JFS confirms admissions policy changes

JFS has confirmed its intention to change its admissions policy, removing priority for local residents and establishing two local primaries as ‘feeder schools’.

Europe’s largest Jewish secondary school announced the changes amid the end of a consultation, with its headteacher and governors saying it “will make very little difference” to students applying from across the community.

The two key amends to its policy is “the removal of priority by reference to distance from the school” and the offering of “26 priority places to Sinai Jewish Primary School and 9 priority places to North West London Jewish Day School as feeder schools.”

JFS explained to parents, that “almost all of those who attend do not live in Brent and therefore priority by reference to distance is no longer an appropriate method of offering places at the school.”

In offering a cap to other Brent Primary schools as ‘feeder schools’, JFS said it hoped to “allay fears that significant numbers of places might essentially be put aside” for them.

In an email sent out this week, the secondary school said it is “confident that these changes will make very little difference to the chances of students across the community from securing places at JFS and would encourage all those who wish to be part of our continuing success, to apply in the normal way.”

This comes after it was announced in December that JFS, which is heavily oversubscribed, was changing its entry rules. After the announcement, more than 1,400 people signed petition against the proposed changes to the policy.