The map of Jewish education in London is facing its most radical change in more than a decade, with plans to open one new state-aided Jewish secondary school and to relocate another.
A public meeting has been called for next Thursday to gauge support for the proposed new Kedem High School in Barnet, north-west London - launched in response to the shortage of places that was highlighted by the JC last year.
Meanwhile, one of the oldest Jewish secondary schools, Hasmonean, is considering moving its boys' section in Hendon further north-west, closer to its girls' division in Mill Hill.
But questions have been raised over whether the Kedem initiative is necessary, with the Office of the Chief Rabbi and the educational agency Partnerships for Jewish Schools (Pajes) both stressing the need for consultation.
The Kedem proposal for a Modern Orthodox free school to open in September 2017 was announced this week by leaders of the Rosh Pinah Jewish Primary School in Edgware, in partnership with a company that has experience in running academies, Lilac Sky Outstanding Education Services.
Rosh Pinah chairman Andrew Rotenberg, a founder of the trust behind Kedem, said that "anyone who tells me there is not a shortage crisis is out of touch. All we are trying to do is fulfil the demonstrable, desperate need of parents for a secondary school in Barnet." He added: "If you go to any dinner party with anybody in the community who has children of a certain age, that's all they talk about."
Mr Rotenberg said that a catalyst for this week's announcement was the planned change to the entry policy of the state-aided Yavneh College in Hertfordshire, which would make the school less accessible to those outside the county next year.
It follows the fierce competition for places last year when an unexpectedly large number of children at Jewish primary schools unsuccessfully applied to state-aided Jewish secondary schools in north-west London. Instead, they had either to pay to go to the private Immanuel College, which enjoyed its highest first-year intake in years, or settle for non-Jewish comprehensives.
While there is no complete data, the number of such children is estimated to be more than 20.
Ever closer: The proposed changes would leave six Jewish secondary schools in north-west London and Hertfordshire all within seven miles of each other. Meanwhile, King Solomon, an hour’s drive away, is undersubscribed by Jewish pupils
Preliminary statistics compiled by Pajes have also suggested further pressure looming with nearly a quarter more children in the year-one class at Jewish primary schools in London than there are in the final year-six.
Gilead Limor, convener of a group for parents of children without Jewish school places, commented that the Kedem plan was "a good initiative. They need to be prepared to have capacity for up to 150 children".
But Pajes, in a briefing paper last autumn seen by the JC, has warned that a decision to open any new school must not "be taken lightly and without careful research. We must also be aware of the concerns of excess provision".
Pajes - which is investigating future need for places - has suggested that the more than 1,000 places open each year at the five-state aided "mainstream" Jewish secondaries in London and Immanuel is currently enough. "The demand has in fact not been greater than the supply," its paper stated.
Pajes chief executive Rabbi David Meyer held back from welcoming the Kedem project. He said: "Any increase in provision needs to be considered as part of a wider strategic review, so as to ensure the best possible use of the community's limited resources."
Hasmonean's first-year intake of 170 pupils last September - 20 more than its usual maximum - reflected growing local demand.
But its search for new premises has been driven by the need to renovate the boys' school, which one source described as "bursting at the seams".
Its leaders have reactivated a 30-year-old plan to relocate the boys' division alongside that of the girls, which could help to reduce administrative overheads.
But the presiding rabbis would ensure strict separation of the sexes and have insisted on different start and finishing times.
Hasmonean executive head teacher Andrew McClusky would say no more than to confirm that "we are looking into how we can enhance and improve our accommodation. There's nothing remotely imminent, though."
But it remains to be seen whether the sale of the Hendon site could raise enough to finance a new building in Mill Hill. According to its 2014 accounts, the school recorded a £1m deficit.
