The general election is likely to delay the opening of any new Jewish free school until September 2019.

Backers of the New Jewish High School for London had hoped to submit an application this spring, leaving open the possibility of launching it next year.

But the next round of free school bids looks set to be postponed until after the election, reducing the feasibility of getting a new school off the ground by 2018.
In the meantime, JFS has still not reached a decision whether to offer a bulge class for September this year. 

While another round of offers was due later this week, JFS was “almost full far earlier than in previous years,” a spokesman said. “We remain committed to ensuring places are available to those who need them, to the best of our ability.”

A spokesman for JCoSS, which added a bulge class this year, said it had offered 16 places in the second round, compared to seven at the same stage last year. “We expect further churn in the coming rounds,” she said.

A Facebook group has started for those without a places at Jewish schools, Jewish Secondary Admissions 2017.