Simon Rocker writes:
It may be the school holidays but this remains a busy month for some people in the Jewish educational world.
The next applications to open a free school have to be submitted to the government before the end of September. So for those who have been campaigning for a new secondary Jewish free school, only a few weeks remain to finesse their application forms to meet the deadline.
As we have reported, there are potentially three groups bidding to open a new school in 2018 in order to cope with the expected rising demand for places over the next few years; Barkai College, Kedem High School and Hertfordshire Jewish Free School (HJFS).
Kedem and HJFS seem likely to pool efforts, so we are probably talking of two bids going in rather than three. By March we will know if one of them is successful – and it is only likely to be one, since no one has yet argued the case for having two new Jewish secondary schools in London.
Meanwhile, some are exploring other ideas – in particular, whether it is feasible to transfer Kantor King Solomon High School from Essex to a more north-westerly location. If that were to happen, it would probably obviate the need for another Jewish school. However, the head of KKS, in my recent interview with him , was clear that relocation certainly didn’t figure in his plans for the future. And the various education authorities may need arm-twisting before they consent to any such move.
So where are we now? If the KKHS transfer or any variation of it were to come off, it surely has to be a done deal before the end of March. The free school applicants would then have to consider whether they drop out of the picture.
But if one of the free school applicants is successful, by March they have barely a year and a half to launch a new school – which will require finding a site, recruiting teachers and more. They can hardly be expected to embark on their preparations and then be confronted with an alternative scheme and be expected to pull out.
Simon Rocker is the JC's Assistant Editor (Education)
