Careers Guides

Becoming a School Receptionist

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The Role of a School Receptionist

School receptionists can be found at any school or educational institution, and are an integral part of their day-to-day operation. As a school receptionist you’ll be dealing with things like customer service, administration, clerical responsibilities, and secretarial work. The specifics of the job can and will change depending on the institution you work for since every school will have different practices.

School Receptionist Skills & Requirements

Even though you won’t need to be highly qualified to get a position as a school receptionist, it’s a good idea to enrol on a Business Administration course. Having this qualification will equip you with the skills that you’ll need to work as receptionist, and you’ll stand out compared to candidates that don’t have relevant qualifications.

You’ll probably need an A* to C grade at GCSE level in English and Maths or equivalent to work as a school receptionist. If you don’t have either one or both of these you should look at taking either a Level 2 Functional Skills English course or Level 2 Functional Skills Maths course. A functional skills qualification is equivalent to having your GCSE qualification at this level, and can help you get into a wide range of jobs.

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School Receptionist Salary

The starting salary for a school receptionist can be around £17,000 but as an experienced receptionist you could earn up to around £23,398, though your wage could vary depending on the responsibilities that you have at a particular school. The average salary for a school receptionist is around £18,988.

School Receptionist Working Hours

As a school receptionist, you’re generally going to be working during your school’s term times but you could be working (usually for shorter periods) outside of term time as well occasionally.

The summer term stretches from the end of the Easter break to mid-July.


It includes a half term week long holiday in late May.


This is usually the busiest time, with later students sitting their GCSE’s.

The academic school year starts in early September, with the term stretching till Christmas.


The winter term is a half term holiday, usually a week long at the end of October.


Most schools have a 2 week end of term holiday stretching over New Year and Christmas.

This is the spring term and stretches from early January to Easter.


Easter usually falls on a different weekend each year, so the end of term two-week break can be either early April or late March.


This term also included a week-long half term break, usually in mid-February.

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School Receptionist Career Progression

With training and experience, you could move into a senior receptionist or personal assistant (PA) role. You could also branch out into different industries such as inn a GP surgery or health centre where you could train to become a medical secretary or a practice manager.

Ready to start your journey?

We offer both Level 2 and Level 3 Courses & Qualifications. Some of these may be eligible for government funded learning meaning you could study for free subject to eligibility.

Here's how to get started: