Property tycoon Gerald Ronson and his family are supporting an £8.1 million project to renovate a World ORT boarding school in Israel in urgent need of repairs. 
 
The donation will go towards supporting a four-year renovation project at the Kfar Silver Youth Village, which was bought by the global education network in 2016.
 
The campus situated along the Gaza border comprises a high school, boarding school and farm, and will now be named after the Gerald and Gail Ronson Family Foundation. 
 
The investment will fund work on the campus kitchen and dining hall and the junior high school’s roofing, corridors and electricity system.
 
World ORT said another “substantial” contribution came from the Maurice Hatter Foundation. 
 
The undisclosed sum will pay for the “wide scale modernisation” of the senior high school’s classrooms and offices, revamping of its shared spaces and plumbing and for new wifi systems.Mr Ronson, 81, said he visited the youth village of around 740 students a year ago and “saw in person the real need for its renovation and revitalisation.”
 
“These students need to be able to eat, study and sleep safely, without the roof over their heads leaking.
 
“When they are in their classrooms they need proper facilities to learn and develop in surroundings that are as nurturing, safe and healthy for them as possible. “
 
Dan Green, director general and CEO of World ORT, said the deal showed the “continued strength of British Jewish philanthropy”.
 
“Kfar Silver is a jewel in the crown of the ORT network. The village has a fascinating history and has the potential to change the lives of its young residents,” he said. 
 
The investment and project “will position Kfar Silver as one of the most advanced youth villages in the country,” according to Amos Gofer, CEO of Kfar Silver.
 
He also thanked the Ronson family, donors and all those who worked on the project.
 
“Without doubt it will be one of the leading schools in the entire southern region,” he added.