The father who was refused a judicial review of the admissions policy of JFS by a High Court judge has been told he can appeal against the decision.

Mr Justice Munby gave the man known as E — against whom he ruled two weeks ago in a 72-page judgment — permission to challenge his ruling and take his fight to win a place for his 11-year-old son at the Kenton school to the Court of Appeal.

In a written decision, Mr Justice Munby said there were “respectable and serious arguments that I was wrong” and, in particular, “the general importance of the issues involved and the desirability that, whether I was right or wrong, there should be a definitive ruling on them by the Court of Appeal”.

The decision was welcomed by E, who said: “The judge has rightly recognised the respectability of the key arguments. Contrary to what has been suggested by some, the JFS is not a private ‘club’ free to set its own membership rules. It is a state school, funded by the taxpayer, and as such is subject to the laws of the land, laws which I believe require that my child, and all Jewish children, are treated fairly and equally to others. 

“JFS was established to provide education to the whole Jewish community, not a particular section of it, and formerly admitted all Jewish children on an equal basis. Its admissions policies should reflect those founding principles.”