London – The construction of the UK’s most expensive state school, for children from the Jewish population, is being marked with a ground-breaking ceremony.
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The Schools Secretary for England, Ed Balls was attending as building work continued on the £50m Jewish Community Secondary School, in north London.
It is the first school for children from families not regarded as Jewish by the Ultra-Orthodox authorities.
Due to open next year it will take 1,300 pupils including 50 with autism.
It will offer what it describes as an outward-looking curriculum, including teaching about Jewish religion and culture.
But pupils will be selected without reference to the way in which they or their parents choose to practise their beliefs.
Almost all the 38 other Jewish state schools operate under the auspices of the Chief Rabbi’s office, which requires pupils to have a Jewish mother, or one who has converted to Judaism according to strict rules.
The backers of the new school say the requirement is unduly technical, and excludes what they call “thinking converts” who have entered the religion via a different route.
Autism Unit
Newly-built schools usually cost under £30m, but the Jewish Community Secondary School will also host a special unit for the 50 autistic children.
It will be the first time a Jewish faith school has incorporated such a specialist unit on this scale.
In addition, pupils will be able to use dance studios and all-weather sports pitches, and in time the school says it hopes to become a specialist technology college.
The autism unit and state-of-the-art facilities have pushed up the cost of the new building, with the extra funding coming from within the Jewish community, including the disability charity Norwood.
The taxpayer has contributed £36.2m.
A spokesperson for the new school told BBC News that although the usual requirements for being considered truly Jewish would not be necessary to attend the school, children would have to have at least one Jewish parent, or a recognised connection with Judaism.
This could include association with any mainstream Jewish synagogue, attending a Jewish youth club, or even just playing football in a Jewish league.
2000 children have already registered an interest in joining the school when it opens in 2010, more than half of who are members of orthodox synagogues.
However, no Ultra-orthodox families have approached the school yet.
“It is the first school for children from families not regarded as Jewish by the Ultra-Orthodox authorities.”
What a ridiculous thing to say! Since when is the United Synagogue “Ultra-Orthodox”?! Soon anyone who keeps Shabbos will be “Ultra-Orthodox” too!
The US is “traditional”, and hardly ultra in any sense. Few US members who work in the City wear kippot at work, for example.
What about JFS isnt that also for not frum kids
Why have this? Why can’t children with a Jewish father and a mother who isn’t Jewish go through a formal conversion and become halachically Jewish? In the US, the reform movement’s acceptance as being Jewish of those who have a Jewish father but not a Jewish mother is imo a bad thing that helps encourage intermarriage. If those who have a Jewish father and a non Jewish mother want to be Jewish, then let them formally convert to Judaism. Otherwise they should be considered non Jewish.
This school is the closest thing to being Jewish without actually having to be Jewish to go there!
“Their values”? Since when do shkotzim have their own Jewish values? The US membership has never been particularly observant, but it has always known that, and known that the Torah sets a standard, and if they want to be Jewish there is only one way and that is the Torah.
Are you suggesting that the LBD should now compromise the Torah for the sake of money? What sort of beis din would it be, if a threat to the dayonim’s parnosah could frighten them? And what sort of emunah would that show? Parnossoh doesn’t come from the shkotzim who pay US membership fees while eating ham and driving on shabbos; it comes from Hashem. For now He has given those shkotzim the opportunity to earn a little credit for the Next World, by paying their fees and supporting the rabbonim, and maintaining a connection with yiddishkeit; if they choose to reject that opportunity, they will suffer for it, and Hashem will provide for the rabbonim some other way. “Revach vehatzoloh yaamod layhudim mimokom acher, ve’at uveis ovich…”