Governors of King David High School Manchester have appealed to parents to pay voluntary contributions after a drop during the pandemic.

Interim chairman of governors Jonathan Dover, in an email to parents, said that contributions — which are primarily used to fund Jewish studies — were  “nowhere near the level they need to be”.

Together with Andrew Berkeley and Danny Lopian, members of the governors fundraising sub-committee, he said that contributions were “a lifeline” for the school.

The school was facing a five to nine per cent increase in staffing costs as well as a 500 per cent rise in the cost of utilities.

Mr Dover told the JC there had been a fall of around 12.5 per cent — amounting to £100,000 — in parental contributions last year.

“Regrettably too many parents don’t contribute,” he said. “It is appreciated that we are in hard times but where they can, parents should contribute . We appreciate fully those parents who pay and those who struggle to pay as they feel it is their communal and moral obligation to contribute.”

Its gas tariff was fixed till next March but electricity costs are rising from £120,000 a year to £750,000.