By, Simon Rocker
1 min read
BySimon Rocker, Simon Rocker
When the Leeds Jewish Free School opened with just eight pupils three years ago, the sceptics were already writing it off.
Articles in the press questioned why the government had pumped £3 million into a school with so few students.
But LJFS's backers are having the last laugh as not only will its entry class be full in autumn - it has accepted more pupils than the planned yearly maximum of 25.
And with a bulge class due to graduate from the neighbouring Brodestky Primary School next year, a different problem might arise, says headteacher Jeremy Dunford. "We may have to turn people away."
LJFS was launched as a boutique high school with one-form entry per year, compared with the usual five classes or more per year for most state-aided secondaries.
"We've got families moving to Leeds because we have a high school," Mr Dunford claimed. "A family came from Whitley Bay last year and there is one from Birmingham this year." The original class of eight has now almost doubled to 15 in the third year and the overall pupil roll has risen to 53 - with 20 in the first year.
"The hairiest moment was when we were told 16 families would be sending children in the first year and only eight came," Mr Dunford acknowledged. "A lot of people thought it wouldn't work."
Running a small school means "you've got to be creative rather than work in the standard way".
As LJHS shares a site with Brodetsky and Mr Dunford is head of both, the costs normally incurred by a stand-alone secondary are reduced. Teaching is bought in from other schools.
The children enjoy the advantage of a "very rarefied educational" environment and those starting their GCSE courses in autumn will be taught in groups of seven or eight.
"Without a high school, any community is at risk," Mr Dunford added. "People will migrate to where there is a high school. Instead of Leeds declining, it now has a chance to stabilise and grow. It needs to be one of the key hubs of the Jewish community."
Regional Jewish schools, he believes, should be talking about how they might co-operate in order to "maximise their viability". Despite being located in different cities, they could explore ways of cutting administrative costs. "A school business manager doesn't need to be on one campus."