Immanuel College in Bushey has appointed Dan Endlar, acting head since last October, as its permanent leader.
Governors said that after an extensive search for a head teacher he was the unanimous choice to steer the fee-paying school in the years ahead.
He will be supported by a new direction of education, Mark Steed, who governors described as a “highly accomplished head with a track record of leadership and innovation”.
Endlar, who was previously at Habredashers’ Boys’ School and Brentwood School, joined Immanuel as deputy head at the beginning of 2024 before assuming the reins when Dr Millan Sachania stepped down as head after two years.
Governors said his appointment reflected “confidence in his ability to nurture the best of Immanuel’s current strengths while leading the school to meet the challenges of the future”.
Steed brings experience of the independent sector across the world, having served over the past two decades as head of the Berkhamstead Schools, Kellett – the British international school in Hong Kong – JESS Dubai and Stamford School in Lincolnshire, where he is currently principal.
“The combination of Dan’s grounded leadership and Mark’s strategic insight reflects the governors’ shared ambition: to deliver an unrivalled standard of education among Jewish schools in the UK – one that equips students with the confidence, creativity and curiosity to thrive in the world as it is, and as it is becoming,” governors said.
They will “begin a broader strategic process – one that reaffirms the role of Immanuel College in the years ahead, and defines the path we will take to get there. This work will focus on curriculum, co-curricular and SEN provision, as well as the wider question of how best to prepare our pupils for a world transformed by AI, globalisation and cultural change.”
Governors said there was “renewed energy among staff and students alike, but we are not simply looking to improve outcomes – we are looking to redefine what success should mean at Immanuel”.
This included a “renewed focus on Jewish life and learning”, led by the head and deputy head Rabbi Yoni Golker in light of the Chief Rabbi’s review into Jewish schooling. “Their aim is to deepen the role of Jewish values and Zionist identity in school life, and ensure our students are equipped not only to succeed personally, but to contribute meaningfully to the Jewish community and wider society,” governors said.
“We look forward with great excitement to this new era at Immanuel College.”
The school was praised in its most recent inspection in November for its vision of equipping pupils with “kindness, aspiration, responsibility and curiosity”. Governors and leaders worked together to provide a “high quality education”.
But the school, which was opened in 1990, has had to confront falling rolls, down from 681 in 2019 to 467 last autumn and has been carrying out a consultation on plans to close its preparatory school at the end of the year.
