Parents of Jewish pupils at primary schools across Hertfordshire have challenged Yavneh College’s claim that the removal of a feeder-school system would put all families on an equal footing for places.
Members of a group representing more than 400 parents from Hertsmere Jewish Primary School and the Clore Shalom School in Shenley said the changes would only benefit families living in Elstree and Borehamwood.
Their claim is based on admissions documents obtained via Freedom of Information requests. According to the group, the papers suggested that without feeder schools, places made available to families in Borehamwood and Elstree would increase, but fall elsewhere.
A source close to the school said the parents had "seriously misread" the data. He said the claims were “utter nonsense” and highlighted “aggressive, personal attacks” directed at school staff and governors. The attacks had been “astonishing in their ferocity”.
Yavneh, in Borehamwood, proposed ending its feeder system from 2017, changing instead to accept applicants in the WD and AL postcodes in Hertfordshire. The school hopes the proposed changes will allow parents an equal opportunity to apply for a place, regardless of which primary school their child has attended.
If the school is over-subscribed, children living closest to Yavneh will be given a place.
One of the FOI documents revealed a Yavneh simulation that demonstrated the possible effect of the proposed entry criteria had they been in effect for the past two years. The parents' group said the data revealed that, without feeders, places for families in Borehamwood could have risen by 117 per cent in 2015, but for those in Bushey there could have been a 91 per cent decrease.
An email from school governor Bradley Raphael to the school’s admissions committee stated: “With the expansion of the local Borehamwood and Elstree Jewish population, it is uncertain how far into the other Hertfordshire areas we would actually get.”
Parents’ representative Adam Myeroff said: “What is surprising is that armed with this knowledge the governors have asserted that the proposed changes would create a level playing field.”
Yavneh College said it would not comment while responses to the consultation were still being considered. Results will be revealed at the end of February.
This article was based on assertions that statistics were misread or misinterpreted. We endeavour at all times to to provide a balanced view, particularly where matters of such public interest are concerned.
