Applications for places at state-aided Jewish secondary schools in September appear to have fallen slightly from last year, although JFS and JCoSS in particular remain heavily oversubscribed.
The Jewish schools network PaJeS reported a record number of first-choice applications to the five biggest Jewish state schools in north-west London last year, up six per cent on the year before. The rise was put down to parental fear over antisemitism in the general school sector as well as the increased cost of private education after the government imposed VAT on independent school fees last year.
PaJeS had forecast that this year demand could reach a seven-year peak, based on numbers in Jewish primary schools in the capital.
But according to figures obtained by the JC from local councils, while applications remain high, the number of those putting the five schools as their first choice has dipped from 1059 last year to 1036 this year – down by 2 per cent.
First-choice applications for JFS have risen, however, up from 398 in 2025 to 413 for entry this autumn, as well as for JCoSS, from 282 last year to 306 this year. When all preferences are taken into account, there are more three applicants for every place at JCoSS and more than two at JFS.
First-choice applications for Hasmonean High School for Girls were also up from 67 in 2025 to 83 this year, but down from 138 to 94 for Hasmonean Boys and from 184 to 150 at Yavneh College in Hertfordshire.
According to their official maximum, there are 780 year-7 places at the five schools, but an extra 100 or so places are likely to have been available by the time the allocation process is complete. Yavneh is opening a bulge class of 30 and JFS expects to take 40 more than its official maximum.
Andrew McClusky, executive head of the Hasmonean Multi-Academy Trust, said: “We offered 75 places at the boys’ school in the first round and will be offering further places to meet the community’s needs.”
In previous years, some parents have had to wait till June or even July before securing a place for their child at one of the five schools.
Last year the private Immanuel College offered additional bursaries to help families.
An unknown number of Jewish children, however, were unable to gain a place at one of the schools last year, though it is believed to be small.
The first round of offers were made at the beginning of the month but more places in the Jewish state system will become free in the coming weeks as some children who were initially awarded one instead take up offers at independent schools.
But there are other factors which can make it difficult to predict availability in advance. An increase in aliyah, for example, could lead to a few more vacancies.
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