Esfandi-Isaacs ORT High School in Shlomi - A first for Israel

The Esfandi-Isaacs ORT High School in Shlomi is the first of its kind in Israel - a cross-communal secondary school bringing together 200 religious and non-religious children - and providing the community with hope for the future.

Until 2007, there was no secondary school in Shlomi, a development town founded by Jewish immigrants from Morocco and Tunisia. Living in one of Israel's most remote corners, Shlomi's 6,000 residents suffer from one of the country's highest unemployment rates, as well as rocket attacks from the other side of the nearby Lebanon border.

Bringing academic achievement to Israel's borders

Before the Esfandi-Isaacs ORT High School was established by UJIA, the Israeli Government and the Rashi Foundation, the town's 450 young people of secondary school age had to travel to 20 different high schools across the region. The new school means that families and the municipality are no longer burdened with high transport costs and now enjoy much greater involvement in their children's education. But what really makes the school special is how it serves as a bridge between religious and non-religious Jews - a unique educational venture in Israel.

For three years, the school had been teaching pupils in six temporary classrooms. In September 2010, its staff and pupils moved into the school's new state-of-the-art campus, incorporating both a junior and senior high school, including new classrooms, four laboratories, a library, Bet Midrash block and supplementary study rooms. The school currently teaches around 200 students, a number which will eventually reach 550 as the school grows each year.

Shlomi's population rose by 50 per cent between 1999 and 2004, including the immigration of 800 young middle-class families. As the community continues to grow, getting behind Shlomi's young people is more important than ever.

See photos of the new school and its official opening in our online gallery.