Headteacher

Schools Week; St Albans; Remote; GBP 95,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Sandringham School in St Albans seeks an intelligent, thoughtful leader for the headship role.

The appointee will guide the school into its next chapter, building on strong foundations with strategic insight and a collaborative leadership style. The role suits ambitious Deputy Heads ready for headship or experienced Headteachers seeking a dynamic setting to add value.

Qualifications

• Experience leading a school or large teaching team.
• Track record of improving school performance.
• Ability to work within a multi‑academy trust and collaborate with partners.
• Commitment to safeguarding, inclusion, and professional development.

Responsibilities

• Develop the craft of teaching with evidence‑informed pedagogy and teacher development.
• Drive continuous improvement to raise aspirations for every student.
• Serve the local community and contribute across the Ambition Education Trust schools.
• Lead with warmth, maintaining high expectations while supporting wellbeing.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Educational leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Job description

Location: St. Albans, Hertfordshire
Role type: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: Leadership scale L37-43
Required: September 2027

An Invitation to lead and learn

Sandringham School is an outstanding, co-educational secondary school in St. Albans. While we are very proud of our inclusive culture, pastoral care, academic tradition and strong reputation, we remain a grounded learning community that constantly seeks to learn, adapt, and refine the craft of teaching.

We are looking for an intelligent, thoughtful leader with a genuine passion for education to guide our school into its next chapter. Whether you are an ambitious Deputy Headteacher ready for your first headship or an experienced Headteacher seeking a dynamic setting to add further value through your leadership, Sandringham offers a wonderful environment in which to lead, grow, and make a lasting impact.

Why Sandringham?

At Sandringham, we view education as a continuous journey of improvement, for both our students and our staff. Our school culture is built on mutual respect, curiosity, and a shared dedication to professional development.

Joining us means working alongside:

• Highly motivated and curious students who develop significant independence and are well-supported by parents who deeply value the school and its staff.
• A collaborative team of teachers and support staff who care deeply about their subjects or area of work, and highly inclusive and who constantly seek to refine their skills.
• A vibrant sixth‑form community that measures a third of the school population, and delivers an exceptional curriculum and extra‑curriculum provision.
• Staff who enjoy a rich extra‑curricular life, with strong performing arts provision, sporting tradition and established Post‑16 partnership work through the local BeauSandVer consortium.
• Leaders and senior executives from across our family of schools in the Ambition Education Trust to lead strategic development; an inspiring cross‑phase multi‑academy trust where we strive for excellence in everything we do.
• An even wider group of professionals across the Alban Teaching School Hub, hosted at Sandringham, including the significant ITT programme training over 70 new teachers each year.
• Similarly minded professionals who see research and evidence‑based practice as an everyday feature of our working.

The Opportunity

We do not believe in standing still. We want a Headteacher who will build on our strong foundations while bringing fresh perspective, humility, and strategic insight.

In this role, you will:

• Develop the craft of teaching by maintaining a clear focus on evidence‑informed pedagogy, curriculum design, and teacher development across all career stages.
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying practical ways to enhance provision and raise aspirations for every student.
• Serve our community by adding meaningful value to our immediate St. Albans community and contribute actively across the eleven schools in the Ambition Education Trust.
• Lead with warmth and humility to foster an open, supportive culture where high expectations go hand‑in‑hand with care for student and staff wellbeing.

Who we are looking for

We welcome applications from both experienced Deputy Headteachers ready to step into headship and serving Headteachers looking for a new leadership challenge.

Our ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• A deep commitment to learning and the continuous development of teaching.
• Intellect, authenticity, and the humility to collaborate with and learn from others.
• Strategic vision paired with practical, sound operational judgment.
• An unyielding commitment to the achievement, wellbeing, and personal development of all young people.
• A clear passion for working within the AET to drive networking and collaboration for the benefit of all.

If you would like to know more

Prospective candidates are welcome to visit the school. Visits can be arranged through Sarah Kemp, executive PA [e-mail] .

Further details, including the application pack, are available on our website https://sandringham.herts.sch.uk/

Closing Date for applications: Monday 16th November 2026 at 9am

Interview Date: Monday 30th November and Tuesday 1st December 2026

Ambition Education Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Appointment to a post at AET is subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, as well as other pre‑appointment checks including an online check, as outlined in Keeping Children Safe in Education.

We are committed to the aim of ensuring that everyone who applies to work for us receives fair treatment and we positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of age, disability, race, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership and caring status. We expect all our staff to demonstrate a commitment to advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations