Full time
“
Leaders maintain a school culture that actively promotes inclusion and mutual respect highly successfully. This is a significant strength of the school.
ISI Inspection - 2025
Extensive individual support enables pupils to...develop a breadth of knowledge and enthusiasm for scholarship. This is a significant strength of the school.
ISI Inspection - 2025
”
Welcome to RGS Prep.
Step through the front door and you will be met with a warm welcome, the sight of inquisitive, energetic and courteous boys and the feeling that anything is possible. Our Six Values of Collaboration, Courage, Inclusivity, Integrity, Respect and Scholarship are at the core of all that we do. We nurture these Values through small class sizes, individualised academic and pastoral support and most importantly, the passion of our staff.
Staff at RGS Prep join us from a range of backgrounds and bring with them a wide variety of beliefs and interests. We actively encourage staff to share these through our lessons, assemblies, workshops, 'Inspire' days and extra-curricular provision.
If you are offered a position here, you would be joining a close-knit and collaborative team.
I look forward to receiving your application.
Toby Freeman-Day, Head
Job Title: General Assistant
Responsible to: Site Manager
Responsible for: n/a
Job Purpose
A list of detailed duties is shown below. This list is not necessarily exhaustive and the General Assistant may be called upon to perform other tasks as directed by the Head of Estates/Deputy Estates Manager/Site Manager (or anyone acting on their behalf).
The role is multi-sited. General Assistants may be required to work at RGS, RGS Prep or Bradstone Brook.
• Assisting the Site Manager in their daily duties.
• Assisting the Site Manager in keeping the schools (both inside and outside) clean and free from litter, cleaning up spillages.
• Locking up and unlocking rooms/buildings when asked.
• Moving furniture around the school as directed by the Site Manager, setting up chairs and tables.
• Replacing roller towels and servicing soap dispensers when required. Liaising with United services regarding towels and mats.
• Delivering parcels, stationery and other items to departments/store.
• Assisting to set out the canteen and other areas for events/functions as required.
• Undertaking minor maintenance tasks eg:
• Replacing light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, cleaning lights.
• Repairing desks and chairs
• Washing Bins and cleaning windows
• Decoration works as directed
• Escorting contractors around the School.
• Reading and recording monthly meter readings for Gas/Electric and Water.
• Assisting the Site Manager generally and standing in for them as necessary.
• To deputise for the Site Manager on two weekends per year.
• Assisting teachers, administration and support staff when required.
• Any other tasks as directed by the Head of Estates/Deputy Estates Manager/Site Manager
• To act as an out of hours contact for the school in case of an alarm.
• To cover the Site Manager’s duties for two weekends per year.
• The employee will demonstrate experience of carrying out routine activities and maintenance work in a similar environment and be able to work as part of a team or as an individual.
• The Employee will need to be IT literate. Training can be provided.
• It is essential that the employee holds or seeks to achieve a full driving licence. There is a requirement to drive and assist in the management of the school fleet. Driver training can be provided.
• It will be a requirement of employment that the employee agrees to apply for a Disclosure Certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service and that such check reveals nothing that would render him/her unsuited to working in a school.
The hours of work are on a rota basis spread over the course of the week Monday to Sunday on a shift pattern as below:
7.00am to 4.00pm
8.00am to 5.00pm
10.00am to 7.00pm
Included in the above are a 60 minute break for lunch and two 15 minute breaks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, each day.
Additional to the two Site Manager duties covered at the weekends per year, there may be a requirement to work additional hours or at weekends (to cover security or school functions/activities). Dates to be agreed in advance and overtime payments will be made.
Close links to the RGS senior school has encouraged academic standards to be pushed higher and the school has invested in new facilities.
Since the millennium, RGS Prep has continued to evolve to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world and has more than twice as many teachers as 30 years ago. A new state-of-the-art Sports Hall was opened in 2016, a dedicated rehearsal space for RGS Guildford Cathedral choristers in 2022 and a PrePrep Library in 2023. Throughout the last 10 years, new outside spaces have been created and refurbished in both the Prep and Pre-Prep departments including an adventure playground, outdoor classrooms and permanent cricket nets.
Your career at RGS Prep begins with a warm welcome and comprehensive induction. You will be introduced to colleagues, key people within the school and fellow new starters from across the departments.
Opportunities to get involved in wider school activities are many and varied; sporting fixtures, theatre productions and residential trips to name just a few. Then there are the social groups set up by and for colleagues ranging from badminton to bingo and one-off events such as theatre trips. However you choose to get involved, you are guaranteed to find yourself among like-minded individuals.
We are proactively committed to creating a diverse staff body, which reflects the community that we teach. At RGS Prep we value diversity and inclusion; we want to attract the best people for the roles available. This is regardless of age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, disability, socioeconomic status or religious beliefs.
Year 2 teacher & KS1 Coordinator, joined 2020
What do you love about your department?
We are a real team and everyone is willing to help each other and get involved with new ideas.
If you could choose any other career, what would it be? Running my own delicatessen, coffee and wine shop!
Prep Office Manager and Music Secretary, joined 2016
What do you love about your department?
The supportive nature of all colleagues, everyone is happy to muck in.
What would be the title of your autobiography? Leave it with me, I'm sure we can make this work!
Louis Lynch Head of DT and games teacher, joined
2015
What's the best thing about working at the RGS?
Every day is different. I never know what enjoyment or challenges the school day will throw at me.
Which staff social groups are you involved in? Most of them, I love a social.
In addition to joining a successful and sociable staff body you will also receive the following benefits:
Working Pattern Full time shift work (see Job Description for full details)
Remuneration Circa £24,000
Annual Leave
28 days' annual leave plus bank holidays
Pension All support staff are automatically enrolled into the company pension scheme. The level of contribution by the individual is 5% the School will contribute 10%.
Healthcare Private medical cover is available for all staff. This is paid for by the School, but is a taxable benefit so there is an indirect cost to the individual.
Fee reduction
Fee reduction for son(s) of staff is available (after a qualifying period).
Commuting Loan Interest-free loans are available for rail season ticket holders.
Dining Lunch and refreshments are provided during term time.
Employee Assistance Programme
A free, confidential counselling & wellbeing support service that can support you, your partner or spouse, and dependent children over 16 still living at home.
RGS Prep is a kind, inclusive, tolerant community where diverse opportunity, personal development, high achievement and collaborative partnership define who we are.
RGS Prep is a long-established IAPS school for approximately 330 boys, which has occupied the same site in a quiet, leafy residential area of Guildford since 1930. It is well known for its excellent academic and pastoral strengths, alongside outstanding music departments and strong sport and extra-curricular opportunities for all boys.
RGS Prep's academic reputation is justly well-known but what sets it apart is its warm and purposeful atmosphere. Pupils are offered a happy, caring and stimulating environment where they can progress to their full potential. An excellent all-round education based on skilled teaching in small classes is at the heart of RGS Prep's approach to learning which strives to provide the widest possible range of experiences.
RGS Prep guides each boy on his journey and gives him the skills and understanding of how to learn, not just what to learn. Visitors to RGS Prep are struck not only by the cheerful, purposeful atmosphere of the school but also by the diversity of its activities.
The school also aims to develop those qualities that cannot be measured by academic assessment. The development of each boy’s interpersonal skills, team spirit, strong self-awareness and leadership potential is achieved through a broad range of extracurricular activities which also foster curiosity, creativity and individuality.
Guildford is a vibrant and exciting place in which to live. Rich in history, it is a welcoming town with a flourishing and varied cultural life. Entertainment is diverse with a number of lively and nationally renowned venues including G Live, the Yvonne Arnaud theatre and the eclectic Electric Theatre. There are outstanding sport and leisure facilities which include the state-of-the-art training venues and sports complexes of Surrey Sports Park and Guildford Spectrum. Guildford offers one of the south east’s best shopping experiences with the iconic High Street combining exclusive and popular national chains as well as a number of independent retailers. Dining options cater for every taste and budget with local traditional and gastro pubs in nearby Surrey villages drawing customers from a wide area.
Educationally, Guildford is thriving. RGS Guildford is regularly ranked in the top ten single-sex schools in the country. RGS also enjoys close links with other girls’ schools, Guildford High School, Tormead School and St Catherine’s, Bramley. The University of Surrey was awarded ‘University of the Year for Graduate Employment’ by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.
Guildford has the advantage of being very accessible and enjoys excellent transport links. London is just over a 30-mile drive via the A3 and well served by trains (just 29 minutes to Clapham Junction and 39 minutes to London Waterloo). International airports London Gatwick and London Heathrow are only 30 minutes from the town.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are close by; the Surrey Hills and North Downs are on the school's doorstep and provide opportunities to enjoy the stunning countryside; the south coast is approximately one hour by car.
William Cobbett “
The town of Guildford, which I, who have seen so many, many towns, think is the prettiest, and…most happylooking, that I ever saw in my life.
The setting:
The Surrey Hills
North Downs
South Downs
Picturesque villages
The south coast
Travel by rail:
Clapham Junction 29 minutes, London Waterloo 39 minutes
Portsmouth Harbour 60 minutes
Gatwick Airport 45 minutes
Travel by road:
London 32 miles via the A3, Heathrow 22 miles; Gatwick 34 miles via A3 and M25 Portsmouth 44 miles; Brighton 59 miles
North Downs
The Royal Grammar School, Guildford meets the requirements in respect of exempted questions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. All applicants who are offered employment will be subject to an enhanced criminal record check from the DBS before the appointment is confirmed. This will include details of cautions, reprimands or final warnings, as well as convictions. It is of fundamental importance to The Royal Grammar School to ensure, so far as possible, that those who take up appointments do not pose a risk to the children in its care.
Further details will be sent to applicants invited to interview which will expand on the above.
We are proactively committed to creating a diverse staff body, which reflects the community that we teach. At RGS we value diversity and inclusion; we want to attract the best people for the roles available. This is regardless of age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, disability, socioeconomic status or religious beliefs.
Please note: applications will be considered on receipt and we reserve the right to close applications early.
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