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Established in 1950, The British School Caracas (Pre-School to Yr.10) has maintained an excellent reputation both for its high academic standards and its supportive atmosphere. International in its population, this CIS accredited, DCFS registered school offers a British curriculum taught, predominately, by UK trained, graduate staff.
The School offers a virtually tax free, very attractive salary package, including accommodation, BUPA, and return air fare. National Curriculum experience essential.
Should you wish to send us your CV for consideration, please email it to recruitment@tbscaracas.com attached as a Microsoft Word document or a PDF file.
Teaching
The school year consists of 180 teaching days (185 staff days).
Classes at TBSC don’t exceed 20 and very often are a good deal
smaller. There are two, parallel mixed ability classes in each age
group from Pre-School to Yr.6. We have dedicated facilities for ICT,
DT, Art and Science. Classrooms are light and well equipped. They
all have ceiling fans and most have air conditioning. The school is
equipped with:
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Hall with stage
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Music rooms
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Dining area for Years 3 to 11
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Library
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Amphitheatre with stage, lighting and sound system
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Networked computers throughout the school
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Interactive whiteboards in most classrooms
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Hard surface playground marked with courts for football, basketball
We offer specialist teachers for Spanish, PE and Music. We have an
active PTA. The Board of Governors are all directly elected parents.
The Head of School acts a Chief Executive Officer and the
educational leader of the school. He is assisted by a Deputy Head,
Key Stage Coordinators, Learning Support Coordinator and Director of
Studies, who form a School Management Team. There is an extensive
support and administrative staff, including teaching assistants in
all KS1 and EYP classes.
A typical teaching load of:
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22-24 lessons in a 35 lesson week (KS 3/4)
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34 lessons in a 45 lesson week (KS 1/2)
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One Club/activity per week
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Subject area responsibility
Medical
International health insurance is provided by BUPA. We have a full time SRN School Nurse on site and we are within minutes of a world class clinic that can handle any likely emergency.
Housing & Transport
Housing is provided by the school in a secure, furnished, one bed roomed apartment including kitchen equipment. A lower, local cost of living than teachers are used to in the UK applies here and essentially teachers use local salary for food, clothes, utilities, transport and entertainment. Not many teachers bother with cars. Apartments are close enough to walk to school. Teachers share lifts, taxis or use local buses and the metro. Teachers are unlikely to need to bring much with them for their apartments, just personal items, music, a laptop, clothes, back-packing gear etc. We provide a freight allowance. Single teachers use this to pay for excess baggage on their arrival flight. The British School Caracas is well resourced but some teachers like to travel with books or other teaching resources (and Marmite!) that they can’t do without. You are provided with a settling in allowance on arrival in local currency.
Salary
If you were to be offered an interview for a teaching appointment at The British School Caracas a salary assessment would be calculated based of the number of your completed years of teaching since qualification. We have a 17 point incremental, local salary scale.
We conform to all the requirements of Venezuelan employment legislation. Staff receive a portion of their salary in dollars which is paid off-shore. The balance is paid in local currency. Most teachers live out of their local salary and use any surplus to purchase flight tickets and make travel arrangements from Venezuela.
Flights
A return allowance equivalent to a return ticket to point of contract is provided at the beginning and end of the initial, two year contract, and every year subsequently that a contract is extended by mutual agreement. A mid-contract flight allowance is provided mid-contract.
Social Life
Single teachers can pursue an active social life and visit restaurants, clubs, salsa dance halls, cinemas and other places of entertainment on a regular basis with expatriate and Venezuelan friends. Once or twice a term colleagues organize weekend trips to the beaches about four hours driving from Caracas. It is possible to fly to offshore islands and places of interest in the interior.
The school provides an induction programme on arrival and Spanish tuition for one hour per week for the first term. Most teachers continue this at a higher level. English is not widely spoken outside the school and small, British/American community, so it is necessary to become proficient enough in Spanish to shop, ride on public transport and participate in simple conversations.
Teachers move freely around the area where the school and their apartments are located. Altamira is one of the leading, residential areas of Caracas. Naturally everyone exercises caution, just as you would in any, large, capital city.
Venezuela
Internet websites and publications such as Lonely Planet and the Rough Guide provide quite a good introduction to Venezuela.
Teachers travel widely within the country. Eco-tourism and adventurous, outdoor pursuits are popular. The following are typical destinations:
• Mérida and the Venezuelan Andes
• Mochima, a National Park on the eastern Caribbean coast with access to good beaches
• Henri Pittier National Park, a cloud forest reserve with access to good beaches
• Los Llanos, a vast Pampas like savannah grassland with interesting wildlife
• The Gran Sabana in the south and including Angel Falls and the flat topped mountains called tepuys. This area was the inspiration for ‘The Lost World’ by Jules Verne
• The Orinoco River and Amazonas. This is an opportunity to interact with indigenous people in the rain forests
• Offshore islands like Los Roques and Margarita
The British School Caracas, backs on to the mountainous Avila National Park where there are waterfalls, paths and camp sites. Caraqueños enjoy the outdoors and use the Avila and other parks freely. There are periods of rain but generally the weather is pleasantly warm and sunny throughout the year.
