Delight as pupils earn Oxbridge offers

Offered places at Oxford and Cambridge: ( Left to right) Matt Handler, Nathan Domnitz, Charlotte Zemmel, Allana Edwards, Galia Shomron, Rosie Serlin, Jesse Anthony and Jessica Mendall

JEWISH SECONDARY schools across thecountryhaveproducedapromising cohort of potential Oxbridge scholars.

Sixth-formers were celebrating this week after receiving conditional offers for undergraduate places at both Oxford and Cambridge universities.

JFS has seen a “steady growth in successful applications to Oxbridge alongside other Russell Group universities”, according to executive headteacher Deborah Lipkin.

She said: “We are delighted that 14 of our students have received offers from Oxbridge this week.”

Eight were offers for Cambridge and six for Oxford.

Mrs Lipkin said: “We are particularly pleased to have received two offers for medicine, which are extremely coveted by students. Jesse Anthony has an offer from Cambridge and Jessica Mendall from Oxford.”

Head boy Amitai Landau-Pope has been offered a place to study English at St John’s, Oxford, while head girl Rosie Serlin plans to take up a place reading Geography at Queens’, Cambridge.

Mrs Lipkin added: “JFS has developed a strong reputation for higher education (HE) preparation and these most recent offers continue our outstanding record of securing exceptional numbers of our students at Oxbridge. Last summer, a record 17 students secured places.”

More than 95 per cent of JFS students go on to higher education, and over the past three years approximately six per cent of those have continued to Oxbridge.

Much of the competition for places comes from pupils at fee-paying and selective schools. According to a poll by the Sutton Trust, 5.2 per cent of pupils from independent schools go to Oxbridge, compared to just 0.8 per cent from comprehensives.

Mrs Lipkin said: “This places JFS within the top 10 non-selective state schools in the UK for the proportion of HE applicants accepted at Oxbridge and is some- thing for which the entire community should be very proud.”

Oxbridge candidates at JFS undertook an extensive process of mockinterviews, mentoring sessions and study groups. In Manchester, eight students at King David High have been offered places at the prestigious universities.

At Liverpool’s King David High School, two pupils were offered Oxford places.

Two pupils from Hasmonean Boys’ School have been offered places at Oxbridge. Both hope to join Jesus College, Cambridge.

HeadteacherDebbieLebrettsaid:“We are thrilled. They have really worked hard and prepared for their interviews.

“I believe that having a mix of Jewish studies and secular studies at Hasmonean only helps them.

“They learn to be enquiring, especially when learning the Talmud, and to be more confident in their own opinions and beliefs.

“We should be so proud of our children’s achievements — it’s really not easy to be so well-rounded.”

Two pupils from JCoSS in Barnet received offers for Cambridge, according to “delighted” headteacher Patrick Moriarty.

Jessica Shaw hopes to study theology at Girton College, while Nathan Caplan has a place for natural sciences at Gonville and Caius College.

Mr Moriarty said: “JCoSS history continues to be made as our first cohort of students who started in Year 7 when our doorsopenedin2010havenowreached Year 13 and will be taking their A Level exams later this year.

“From the 135-pupil year group, 123 have applied to university, with five of those applying for art school.

“Wearedelightedthatanoverwhelming majority have already received multiple offers, 25 of them being unconditional. Many of our most able have been interviewed for medicine, veterinary school and dentistry with offers already being received.”

One student at Yavneh College has been offered an Oxbridge place, compared to eight offers received by the Borehamwood-based school last year.

From Immanuel College in Bushey, former head boy Bertie Green will take up a place for English at Lincoln College, Oxford, having taken a year out to go to yeshivah in Israel and also promote his musical career.

Fellow Immanuel pupil Charlie Coverman, a former Member of Youth Parliament for Hertsmere and current head boy, hopes to study history at Brasenose College, Oxford.

Charles Dormer, headmaster, said: “We are delighted that two of our most outstandingly well-rounded, responsible, creative and active young people have earned the opportunity to study at Oxford.

“They will certainly make the most of the opportunities Oxford gives them to aspire in their learning, and to contribute to a better world.”