New cross-communal schools open in London and the Galil

Two groundbreaking new schools have opened their doors this month, marking a first for cross-communal Jewish education in London and the north of Israel. Working with local partners, UJIA is behind the development of both schools.

JCoSS (Jewish Community Secondary School) opened on Monday 6 September and is the UK's first cross-communal Jewish school, providing a high standard of education to pupils from a diverse range of backgrounds, affiliations, statuses and practice. The school in East Barnet is welcoming 150 Year 7 students and, by 2017, will have places for 1,310 pupils including Sixth Form. JCoSS also has seven places per year for autistic students in the Pears Special Resource Provision.

UJIA has supported the development of Jewish education at JCoSS, including teacher training and curriculum, as well providing office space for school staff and conducting a longitudinal study into the impact of the school's Jewish education, the first of its kind in the UK.

Dr Helena Miller, UJIA Research and Evaluation Director, said:

"We are really delighted that JCoSS will be taking its place among the many outstanding Jewish schools in London. It has been a long journey to get to this point and we are really excited that the vision of a cross-communal Jewish secondary school has finally become a reality."

JCoSS follows the Esfandi-Isaacs ORT High School in the town of Shlomi, northern Israel, which welcomed 200 students the previous week. This cross-communal school is bringing together religious and secular pupils in what is undoubtedly a landmark project, not just for the region, but for Israel as a whole. With support from our donors in the UK, UJIA and our partners have funded the construction of the new state-of-the-art school building, the community's first ever high school. This new facility will give a much needed boost to a town in one of Israel's most disadvantaged regions.

30km east of Shlomi, the new Lord Steinberg Hemed Primary School also opened its doors to over 400 children in the Merom HaGalil region. Until recently, the school had been designated "desperately in need of development" by the Ministry of Education. UJIA is behind the upgrading of the dilapidated school building, as well as extra support for core subjects, enrichment activities and therapy for 'at-risk' children.

UJIA would like to wish all the staff and students a wonderful first term and a successful future.