The achievements of London’s top-performing Jewish primary school were applauded by two members of the House of Lords at a dinner in Edgware on Tuesday.
Lord Kestenbaum said the Wembley-based Noam Primary — which is in discussion with Barnet Council to become state funded — was “remarkable”. Lord Winston told the 250 guests: “What we are doing by supporting a school like Noam is the most important thing we do as a Jewish community — to nurture, promote and protect the next generation.”
Noam recorded the best SATs results among London Jewish primaries in 2016 and was twice singled out by Boris Johnson when London Mayor as one of the capital’s top schools. Noam pupils were chosen to participate in a Brexit debate chaired by John Bercow at the Speaker’s House and the school has won the national Etgar Jewish knowledge quiz for the past two years.
Currently sharing a site with Wembley Synagogue, it is fundraising towards purpose-built premises in Burnt Oak while the negotiations with Barnet continue.
The dinner raised £100,000 towards the £400,000 the school must find each year to bolster parent funding.
“We are excited about making significant headway towards getting our outstanding school the public funding we think it deserves,” governors’ chair Shelley Kelaty said. “We thank Lords Kestenbaum and Winston for their outspoken support and pay tribute to our stoic parents and supporters for their ongoing and unwavering partnership to provide the country’s best Jewish education for our children.”