition very much at the service of the future. Through the Merchant Taylors’ Educational Trust, it retains close links with other Merchant Taylors’ schools, and with the Merchant Taylors’ Company itself.

Relocated from the City of London to Sandy Lodge, Northwood in 1933, the School

occupies a superb setting: 286 acres of lakes, playing fields, and woodland, all within easy reach of Central London, Middlesex,Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire.

There are four distinct boys’ day schools on campus. The Nursery, the Pre-Prep & the Prep cater for 340 boys from 3 to 13 years of age, while the Senior School has some 900 pupils from 11 – 18, with over 300 in the Sixth Form (The Prep School shares some of its facilitieswith the Senior School, but is a separateschool in its own right).

Competition for places is fierce, and entry is by competitive examination at 11+, 13+, and 16+.

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Public examination results are outstanding,the majority of students proceeding either to Oxbridge or other leading universities andmedical schools in the UK or abroad.

We pride ourselves on our outstandingpastoral care as well as our excellent academic results, and aspiration in all areas goes well beyond the norm, making Taylors’ a particularly exciting and rewarding place to teach.

The 2014 Inspection Report accorded theschool the highest accolade of “exceptional”, finding that pupil achievement & learning are exceptional, and the teaching, curricularand co-curricular provision are all excellent:

“Pupils arereceptive, alert, highly articulateand well-motivated… friendly, happy andself-reflective… highly articulate… logical and independent thinkers… and show high levels of creativity”.

Merchant Taylors’ is an exciting, rewardingenvironment in which to teach and work. For those with talent, ambition, and commitment, Merchant Taylors’ provides the means for the development of a successful and satisfactory career in a place with a real sense of community.

Probably the best way to get a taste of life at Taylors’ is to read our weekly magazine Scissorum, which is available on the school’s website www.mtsn.org.uk/scissorum

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MTS boys played a leading role in the Remembrance Concert with nine other Merchant Taylors’ schoolsat the Birmingham Symphony Hall in November 2018

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The Person

We are seeking an outstanding Music Graduate to join a busy and thriving department. You will be highly qualified, enthusiastic, innovative, and highly committed; an able communicator, with experience of rehearsing choral and/or instrumental ensembles; have a positive,encouraging, and collaborative style that can enrich the work of an already very successful department. You will have excellent keyboard skills with experience as an accompanist, andbe able to communicate your passion for music and inspire excellence in pupils of all abilities. The ability to also play an orchestral instrument, or the organ, to a high standard would be advantageous, though not essential.

The successful candidate will be expected to support the work of the Music Department by assisting on a day-to-day basis with the extra-curricular music programme, withopportunities to acquire teaching and music administration experience as well as coachingof ensembles. You will fulfil the role ofaccompanist in a variety of settings, including rehearsals and performances. In addition, you will be required to support the Music Department in the recording of GCSE and A Level practical coursework.

In addition to classroom teaching, you will be required to direct two or three of the

A proficient knowledge of music technology (in particular with Sibelius, Garageband and Logic software on iMacs) and recording is desirable, though not essential. You will demonstrate a willingness to learn new skills, and to be flexible, patient and pragmatic when things change. You will be expected to direct a chamber music ensemble as one of the many that rehearse on a weekly basis, and there is scope to tailor extra-curricular involvement to suit the musical strengths of the successful candidate. Merchant Taylors' is proud of its reputation as a caring and friendly community with a high achieving culture across a broad range of curricular and extra-curricular activities. You will be ready to engage fully in the life of the school. Our expectations of our pupils and teachers, academically and in terms of attitude and commitment, are very high. There is a strong Common Room culture of going the extra mile to stretch and support, in and beyond the classroom, so that every boy realises his potential. Enthusiasm and ability are as important for this post as experience.

We welcome applications from musicians with Graduate and post-Graduate qualifications.

A proficient knowledge of music technology (in particular with Sibelius, Garageband and Logic software on iMacs) and recording is desirable, though not essential. You will demonstrate a willingness to learn new skills, and to be flexible, patient and pragmatic when things change. You will be expected to direct a chamber music ensemble as one of the many that rehearse on a weekly basis, and there is scope to tailor extra-curricular involvement to suit the musical strengths of the successful candidate. Merchant Taylors' is proud of its reputation as a caring and friendly community with a high achieving culture across a broad range of curricular and extra-curricular activities. You will be ready to engage fully in the life of the school. Our expectations of our pupils and teachers, academically and in terms of attitude and commitment, are very high. There is a strong Common Room culture of going the extra mile to stretch and support, in and beyond the classroom, so that every boy realises his potential. Enthusiasm and ability are as important for this post as experience.

We welcome applications from musicians with Graduate and post-Graduate qualifications.

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The Department

Curriculum & Outcomes

Merchant Taylors’ enjoys a musical culture that involves a huge number of boys. There is a fullprogramme of choirs, orchestras and bands with many concerts each year, tours abroad and abiennial Musical. Recent productions have included Oklahoma!, Guys and Dolls and Grease. Some 300 individual weekly instrumental and singing lessons are given by 24 visiting musicians,while the full-time teachers also teach individual pupils; boys who have music lessons outside School are fully involved in the various ensembles.

There is a strong emphasis on diverse and stimulating Music lessons combining practical and theoretical work. Boys in years 7 & 8 have a 45-minute Music lesson each week covering topics including West African Drumming, Gamelan and Film Music. In year 9 the boys who opt to study Music receive two hours' tuition per week. Boys in year 7 have the additional opportunity to receive trial lessons on an orchestral instrument in their first term. About twenty boys choose Music GCSE each year (EdExcel); A Level numbers have rangedfrom 3 to 5 in recent years (OCR). Some attend the Royal College of Music or Royal

Academy of Music Junior Departments and several go on to study Music at university. There is a consistently strong success of Choral and Organ Scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge being awarded to pupils, the latest being the recipient of an Organ Scholarship at Balliol, Oxford (2018), with recent OMTs such as Alex Hamilton (2014) following his time as Organ Scholar at the Chapel Royal, St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and then Organ Scholar at Trinity College Cambridge with his current post as an Organist at Westminster Cathedral.

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Entry Scholarships

Roles Facilities

Four full Music Scholarships are offered each year, following a scholarship audition morning in November. There are also a number of Music Exhibitions comprising free tuition on two instruments awarded each year. All Music Scholars are expected to play a full part in the musical life of the school and to opt for Musicin year 9.

There is a fine Recital Hall with a Yamaha grand piano, equipped for practical work, and two iMac Music Technology Suites. Eleven further teaching/practice rooms all have pianos. Major concerts are held in the Great Hall, which has a Blüthner grand piano and a modern mechanical action organ by Harrison and Harrison (refurbished 2008); the School Chaplaincy Centre has a 1998 mechanical action organ by Lammermuir Pipe Organs, installed in 2010.

There are three full-time teachers (includingthe Director of Music) who share all academic teaching, supported by a Music Administratorin term time. In addition to the academic teaching, each full-time member of the Department is involved in the extra-curricular music programme. The Director of Music is a composer and orchestral specialist who conducts the Symphony Orchestra and

Chamber Orchestra, as well as directingChamber Music. The Assistant Director of Music is an organist and pianist who currently conducts the Concert Band and directs the Choirs. The Head of Academic Music conducts the Wind Band and Sinfonia, and also assists with the Choirs.

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Instrumental Music Choral Music

There are over 20 ensembles that rehearse on a weekly basis. The Symphony Orchestra is the main orchestra and performs symphonic repertoire at two major concerts each year. Recent repertoire includes works by Beethoven, Dvořák, Arnold, and Ravel. The Chamber Orchestra is comprised of the most advanced string players, who are occasionally joined by wind and brass as required by the repertoire, and has recently offered works by Holst, Warlock and Pärt. The Concert Band (some 70 boys) plays more contemporary music, including film scores and showselections; jazz is catered for in the Swing and Dixieland Bands, and more modern jazz by the Merchants of Groove. The Sinfonia String Orchestra and the Wind Band provide experience for the younger boys. Other ensembles include the Guitar Ensemble, two Percussion Ensembles, Taylors' Brass, and five chamber groups. Visiting music teachers direct some of these groups. There is a large ABSRM entry each term.

The School Choir of about 140 boys sings at three major concerts each year and at the Carol Service. It combines forces with the choir of St Helen’s School, the Parents’ Choir, and the choirs of Merchant Taylors’ Prep and St John's Prep to form the Choral Society in the annual Spring Concert. Recent choral repertoire includes works by Mozart, Bernstein, Lambert, Parry, Rutter and Fauré. The Chamber Choir of some 40 voices is drawn from the School Choir and sings for a number of prestigious Merchant Taylors’ Company and School events. The Vocal Ensemble and the Thomas White Singers offer further choral music opportunities for the boys to sing in close harmony. The Merchant Taylors' Young Voices combines younger singers with the Merchant Taylors' Prep choir.

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Touring

Concerts Competitions

Biennial Music tours have travelled to Belgium, Austria, Spain, the USA, and the Czech Republic in recent years, and a tour to Italy will take place in the summer of 2019.

There are three internal instrumental and singing competitions for pupils in different age categories: the Senior Music Competition (years 11-13); the Intermediate Music Competition (years 9-10); and the Merchant Taylors' Young Musician of the Year Competition (years 7-8, as well as boys in the Prep School). The biennial House Music Competition gives pupils the opportunity to direct themselves, and the chamber music ensembles participate in the annual South East Schools' Chamber Music Festival, for which Merchant Taylors' ensembles have consistently been invited to perform at St John's, Smith Square, in the finalists' concert.

Four major concerts are given during the year: the Autumn Concert (November), the annual concert at the Merchant Taylors' Hall in Threadneedle Street (March), the Spring Concert, with St Helen's School (taking place at the end of the Spring term), and the Spring Spectacular (taking place at the start of the Summer term). At the end of the Summer term there is a series of concerts during the annual Music Week, and a number of informal and chamber concerts are held each term.

Choral music is prevalent during the Christmas season at the end of the Autumn Term. The various Choirs lead the singing at the School Carol Service which is a key event in the life of the School, and the Chamber Choir performs annually at the Vernon Service in St Michael's Church, Cornhill.

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Summary of responsibilities

Main responsibilities

The Position

The main responsibility of the Graduate Musician is his/her duties within the Music Department;there are, however, other responsibilities, such as taking part in the school’s games and activities programme. All these should be carried out to the highest standard to ensure the all-round qualityof education for pupils at Merchant Taylors’ School.

• To fulfill the role of accompanist in theMusic Department by:

“arranging appointments with pupils toplay through music in preparation forAssociated Board and GCSE/A-Levelexaminations”

“rehearsing and accompanying pupilsin Informal Concerts”

“supporting full and sectional rehearsals forchoirs on a weekly basis”

“accompanying the Merchant Taylors’ Young Voices Choir in rehearsals and concerts”

“accompanying the Parents’ Choir in evening rehearsals during the second half of the Autumn term, and throughout the Spring term”

• To support the Music Department in therecording of GCSE and A Level practicalcoursework and performances at Informaland Chamber Music Concerts.

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Other responsibilities

• To prepare, set up for, and clear awayafter all major rehearsals.

• To oversee stage management forconcerts.

• To assist with tuning of instrumentsbefore rehearsals and concerts, andorganise practice parts.

• To assist in rehearsals for the School'sMusical Theatre productions, asappropriate.

• To coach a chamber music ensemble,as appropriate.

• To support the Music Department andHeads of House with regard to thepreparation for the House MusicCompetition (in particular concert set-up).

• To catalogue the Music Department CDsand music library sheet music.

• To assist the Director of Music in thepreparation, planning and PR of concerts,visits and tours.

• To accompany staff on school Music tripsand activities.

• To teach music theory & aural lessonsas requested by the Director of Music

• To assist with Music Departmentadministration as requested by theDirector of Music or Music Administrator.

• To attend weekly Music Departmentmeetings.

• To support the Director of Music, wherereasonable, in any other appropriate duties.

The Graduate Musician will:

• adhere to the standard expectations,commitments and duties as stipulatedin the Teaching Staff Handbook, promotingand safeguarding the welfare of childrenand young persons for whom he/she isresponsible and with whom he/shecomes into contact.

• To accompany staff on school Music trips and activities.

• To teach music theory & aural lessons as requested by the Director of Music

• To assist with Music Department administration as requested by the Director of Music or Music Administrator.

• To attend weekly Music Department meetings.

• To support the Director of Music, where reasonable, in any other appropriate duties.

• discharge all professional duties as outlinedin the Contract of Employment andassociated Employment Manual

• set personal professional standards (forexample, in matters of dress andpunctuality) that are of the highest leveland that will enable the individual teacherto act as a role model for pupils

• support the ethos of the school and towork in accordance with its desired aimsand policies

• share in pastoral responsibility for allpupils (especially those in the individual’steaching or tutor groups) in liaison withthe appropriate Heads of School andsenior managers

• play an active role in the life of the school,including in the games and extra-curricularactivities programme

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• promote the general progress and well- being of individual pupils and groups of pupils

• exercise proper care of teaching materials,equipment and rooms to maintain astimulating teaching environment

• follow the agreed policies in theDepartmental Handbook with regard tosuch matters as programmes of study,teaching methods, supporting pupils withlearning support needs and homework

• provide or contribute to oral and writtenassessments, reports and referencesrelating to individual pupils and/or groupsof pupils

• liaise with tutors and Heads of Schoolover matters of individual pupil progressand behaviour

• promote the general progress and well- being of individual pupils and groups of pupils

• exercise proper care of teaching materials, equipment and rooms to maintain a stimulating teaching environment

• follow the agreed policies in the Departmental Handbook with regard to such matters as programmes of study, teaching methods, supporting pupils with learning support needs and homework

• provide or contribute to oral and written assessments, reports and references relating to individual pupils and/or groups of pupils

• liaise with tutors and Heads of School over matters of individual pupil progress and behaviour

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General Conditions and Benefits

• 10 month contract (end August 2019 - 2nd

July 2020)

• The salary for this position will be £14,167for the duration of the contract arrangement(£17,000 full time equivalent)

• School Pension Scheme (Contributory) -following qualifying period and subject toeligibility

• Free use of the school's extensive leisureand sporting facilities: 286 acres of parkland,with more than 65 of these devoted to sport

• Free lunch and free refreshments are available throughout the working day.

• Free on-site parking

• Subsidised accommodation may be available

• The school enjoys a superb campus: central London is 25 minutes away (Met Line), the M1 and M25 are 10 minutes away, Heathrow is less than half an hour.

• School Nurse on site

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• 10 month contract (1st September 2019 – 4th July 2020)

• The salary for this position will be £14,167 for the duration of the contract arrangement (£17,000 full time equivalent)

• School Pension Scheme (Contributory) - following qualifying period and subject to eligibility

• Free use of the school's extensive leisure and sporting facilities: 286 acres of parkland, with more than 65 of these devoted to sport

• Free lunch and free refreshments are available throughout the working day.

• Free on-site parking

• School Nurse on site

• The school enjoys a superb campus: central London is 25 minutes away (Met Line), the M1 and M25 are 10 minutes away, Heathrow is less than half an hour.

Please complete an application form and an accompanying letter (maximum 500 words) outlining your suitability for the post; you may wish to include a brief CV.

Applications to be submitted by Thursday 30th May 2019 (12pm)

Interviews to be held on Thursday 6th June 2019

Applications to (email, fax, or post):Recruitment AssistantMerchant Taylors’ SchoolSandy LodgeNorthwoodMiddlesex HA6 2HT

Fax: +44(0)1923 835110Email: recruitment@mtsn.org.uk

The Director of Music, Simon Couldridge,will be happy to answer any questions;contact him at scouldridge@mtsn.org.uk

The Process

www.mtsn.org.ukTel. +44 (0)1923 820644Fax. +44 (0)1923 845522Email. info@mtsn.org.uk

Merchant Taylors’ School, Sandy Lodge, Northwood,

Middlesex HA6 2HT

How we use your informationWe will use the information which you provided in your application, and which we collect from other sources (such as from references and from theDisclosure and Barring Service) for the following purposes: to assess your suitability for the role for which you have applied, to assess your suitability towork with children and to enable us to comply with our legal obligations (including safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people).

Further information on how the School uses personal data is set out in the School's Staff Transparency Notice, which can be found on the Vacancy page ofthe School Website.

Merchant Taylors’ Prep, Moor Farm, Sandy Lodge Road,

Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire

2729_MTS Teacher of Physics Brochure.indd 13 14/11/2018 14:13

www.mtsn.org.ukTel. +44 (0)1923 820644Fax. +44 (0)1923 845522 Email. info@mtsn.org.uk

Merchant Taylors’ School, Sandy Lodge, Northwood,

Middlesex HA6 2HT

How we use your informationWe will use the information which you provided in your application, and which we collect from other sources (such as from references and from the Disclosure and Barring Service) for the following purposes: to assess your suitability for the role for which you have applied, to assess your suitability to work with children and to enable us to comply with our legal obligations (including safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people).

Further information on how the School uses personal data is set out in the School's Staff Transparency Notice, which can be found on the Vacancy page of the School Website.

Merchant Taylors’ Prep, Moor Farm, Sandy Lodge Road,

Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire

2729_MTS Teacher of Physics Brochure.indd 13 14/11/2018 14:13