‘Remarkable’ school lacking state aid praised by two Jewish peers

Two members of the House of Lords have spoken out in support of London’s top performing Jewish primary school which lacks state aid.

Lords Jonathan Kestenbaum and Robert Winston, both education experts, praised Noam Primary in Wembley as “remarkable”. The Mayor of London has singled it out as one of the capital’s top schools, while it gained the top SAT results for London Jewish primaries in 2016, despite being funded by parents due to a lack of state-aided Jewish school places.

Speaking at the Wembley school’s fundraising dinner on Tuesday night, Lord Winston said: “What we are at risk of doing in our society is undervaluing the single most important profession that shapes society, the profession of teachers. What we are doing by supporting a school like Noam is the most important thing we do as a Jewish community – to nurture, promote and protect the next generation,” he added.

Lord Kestenbaum, also a guest speaker, told the audience of 250 diners at The Hive in Edgware: “Both Lord Winston and I are here tonight to pay tribute and lend our support to a remarkable school, and we hope everyone in our community will also.”

Noam is fundraising while it awaits complex negotiations to be given the green light by Barnet Council for state funding, which also involve a new purpose-built school premises in Burnt Oak.

Chair of governors, Shelley Kelaty, said: “We are excited about making significant headway towards getting our outstanding school the public funding we think it deserves. We thank Lords Kestenbaum and Winston for their outspoken support and pay tribute to our stoic parents and supporters for their ongoing and unwavering partnership to provide the country’s best Jewish education for our children. We really thank everyone.”