Founded in 1862 by Bristol businessmen, Clifton College is a leading independent day and boarding school. The College educates boys and girls from three months to 18 years old through the Preparatory to the Upper school. Located in Clifton, a suburb of Bristol, the College has a cosmopolitan feel strengthened by the presence of some 44 different nationalities. Clifton College provides an all-round education, and prepares every student for life as a global citizen in the 21st century.

The College's first Headmaster, Dr John Percival, was a visionary and intellectual, who believed in science, the education of women and racial tolerance. A Victorian ahead of his time, his curriculum and activities outside the classroom developed young people who were confident without arrogance and had a sense of responsibility towards others. These characteristics remain today.

The College is proud to offer the finest all-round education, and provides a richly diverse and connected school environment, representative of the real world. Clifton is known for academic excellence, myriad co-curricular opportunities, state-of-the-art facilities, exceptional pastoral care, and inspirational teaching, and aims to ensure that its pupils mature into rounded individuals who are ambitious, open-minded and spirited.

The school also has a strong emphasis on inclusion, and the Clifton College Development Trust's priority is to attract charitable funds in support of bursarial provisions for qualified, means-tested pupils who otherwise couldn't afford a Clifton education. Alongside the Development Trust, Clifton College also has a Director of Development and the Old Cliftonian’s Society, both of which aim to improve access to education. Above all, Clifton College’s main priority remains to continue to provide excellent education and prepare its pupils to become global citizens with a strong sense of responsibility. Moving ahead, Clifton College has a new educational strategy with some exciting plans to develop its facilities and estates further.

The new Council Members will ensure that Clifton College adheres to high standards of governance, in particular with regard to safeguarding measures, educational policies and maintaining the school's long-term financial stability.

The Council Members will use their expertise to provide guidance to the Board, in particular with regard to the future of education, a change that has been accelerated by the current global pandemic. Clifton College aims for its pupils to leave with a global outlook on life, a sense of service, and an innovative mindset. The new Council Member will support the school in ensuring that its education provision achieves this, and that pupils will be prepared for the professional world outside of academia, including the ever-increasing shift towards digital working and technology. The Council member will embrace Clifton College's mission to inspire each pupil to seize opportunities and realise their full potential, and will embody the school's values of integrity, spirit and resilience.

This is an exciting opportunity to play an important role within a leading independent school, which has to date successfully tackled the challenges of the current pandemic with imaginative online provision and support for pupils. Clifton College has ambitious plans for the future, and seeks to remain at the forefront of the rapidly-changing education environment.

All new Council Members officially remain as co-optees in the period from starting on Council (having completed their onboarding procedures) until the AGM for that year at which they will ordinarily either be put for election at the AGM or retire at that point. Occasionally, their co-option status may be rolled forward if this is preferred in the circumstances.

Clifton College seeks up to three new Council Members with backgrounds in either the finance / audit, education / inspections or the sports and leisure sectors to provide advice and guidance in their area of expertise and will help develop the school’s strategy, to guide policy and initiatives, and to evaluate performance.

The successful candidates should bring experience at a senior strategic level, within one of the following areas:

The finance and audit Council Member may be a CFO, Finance Director or Audit Partner and could come from any sector or industry. They don't necessarily need to be qualified accountants but should at least be qualified by experience. 

The education and inspections Council Member will bring a strong understanding of the regulatory aspect of education and will have dealt with schools inspections. They could for example be a Headteacher or an Inspector and may bring experience of the independent schools sector and ISI. 

The sports and leisure Council Member will bring strong commercial and partnerships experience to ensure the College are developing key relationships with local partners and working for the Bristol area as a whole. They will provide advice on the estates and facilities development and how these can be maximised and revenue optimised. Candidates should be collaborative, insightful and willing to balance the big-picture with elements of detail.

 Above all, they should be passionate about the transformative nature of education and enthusiastic about Clifton College's vision, mission and values and have the time to commit to these.

To find out more about the Council, please see here

In terms of time commitment, there are two full council meetings per term, which take place on Saturday mornings and will be held in person at Clifton College in Bristol. In addition, depending on what committees the new Council Member sits on, these take place once per term and these will be held in a hybrid model with more flexibility to attend virtually. In addition to meetings, Council Members will be expected to prepare for these and provide ad hoc advice when required. This role is unremunerated, but all reasonable expenses with regard to Council Members’ duties on behalf of the College will be reimbursed. Members will be co-opted for the first year and will be a full Council Member following the AGM.

Candidates will be able to attend in-person meetings in Bristol and be UK-based.

Clifton College welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where diverse candidates can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well.