Head of Religious Studies

The Independent Schools Council; Faringdon; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary on our own scale

Beautiful estate with transport links

Free car parking

Free meals

Discount on School fees

Sporting and gym facilities

Job summary

St Hugh’s is seeking a Head of Religious Studies to drive academic excellence across KS2 to GCSE. The post involves strategic leadership, inspiring pupils of all abilities, and fostering ethical understanding within a vibrant, supportive community.

The role includes teaching RS from KS2 to GCSE, leading curriculum planning, assessment, resourcing and budgeting, and ensuring safety and compliance. The position may be either part-time or full-time, with flexible working patterns to discuss.

Responsibilities

• Teach Religious Studies from KS2 to GCSE level
• Lead department in curriculum planning, assessment, resourcing, budgeting, reporting, health and safety, and educational visits
• Support safeguarding and promote welfare of children

Job description

The Head of Religious Studies is responsible for the strategic leadership, management and development of Religious Studies across the School, ensuring a dynamic, engaging and academically rigorous curriculum from Key Stage 1 through to Key Stage 4. The successful candidate will inspire pupils of all abilities, foster intellectual curiosity and ethical understanding, and promote respect for diverse beliefs and worldviews.

The postholder will teach Religious Studies from KS2 to GCSE level and lead the department in all aspects of curriculum planning, assessment, resourcing, budgeting, reporting, health and safety, and educational visits.

St Hugh's is a highly regarded coeducational day and boarding school. We are situated on a beautiful green campus of 65 acres in the South Oxfordshire countryside, only 25 minutes from Central Oxford. Our Senior School opened in September 2026. It is a very exciting time to be joining St Hugh’s.

The post holder will report directly to the Deputy Head Academic. This is a part-time or full-time position, depending on what the successful candidate is able to offer. Working pattern to be discussed.

St Hugh’s staff are an outstanding, hard-working and collaborative team who aim to give all our children academic and pastoral excellence in a nurturing environment with wide ranging facilities. Each child is, therefore, able to discover what they are good at, thrive and gain confidence in themselves.

We offer excellent benefits, including:

• competitive salary on our own salary scale with scope for progression
• an outstanding working environment in our beautiful estate with easy access to transport links and being part of our vibrant and supportive community
• free car parking
• free meals
• a discount on School fees
• the use of our sporting and gym facilities

Full details of our staff benefits and recruitment procedures can be found on our School recruitment page at https://www.st-hughs.co.uk/news/staff-vacancies

Applications will be considered on receipt and should arrive no later than 10.00am on Thursday 24th September 2026. We reserve the right to interview at any point during the recruitment process so early applications are encouraged.

The School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and all appointments are subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (including a check against the Children’s Barred List), and other pre-employment screening including a check on the Secretary of State list of prohibited staff.