The chairman of Hasmonean High School has made a dramatic plea to parents to dig deeper into their pockets to enable the school to accept additional children this year.

Hasmonean has accepted more than 180 boys and girls for September - more than 20 per cent above its official maximum - and Andrew Rashbass appealed for extra money at its London fundraising dinner to fund places for seven more boys.

The Barnet secondary should be able to accommodate them if parents raised £300,000 to fund extra teachers.

"We will be able to provide them with the fantastic education that all our children get today without damaging the education of the other 1,100 children," Mr Rashbass said.

The school's leadership had decided that "we will not turn people away".

We have decided that we will not turn people away

Guests rose to their feet to greet Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, who kept the engagement despite the extraordinary political events following the Brexit vote. She praised Hasmonean as "a special place for young people to learn. Its success speaks for itself as a top-performing school with a glowing Ofsted report, outstanding in all areas.

"Faith schools are often over-subscribed because of their well-known commitment to high academic standards and instilling positive character traits in their students, recognising the importance of knowledge but also supporting pupils to become well-rounded citizens.

"On a recent visit to a Jewish school in north London, I was struck by the fact that they displayed both an Israeli flag and a Union Jack. This was symbolic of the fact that pupils at the school were clearly proud to be

British and Jewish. It wasn't an either-or choice."

On top of its government grant and parental contributions for Jewish studies, the school has set an annual fundraising target of £1.3 million.