What would your community look like without children in it? How long would it take for your shul to resemble an old age home, full of age and experience, but devoid of youth, energy and vitality? This might sound like an abstract question, but in fact, we three rabbis, speaking for the United Synagogue communities of Bushey, Radlett and Watford, have good reason to fear that a first step has recently been taken towards making this depressing vision become a reality.
You may recently have read that Yavneh College in Borehamwood, which was originally established and funded by central government as a Jewish secondary school, specifically intended to cater for Jewish children living throughout Hertfordshire, is planning changes to its admissions policy starting in September 2017. In particular, we are concerned by the proposal to cut feeder status from Hertsmere Jewish Primary School (HJPS) and Clore Shalom and institute in its place a geographical “closest to the pin” test within the WD and AL postcodes.
Both HJPS and Clore Shalom take children from a cross-section of Hertfordshire (their admissions tests demand that they do). This means that when the children reach the end of year 6 (age 11), the roster of those entering Yavneh College is equally geographically diverse. This is important because it allows Jewish communities throughout Hertfordshire to thrive, as parents know and understand that they have a reasonable chance of getting their children into Yavneh whether they live in Bushey or Bricket Wood, Watford or Welwyn.
Yavneh is now proposing to cut that feeder status so that whoever lives closest to Yavneh - in Hillside Road, Borehamwood - will secure a place. The proposals themselves grant priority status to those living in any WD or AL postcode, but we are acutely aware that in light of the very considerable over-subscription in recent years (539 applications last year for 150 places), only those living in Borehamwood will have any chance of admission.
Why is this a community-wide problem deserving of the sort of concern outlined above? We recognise three reasons.
First, it seems to us extremely misleading for Yavneh to argue that they are showing a commitment to Hertfordshire by offering priority to those with a WD or AL postcode. The school’s own admissions projections for 2014 and 2015 show that whilst Borehamwood’s places would have risen substantially under the new proposals, Bushey’s would have dropped, and Watford and St. Albans would have no places at all. By 2017, the imbalance will only get worse as Borehamwood continues to grow at the expense of other Hertfordshire communities. The school cannot say that it is not aware of an obvious problem with its proposals - its own internal projections plainly identify the issue.
Second, an obvious consequence of what is proposed is the escalation of property and rental prices in and around Yavneh, so that those with pockets deep enough will benefit from what was always intended to be a Jewish school open to everybody. Ironically, only those rich enough to afford the enhanced property prices will be able to enjoy a free education. The rest will be frozen out. This strikes us as being particularly pernicious and unfair.
Third, once parents realise that the only chance they have of getting their children into Hertfordshire’s free Jewish secondary school is by moving to Borehamwood, then they will do exactly that. Although good news for that community, this will have an enormously detrimental impact on the lifeblood of our communities as the young families move away, taking their children, their ideas and their enthusiasm with them. Nor will we attract new families. Within a few years, we risk losing the most valuable things we have – our children and our future.
It is also critical to bear in mind that if and when the proposed Yavneh Primary School (YPS) opens this September, up to 50% of the places there could go to non-Jewish children. This is specifically accepted by YPS whose marketing materials sell it as a “Modern Orthodox Jewish School which welcomes those of other faiths and none.” Our real concern with this is that Yavneh College is also proposing to give priority admission to older siblings of those at YPS. In short, the secondary school could soon be seeing an increase in applications from non-Jewish children which will make the problem of the shortage of places even more severe. This issue will directly affect the ethos of Yavneh College and, where there is such a shortage of Jewish secondary school places in Hertfordshire, is a remarkable, obvious and avoidable development.
We ourselves requested a meeting with the Yavneh head teacher, governors and trustees to talk through our concerns and suggest alternatives. An arranged meeting was cancelled at late notice by the school and as a result, we have still not had the opportunity to engage in an open and constructive exchange of views. This is highly unfortunate. Although the official consultation period has ended, we felt compelled to write this article in an effort to reach out to those responsible for making a decision that could profoundly affect our shuls, our communities, and ultimately, our future.
Rabbi Jonathan Hughes, Radlett United Synagogue; Rabbi Ephraim Levine, Watford United Synagogue; Rabbi Meir Salasnik, Bushey United Synagogue
