Head of Drama

Full Time/or potential for 0.8

We wish to appoint an energetic, passionate and entrepreneurial Head of Drama to lead our thriving department. The successful candidate will be well-qualified across all key stages, and have a genuine passion for drama and theatre, and will enjoy making a lively contribution to co-curricular activities.

Farlington has a long tradition of excellence in drama, and as such, this is an outstanding opportunity to lead our thriving department. As the Head of Drama, you will lead and manage all aspects of academic drama and curricula as well as co-curricular activities and drama performances across the School, ensuring that in breadth, ambition and scope the offering is exciting, challenging, diverse and innovative. The successful candidate will be expected to share teaching throughout the school, including A Level, and to work collaboratively with other performing arts disciplines including Music and Dance. The role will include leading a well established LAMDA provision, with over 150 students actively engaged each year. We also have a strong drama scholars programme with a number of our students having had professional placements, or having pursued careers within the industry.

You will contribute to the broader life of the whole school by leading events such as formal performances (plays and musicals, in collaboration with Music and Dance), informal performances, and at external festivals and competitions. We are proud to be a Trinity Arts Award Champion Centre, and this is a status we wish to continue to build upon in the future.

As a smaller school, the ability to work with colleagues and to enthuse others to help support performances and events is important in delivering success. We have a strong tradition in developing our senior students' skills across not only performance, but backstage. technical lighting and sound, and costume and make-up, providing support for productions and competitions.

We have a superb drama studio doubling as a teaching and performance space. There are also larger spaces within the school that can double as performance areas, and we are also fortunate to be close to external professional theatres for larger productions. The successful candidate will be flexible in their thinking, willing to give things a go, and explore exciting new ways of working. To that end, there is considerable opportunity for an entrepreneurial thinker to explore developing a more commercial provision for the school at weekends, through holidays, and during evenings, which would provide significant scope to further develop the department and its strong reputation within the local area.

Farlington is a co-educational day and boarding school for pupils aged 6 months to 18, and is set in 33 acres of beautiful Sussex countryside. The school enjoys a strong reputation for its academic excellence and welcoming community. Farlington students are happy, fulfilled young people, fully engaged in the life of the school community, aspirational and committed to their studies. With class sizes of no more than 20 you can have an impact on each student in every lesson, and a commitment to our thriving co-curricular programme outside the classroom is essential.

As part of the Bellevue Education group of schools, there are excellent opportunities for ongoing professional development, and further opportunity for collaboration between schools within the group.

Further details may be obtained from the website: https://www.farlingtonschool.com/

The closing date for applications is 28 April 2026, with interviews anticipated to take place potentially the same week or the week after.

We are mindful of notice periods and assume that applicants will have checked their status and ability to take up a new role from September 2026. The school reserves the right to interview potential candidates as applications are received, mindful of potential notice periods. To apply for this role you MUST complete and submit an application form which can be found on our website under Job Opportunities.

Farlington School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Farlington has a long tradition of excellence in drama, and as such, this is an outstanding opportunity to lead our thriving department. As the Head of Drama, you will lead and manage all aspects of academic drama and curricula as well as co-curricular activities and drama performances across the School, ensuring that in breadth, ambition and scope the offering is exciting, challenging, diverse and innovative. The successful candidate will be expected to share teaching throughout the school, including A Level, and to work collaboratively with other performing arts disciplines including Music and Dance. The role will include leading a well established LAMDA provision, with over 150 students actively engaged each year. We also have a strong drama scholars programme with a number of our students having had professional placements, or having pursued careers within the industry.

You will contribute to the broader life of the whole school by leading events such as formal performances (plays and musicals, in collaboration with Music and Dance), informal performances, and at external festivals and competitions. We are proud to be a Trinity Arts Award Champion Centre, and this is a status we wish to continue to build upon in the future.

As a smaller school, the ability to work with colleagues and to enthuse others to help support performances and events is important in delivering success. We have a strong tradition in developing our senior students' skills across not only performance, but backstage. technical lighting and sound, and costume and make-up, providing support for productions and competitions.

We have a superb drama studio doubling as a teaching and performance space. There are also larger spaces within the school that can double as performance areas, and we are also fortunate to be close to external professional theatres for larger productions. The successful candidate will be flexible in their thinking, willing to give things a go, and explore exciting new ways of working. To that end, there is considerable opportunity for an entrepreneurial thinker to explore developing a more commercial provision for the school at weekends, through holidays, and during evenings, which would provide significant scope to further develop the department and its strong reputation within the local area.

Farlington is a co-educational day and boarding school for pupils aged 6 months to 18, and is set in 33 acres of beautiful Sussex countryside. The school enjoys a strong reputation for its academic excellence and welcoming community. Farlington students are happy, fulfilled young people, fully engaged in the life of the school community, aspirational and committed to their studies. With class sizes of no more than 20 you can have an impact on each student in every lesson, and a commitment to our thriving co-curricular programme outside the classroom is essential.

As part of the Bellevue Education group of schools, there are excellent opportunities for ongoing professional development, and further opportunity for collaboration between schools within the group.