A new Strictly Orthodox girls’ high school in Salford has been rewarded for its innovative educational approach with a good rating from Ofsted on its first full inspection.

Since Me’or opened in the midst of the pandemic two years ago, its roll has grown from 10 to 44 pupils.

Tim Dempsey, founding chairman of the independent school, said: “It is easy to teach kodesh [Jewish studies] and chol [secular subjects] separately without any connection between the two.

“We felt that this was the biggest missed opportunity in Jewish education.”

So it has been developing “a broad, interesting and ambitious curriculum” — according to inspectors — where teachers are encouraged to make links between Torah knowledge and other disciplines.

“For example, when a history teacher is teaching about monasteries, she will talk about Nazirim [Nazirites] and compare and contrast them,” Mr Dempsey explained.

Or when the girls were learning about Jacob’s journey from Beersheba to Haran, they looked up the destination on Google Earth.

Every term there are special cross-curricular days when a particular theme is examined in depth: last year it was shemittah, this year it is about “contagion” —exploring not only the medical sense but also the social impact, say, of an infectious smile.

At the beginning of term, girls are given a problem-solving challenge, which they are challenged to tackle over the term in groups.

“We are about to embark on accreditation as a ‘Thinking School’,” Mr Dempsey said. “We will be the first Jewish school to be in this programme.”  Me’or’s opening reflects the expansion of the Strictly Orthodox community in Manchester.

Competition for places at the state-aided Beis Yaakov High School had been growing ever more intense.

Now under the leadership of former Beis Yaakov pastoral head, Hadassa Berger, it is forging its own educational model.

“She said it is not about learning lessons, it is about living them,” Mr Dempsey said.

There is a strong emphasis on pastoral care with each girl having regular sessions with a mentor.

Inspectors noted: “Pupils learn useful techniques such as mindfulness and sensory break techniques to help them manage stressful situations successfully”