Twenty Israeli children are to travel to the UK for the first time to compete in a large-scale inter-school Jewish general knowledge competition in London. 

The children from the bilingual King Solomon School in Ramat Hasharon, have been studying the Etgar Challenge curriculum and been encouraged by Cobi Ebrahimoff, the school's headmaster to take part.

Mr Ebrahimoff said: “They are very much looking forward to competing.” 

The Etgar Challenge is a cross-communal quiz held at the end of every school year. It features Year 5 pupils from every mainstream Orthodox school in the country joining together at the culmination of an academic year’s Jewish learning. This is the first time the quiz has featured pupils from outside the UK.

The Israeli children will be joined on July 4, by their counterparts from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Leeds.

The challenge, founded in the UK by Adam Taub and Jo Rosenfelder, is now in its fifth year. Organisers say its aim is to “inspire a love of Jewish learning”.

Last year, 850 children from 26 schools around the UK competed, making it the largest school quiz in Europe. This year, 900 children are expected to attend.

Etgar has been adopted by Jewish communities in South Africa, Canada, USA, and Australia, all of whom hold their own events under license from the UK organisation. But this is the first time that there has been an international competition.

Over 2,000 Etgar Handbooks are distributed every year to Jewish children around the world. Etgar handbooks are also used by several chedarim in the UK.