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American Academy Larnaca

Information about the school, post, salary and conditions
Applicants for the Post of Biology Teacher


The School
The American Academy was established in 1908 by missionaries of the Reformed Presbyterian Church
of North America and is one of the oldest schools in Cyprus. In 1975 control of the school, and all its
facilities, was handed over to the American Academy Alumni Foundation, since which time it has been
run as a non-profit making organisation with charitable status by its own graduates. The governing
council consists of 11 elected members, who serve for five years and two representatives of the church.

Our school is a private, non-sectarian, co-educational, selective day school, offering education from pre-
Junior through to Year 7 (ie Upper Sixth). The Junior School currently has approximately 200 students,
with day-to-day administration being the responsibility of the Junior School Headteacher. The Senior
School takes about 80% of its 1000 students from Greek elementary schools in the locality these being
exclusively of Greek Cypriot origin. The remaining students come mainly from our own Junior School
and are more international in character, including repatriated Cypriots. Our school has built a strong
reputation for the high level of educational success of its students and for its emphasis upon service
within the community. The vast majority of graduates achieve University entrance overseas (primarily
in the UK and the USA) and many progress to positions of responsibility in both commercial and
educational institutions in Cyprus and abroad.

Location and buildings
Our school is situated in the heart of Larnaca and occupies a large site. All three teaching blocks are
fully equipped with interactive technology, ICT suites and modern scientific laboratories. Weir Hall has
become a landmark in the town whilst the new Centenary Building reflects our interest in the
environment. This building is equipped with photovoltaic and geothermal technology as well as being
built with recyclable materials. Memorial Hall has been completely upgraded and Weir Hall is being
completely renovated.

In addition we have a large Sports Hall and adjoining sports field. The school achieves excellent success
in a wide range of sports. The Junior School is located centrally within the main campus.

Some Aspects of Curriculum
A wide range of courses is available at GCSE from years 1-5 and at sixth form level, most lead to
external examinations at A/AS. Students entering Year 6 are required to have passed the appropriate
courses to qualify for the subjects chosen. Our school also offers its own Graduating Diploma
something of great value on the island. During recent years the pass rate at GCSE has been consistently
above 90% and last year exceeded 95%. At A level the pass rate approaches 100% and over 90% of the
students go on to Higher Education, mainly in the United Kingdom, the United States and Cyprus.

Our school has invested considerably in ICT and is committed to rapidly extending its use of IT across
the curriculum and throughout the organisation. All teachers are expected to use IT in their programmes.
Each member of staff is issued with a laptop computer. We have a record of innovation within
education and provide a thorough staff development programme.


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The Position
Biology is taught within the Science Department as a separate subject to GCSE and A Level. The
successful applicant will be qualified to teach Biology up to GCSE and would be expected to teach
Science at various levels. All Science courses have a large HSW/investigative approach and extensive
use is made of ICT in the Department. Experience with data logging and statistical methods to process
data will be considered an advantage.

The Council seeks applicants that ideally can demonstrate the following qualities:
integrity and reliability
the ability to develop individually and within teams
dedication and commitment to their work and to the extra curricular and general life of the
school.
the qualifications, background, interest and motivation, that is required to make a success of an
appointment
the level of IT competence required for the post applied for
the level of personal organisation required for the post applied for
flexibility to cope with unexpected and untypical demands

The main responsibilities and tasks of the post are set out in the appropriate scheme of service, and it is
that document and the needs of the department that will mainly provide the framework for evaluating
applications.

Terms and conditions
Salary according to qualifications and experience.
Entitlement to Staff Welfare Fund and, when permanent, Medical Fund and the Staff Provident
Fund.
Permanent contract subject to satisfactory probationary period.
Standard entitlement to annual paid leave.

Application procedure
The schools application form (can be downloaded from the website) duly completed, together with
a letter of application and a transcript of grades only, should be emailed to: info@academy.ac.cy by
Friday 13
th
June 2014.


Interviews will be held shortly afterwards and applicants will be informed accordingly.

May 2014