Degree students at the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) are now eligible to apply for government student loans after the world-famous college earnt the approval of the Office for Students (OfS).

The school, which provides teacher training for the UK Jewish community and offers BA and MA degrees in Jewish education, has gone through the rigorous two-year process of registering with OfS in the hope of ensuring all students can receive financial assistance for degree courses.

“We lose applicants every year because as soon as they hear they’re not eligible for student loans, they’re unable to study with us because they can’t afford to,” said Dr. Helena Miller, director of degrees and teacher training programmes at LSJS. “And having this approval means that we are no longer having to turn people away because they’re going to be unable to fund degree programmes.”

During the registration process with OfS, the regulatory body for English higher education, LSJS had to demonstrate that it provided well-designed courses and delivered a high-quality academic experience for students.

As part of the process, Miller said OfS “inspected the content of our MA and BA courses, the way we assess our students, the way we support our students, [and] the way we manage the pastoral side of their studies as well as academic side”, among other financial and administrative considerations.

The school, whose degree programmes are validated by Middlesex University, has around 50 BA and MA students as well as teacher training students, who were already able to access government funding.

Miller noted that it is unusual for such a small institution to go through the OfS registration process successfully.

LSJS chief executive Joanne Greenaway said: “I am thrilled that our degrees are now registered for a student loan, which is something that was available to our teacher training students already.

"Given the financial challenges facing so many, it is great that this opportunity to get a degree and start a career in Jewish education is now accessible to everyone.”

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis is president of the school, which has been open for 160 years as a provider of educational programmes for the Jewish community in London.