🌟 Trainee Teacher Opportunity –Meridian High School, part of GLF Schools Trust.

Meridian High School is looking for trainees to train in Secondary Art and Design and PE on a fee-funded route.

GLF Schools is a Trust of 43 schools, and we have other schools keen to offer placements on employment-based routes, including the Salaried or Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship, for the right candidate in Maths, English, Chemistry, Physics, and Computing. 

Could this be you?

Are you a passionate graduate based in or near Croydon and ready to begin your teaching career at Meridian Secondary School?

🌱About Meridian High School

Meridian High School aims to be a centre of excellence for its community, where students are encouraged to present the best version of themselves. Students are challenged, they learn, and they can achieve within an ethos of resilience, ambition, and respect. Meridian is an inclusive school and aims to provide our students with personalised provision to enhance learning, so that all students thrive.

Meridian High School has been on a rapid journey of school improvement since 2020, one that our team is incredibly proud of as the only GOOD (Ofsted 2023) school serving the New Addington community.

Ofsted comments on what the school does well in their 2023 report. “Leaders have developed a new, ambitious curriculum. …Lessons are sequenced so that each lesson builds on the knowledge learned in the previous lesson...Teachers explain things clearly. They break down lessons into smaller parts. Teachers ensure that pupils understand each part before moving on. Before pupils start each activity, teachers carefully explain how to complete it.”

🌱About GLF Schools

Meridian High School is part of GLF Schools, a Multi-Academy Trust comprising 43 schools, with a strong presence in the South East region, including both primary and secondary schools. Through our partnership with Inspiring Future Teachers (IFT), we offer a variety of locally delivered teacher training routes — from employment-based options to fee-funded pathways.

We are committed to training, developing, and employing our trainee teachers as Early Career Teachers (ECTs) across all our GLF schools. We have a specific teacher training base in Banstead in Surrey, Didcot, Oxfordshire, and in Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre in Reading, offering candidates a choice of where to do their Friday core training.

🏫 About the Trainee Teacher Programme.

We are excited to offer aspiring teachers a fantastic opportunity to train at Meridian High School, supported by our expert GLF Teacher Training Hub. You’ll benefit from:

• High-quality, school-based training and placement at Meridian High School
• Locally delivered training sessions
• Mentorship from experienced teachers committed to your development

You’ll also gain practical, hands-on experience across your chosen age range.

🎓 Qualifications Required

To be eligible to apply, you’ll need:

• A UK bachelor's degree (2:2 or above, although some 3rd class degrees may be considered)
• GCSE English and Maths at grade 4 (C) or above (plus Science for primary)
• Right to work and study in the UK, with 3+ years of residency in the UK/EEA

💷 Funding & Training Route Options

We offer both salaried and fee-funded routes in Oxfordshire schools:

🔹 Salaried Route (Employment-Based)

• You are employed full-time (32.5 hrs/week) on the Unqualified Teacher Pay Scale
• The school pays tuition fees for QTS
• Option to add PGCE for £500 (trainee-funded)

🔹 Fee-Funded Route

Unpaid training placement, but eligible for:

• Tuition Fee Loan (up to full cost)
• Maintenance Loan (up to ~£13,000)
• Tax-free DfE bursaries (for shortage secondary subjects)

Training fee costs:

• £9,535 (QTS + PGCE)
• £9,035 (QTS only)

🔹 Part-Time Route (over two years) This is a pilot route for 26-27 and available for some subjects/routes

• Year 1: £7,145 | Year 2: £4,762
• PGCE is not available on this route

🔹 Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship

• Employed by the school
• £9,000 fee funded by the employer's levy- assuming eligibility
• Leads to QTS (PGCE not included)

🌱 Why Train with GLF Teacher Training?

• Local training: Receive weekly training in your area by local expert practitioners — no long commutes!
• Collaborative Trust: Work alongside a network of professionals across the region within GLF schools
• Personalised support: Your wellbeing and workload are prioritised
• Career progression: Many trainees secure ECT positions in our GLF Schools. 96% of last year's trainees secured an ECT position with our support.

📍Placement School- Meridian High School

All trainees have two placement schools, and GLF Teacher Training ensures your second placement school is carefully matched to ensure reasonable travel and the right fit for your training needs.

GLF Schools is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Employment is subject to a satisfactory enhanced disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

As a Trust, we are happy to discuss flexible working opportunities. GLF Schools recognises and celebrates the diversity of its schools and their communities. There is a shared commitment across the Trust to develop further a culture of respect, where discrimination is not tolerated, and individuals are treated equitably and fairly and feel a sense of belonging. We strive for an inclusive environment where staff, children and students are comfortable to express their own identity, should they wish, in which diversity and inclusion is of mutual benefit for everyone in our schools. We particularly welcome applicants from under-represented groups including those based on ethnicity, gender, transgender, age, disability, sexual orientation or religion.

We reserve the right to withdraw this vacancy at any time ahead of the closing date if there is a good level of response. Therefore, we recommend you submit your application as early as possible.

We also reserve the right to interview shortlisted candidates ahead of the closing date.

Please be advised that references may be requested on receipt of your application. Please state if you wish this to be delayed until shortlisting/interviews have taken place.