Visiting Music Teacher - Violin / Viola

Highgate School; Greater London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - GBP 60,000; Part time

Job summary

A prestigious educational institution in Greater London is seeking a Visiting Music Teacher specializing in violin and viola. This part-time role involves teaching one-on-one lessons primarily to pupils in the Junior School. The successful candidate will join a vibrant music department and may scale up teaching days as student interest grows. Candidates should be enthusiastic educators with a solid music background and commitment to fostering a love of music within students. Competitive hourly salary plus holiday pay offered.

Benefits

Competitive hourly pay

Free access to sports facilities

Complimentary lunch

Qualifications

• Enthusiastic and experienced in teaching violin and viola.
• Capability to teach one-to-one lessons from Year 3 to Year 6.
• Willingness to engage with pupils in a diverse musical environment.

Responsibilities

• Teach violin and viola to Junior School pupils.
• Increase teaching days based on student demand.
• Collaborate with the Music Department.

Skills

Violin instruction

Viola instruction

Teaching skills

Education

Qualified Music Teacher

Job description

Overview

Job title: Visiting Music Teacher - Violin/Viola

Job Type: Permenant, Casual, Part Time

Salary: £39.19 per hour + holiday pay

Department: Music

Reporting to: Director of Music

Location: Highgate Junior and Senior School

Start: April 20th 2026

Closing Date: 27 February 2026 at 9:00 am

Overview of the role

We are seeking an enthusiastic and experienced violin and viola teacher to join our thriving department from April 2026. The successful candidate would be teaching one-to-one lessons to pupils in the Junior School, from Year 3 to Year 6, and there would also be a number of pupils taught in the Senior School, which would have the potential to increase over time. There is currently approximately 1 day of teaching available, on an employed basis, with the possibility of increasing to two days.

The Department

Highgate has a long and distinguished musical tradition: former pupils include John Rutter CBE, Sir John Tavener, Howard Shelley OBE, Jan Latham-Koenig and Daniel Hope. The Senior School Music Department has its base in Dyne House at the heart of the School.

The Senior School Music Department has three offices/teaching rooms for the full-time staff, twelve teaching/practice rooms, five classrooms (including an IT music suite and a keyboard room), and a recital/rehearsal room, as well as a 300-seater auditorium refitted with the latest technology in acoustic design. The Junior School Music Department consists of one department office for the full-time staff, two music classrooms and ten teaching/practice rooms.

Over 100 pupils have singing lessons at Highgate. It is a thriving and busy department with numerous choirs and ensembles. VMTs are involved in taking many of these and we are looking for a candidate who can complement and expand the existing vocal provision. Singing teachers are supported by the Head of Vocal Studies, Music Department Manager, Music Department Administrator and the wider departmental team. Recent pupil performances include Act 1 Mozart Marriage of Figaro, Purcell Dido & Aeneas, J.S Bach Magnificat and Legally Blonde the Musical.

What I love about themusicdepartment at Highgate is that it’s so diverse - we have musicians that play every different genre of music, and performance opportunities that embrace this. One day a pupil could be singing a Renaissance piece in a choir or playing the violin in the Chamber Orchestra and the next performing a Pop song at one of the open mic nights!

— Highgate Music Teacher Job Description Person Specification

Benefits

Location | Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.

Pension | AVIVA workplace pension scheme offered – 26% employer contribution, with the ability to flex up to 16% of this as additional non-pensionable salary, employees contribute a minimum of 5%.

Personal development | Comprehensive induction support for new staff. Focus on continued professional development for all employees.

Leisure facilities | Free access, at stipulated times, to our sports facilities, including a fitness suite and swimming pool (recently refurbished).

Lunch | A complimentary lunch including hot meals, sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit and dessert.

Help with sustainable travel | Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme and a Season Ticket Loan scheme for public transport.

Family-friendly policies | Highgate appreciates that employees sometimes have family commitments so we try to be as supportive as possible, for example with enhanced maternity pay (8 weeks’ full pay, then 10 weeks’ half pay) and paid dependant leave.

Working at Highgate

A culture of community, kindness and belonging

Highgate is a caring, open-minded community, where we promote kindness, empathy and friendship. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of a welcoming environment that enables them to be themselves and to thrive as individuals.

Our community extends beyond the school, through partnerships, charity work and our commitment to equality, inclusion and sustainability. All members of our school community are encouraged to look outwards and play an active role.

Following a visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in September 2024 to assess Highgate’s regulatory compliance and school standards, we are pleased to share the inspection findings, which reports compliance in all five areas and a ‘significant strength’ in our teaching expertise.

Staff wellbeing

Highgate is committed to staff wellbeing, which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance; trying our best to support flexible working requests; providing a nutritious complimentary lunch in the dining hall; and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool.

The Staff Wellbeing Committee, with representatives across the School, meets regularly to drive forward initiatives, and a selection of staff have been trained as Mental-Health First Aiders.

We encourage an open culture throughout our school, with regular staff surveys, action committees and opportunities to feedback. We strive for continual learning and improvement, and staff training and development is paramount. There are opportunities to participate in the wider life of our school, such as taking part in trips or societies and getting involved in partnership projects.

More details about working at Highgate can be found here:

Work with us Aims + Ethos

A fun, collaborative and forward-thinking environment with a real sense of community

Application procedure

• Closing Date: 27th February 2026
• Video Interviews: 2nd March 2026
• In Person Interviews: 9th March 2026

Contact: The Recruitment Team are happy to answer any questions about this post.

Early Application: Applications will be considered ‘as and when’ received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.

Apply here

Inclusion

We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams, and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staff and pupils will feel a sense of belonging and will thrive.

We are aware that people from certain backgrounds are under-represented in independent education institutions and we’re working to do what we can to redress this. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people from minoritised ethnic and racial backgrounds, people with a disability and/or neurodiverse applicants (including those with a ‘hidden’ disability, LGBTQ+ people, as we are working to make our staff body more representative of the UK and London population).

We are also aware that many highly capable prospective candidates nonetheless rule themselves out of applying for positions because they may underestimate their own ability to do the role. With this in mind, we strongly encourage applications from anyone who is prepared to learn and develop professionally on the job and would like to stress that past experience of working in education, or admissions is not required.

If this application process doesn’t support your needs and you would like to discuss additional support to apply, please contact [e-mail]

Safeguarding

As this role will have regular unsupervised contact with children you must, if appointed, comply with Highgate’s Safeguarding Policy and Staff Code of Conduct. If in the course of carrying out the duties of the post the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety and welfare of our pupils, these concerns must be reported immediately in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy. If whilst in the post, Highgate becomes aware of any safeguarding concerns to staff, pupils or the community; these will need to be followed up in line with the safeguarding policy and code of conduct which is underpinned by KCSIE and other legislation. These concerns may need to be shared with other agencies. A copy of these policies will accompany all offers of employment.Training will also be provided to all staff to support Safeguarding practice.

Please read before you apply

Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities. DBS Privacy Policy

Please note that this role is ‘exempt’ from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore, you are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not ‘protected’ (i.e., not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not be filtered, prior to the date of the interview. DBS Code of Practice

In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.

Apply here

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