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Even Iranian missiles couldn’t stop the Chief Rabbi attending his favourite event of the year

The annual Etgar Challenge is the Jewish primary school highlight of the year – and the Chief Rabbi got back just in time from Israel to be there

June 24, 2025 16:42
Etgar 2025.jpeg
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis arrived back from Israel to make the Etgar 2025 Quiz
3 min read

The main hall of Wembley Stadium was full to the brim on Tuesday as 950 10-year-olds from Jewish primary schools across the country competed in this year’s Etgar Challenge.

While only one team may have taken home the trophy in the inter-school Jewish knowledge test, “the other 940 students are happy because they’ve learned something”, said one of the judges, JFS Jewish studies teacher Justin Kett.

The energy was high and the enthusiasm contagious: students huddled around their tables, rushing to complete their activities in the allotted time, showing off their knowledge as well as their teamwork. Frum pop blasted from speakers, including a klezmer-ish remix of Eden Golan’s Hurricane, which had students and young volunteers dancing and singing in between tables.

It was nearly impossible to interrupt the students’ focus, but the pupils from Manchester’s King David Jewish Primary, emphasised how excited they were, despite being awake “since 5am”. When asked how confident they were about winning on a scale of 1-10, one student said very solemnly, “Ten.”

Topics:

Etgar