Hope for children without school places

V PAJES, THE Jewish Leadership Council’s schools network, has urged parents whose children have failed to secure a place at a Jewish secondary school to make contact.

So far 10 families have signed up for regular updates from the organisation following the first round of school offers earlier this month.

It can take several rounds before places become available for those without one —the JC was aware of at least one case last year where a child was finally offered a place just before the start of the school year in September.

Offering reassurance, PaJeS told parents: “It may feel as if there are many pupils still awaiting an offer. This is normal at the beginning of the process.

“It takes time and for a few rounds of offers to be completed by all the schools for things to settle. At that point we will have a clearer picture as to how many families are still waiting for an offer of a place at a Jewish school.”

Research on likely demand, it said, had enabled it “to work with the secondary schools in North-West London to ensure that between all of the schools, enough places should be available to meet the projected demand”.

Yavneh College in Borehamwood is offering a bulge class in September, which will increase intake from 150 to 180. But parents were told it may take a while before the impact of this extra capacity was felt.

According to projections done for PaJeS by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, demand for places at London’s Jewish state schools should be slightly lower for autumn 2021 than last year, when applications were expected to have reached their peak.