Admissions to Manchester’s King David schools in 2010 will depend upon synagogue affiliation, rather than attendance at services.

Governors’ chair Joshua Rowe believes the “points for observance” entry policy announced by JFS following a Court of Appeal ruling in June is “too cumbersome. We want to keep it as unintrusive and as transparent as possible. Instead of using a birth test for being Jewish or not being Jewish, we are using affiliation to a synagogue for admissions.”

Mr Rowe also maintains that a simpler system will give priority to children whose families are affiliated to an Orthodox synagogue, pointing out that King David’s constitution emphasises its Orthodox ethos. “Our school has always defined its admissions by Orthodox Judaism in accordance with the Chief Rabbi. Since the initial test depended on somebody being approved by the office of the Chief Rabbi, so the next test will be affiliation to an Orthodox synagogue under the auspices of the Chief Rabbi. We will certainly talk to people from other types of synagogues.”

The plan would undergo legal scrutiny as part of consultations with the local education authority.