School admissions plan will put communities’ futures at risk, say rabbis

Three United Synagogue rabbis have warned that a Jewish secondary school’s plan to change its admissions policy could spell disaster for thriving communities in Hertfordshire.

The rabbis — Meir Salasnik of Bushey, Jonathan Hughes of Radlett and Ephraim Levine of Watford — said Yavneh College’s proposal to end its feeder school system would mean an exodus of young families.

From 2017, Yavneh College, in Borehamwood, which has more than 1,000 pupils, wants to stop its policy of prioritising applications from children at two Jewish primaries — Hertsmere in Radlett and Clore Shalom in Shenley — and instead give preference to families living in selected postcodes.

Opponents of the move fear children at schools outside Borehamwood will lose out.