Job Introduction

This is an opportunity for an existing Rowing Coach to play a key role supporting the running of a hugely prosperous, thriving, and motivated Boat Club at one of London's top schools.

Rowing, aka Water, is a popular indoor and outdoor activity at Westminster School, with a Boat house on the Putney embankment and purpose-built training facilities in the school sports centre in Westminster. The Boat club is a significant part of both the school and local Putney community on the river. With rowing activities established at Westminster before 1813 -The Boat club is amongst the oldest in the world and has played a significant role in British rowing history. More recently the Boat club has provided an impressive roster of Junior rowing internationals and Oxford and Cambridge blues. The school also founded the prestigious Schools Head of the river race in 1946 and continues to organise the event

The Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will have proven coaching experience within a school environment, ideally supported by relevant coaching qualifications. You will be an inspirational coach contributing as a team player in a team coaching environment. Part of the role could include transporting both boats and pupils to events and camps, therefore a full clean minibus and trailer driving license is desirable (but not essential). The ability to assist with minor boat repairs may also be an asset.

Hours are determined by fixed school sports sessions and the successful candidate must be available to coach on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (term-time) between 2:00pm and 4:30pm and possibly one day each weekend between 2:00pm and 5:00pm. This is a part-time role, with approximately 6-12 hours coaching required per week. Some coaching may also be required during the half-term and Easter holidays. Details of working hours will be discussed at interview.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

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

Package Description

Required for: as soon as possible

Location: Boat House (Putney) - Westminster School

Contract: casual/zero hours contract

Hours of work: Hours are determined by fixed school sports session, please read the job description below

Salary: £34.84 per hour

The deadline for applications is midday on Thursday 3rd October 2024. Interviews will follow shortly after the closing date.

About the School

Working at Westminster

Westminster School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of 750 pupils, 120 teaching staff and 108 support staff.

Westminster School is friendly and welcoming, and all newcomers quickly become part of the rhythm of life here.

There is a real sense of community here as, being a boarding school many members of staff and pupils live on site and the School’s premises are very much treated as a home away from home. School life starts before breakfast and continues way beyond the working day; as a result, there is always a lively atmosphere in and around School and always someone to share a tea and biscuit with in the Common Room. Support staff as much as teaching staff are encouraged to embrace the School’s day-to-day activities, whether that be attending an evening concert or a morning service in the Abbey.

At Westminster we will always select the best candidate for every position. We do know, however, that we can only truly choose the best person on every occasion if a broad and diverse pool of candidates see the job advertised and are encouraged to apply.

As such, we continue to work on how our job roles are encountered, and particularly welcome applications from groups who have traditionally been underrepresented here.

Westminster School is for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. We hope you are encouraged to apply.

The School

Westminster School is a selective day and boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 and girls aged 16 to 18. There are approximately 360 boys in the Lower School (Years 9 to 11) and 400 boys and girls in the Upper School (Years 12 and 13). One quarter of the pupils board, and the School is structured and run as a boarding school, with an extended day and week and a strong House-based system of pastoral welfare, for boarding and day pupils alike.

Westminster is an ancient school, whose origins can be traced to a charity school established by the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey. Its continuous existence is certain from the early 14th century. Henry VIII personally ensured the School’s survival by statute and Elizabeth I, who confirmed royal patronage in 1560, is celebrated as the School’s foundress. Westminster is rare amongst long-established schools in remaining on its original site in the centre of London. Its proximity to Parliament and Westminster Abbey, and the use of the Abbey for its chapel, together with the stimulating diversity of the South Bank and West End, account in part for its special atmosphere and outlook.

The School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence both in this country and internationally. Central to its academic ethos is the dialogue between teachers and their pupils, whether in the classroom or in tutorials, inspiring enjoyment of intellectual enquiry, debate and search for explanation and the development of skills of rational, independent thought well beyond any standard examination syllabus. The desired environment is happy, busy and purposeful; the pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged, with plenty of opportunities to develop initiatives and to articulate and defend their views, in line with the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the School’s Charter. That tradition is fully committed also to the nurture of each pupil’s spiritual, moral, emotional and physical development and wellbeing – with a particular emphasis on drawing out individual talent wherever it lies - and to the preparation of young people for fulfilled private and public lives beyond School.

Westminster School