Government rejects second Jewish free school application

The Department for Education, they said, had “acknowledged our strengths, namely our high calibre pre-opening team, who have a good range of expertise.”

They had been “overwhelmed with the support that we have received from parents, politicians, and the wider community. With the pressing need for additional secondary school places in the immediate future, we are committed to obtain a positive outcome for the future of our children.”
They did not give reasons why the application failed.

But Barkai was told one factor in their rejection was the six out of 30 periods a week they planned to devote to Hebrew and Jewish studies in the first two years was considered “disproportionate”.

The two free school applications were submitted in the wake of growing fears among parents of a shortage of places at state-aided Jewish secondary schools in London in the coming years.

But Partnerships for Jewish Schools has confirmed that existing schools are looking again at the possibility of expansion.