Memories, mingling and music mark Immanuel College at 35

It’s not often that a head teacher gets treated like a popstar by his former students. But that’s what happened last week when 98-year-old Denis Felsenstein returned to the school – Immanuel College – he helped found three and a half decades ago.

The Bushey school’s founding head was among the 300 alumni, teachers and parents at the reunion event which mixed music, memories and mingling. After he recalled to loud applause how the school grew from just 40 pupils in 1990, he was surrounded by guests wanting to chat and later by ex-students requesting selfies as he prepared to leave with son Richard, a former deputy head at Immanuel.

“Immanuel pupils have gone on to lead major educational institutions, become doctors, rabbis, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and philanthropists -true examples of tikkun olam: making the world a better place,” said chair of governors Daniel Levy.

“Immanuel has a unique, almost magical quality. At its heart lies kindness, care, and a deeply personal approach. This was true when the school began with just 40 pupils – and it remains true today, with our Head still knowing nearly every student by name.”

The gathering featured musical entertainment from singer-songwriter and former head boy Bertie Green, fresh from his performance at Glastonbury, as well as a stunning rendition of One More Day from this year’s school production Les Miserables and a duet by Jacob and Talia of a song composed by Immanuel director of music Stephen Levey.

Master of ceremonies, Dov Forman, quizzed former heads Felsenstein (1990-1995), Philip Skelker (2000-12) and Gary Griffin (2017-2021), who recalled his first experience of the chaos of Purim and joked how none of his previous postings at non-Jewish schools prepared him for so many parents wanting to speak to him.

Forman – part of the class of 2022 – told the gathering: “In my year-group alone, more than 15 of us went on to study in yeshiva and seminary, with many others spending a gap year in Israel. That was a direct consequence of the environment Immanuel created – one that instilled a love of Torah, of Israel, and of being proudly Jewish. Looking back, I can see how the lessons I learned here continue to stay with me far beyond the school gates.” A sufferer of ADHD who joked about the number of detentions he received, he spoke about how the school helped channel his energies.

He credited his GCSE and A Level history teacher Mr Raine for encouraging him to start sharing his great-grandmother Lily Ebert’s Holocaust testimony which went on to reach millions. “During lockdown, he encouraged me to use that strange, difficult period to begin sharing the Holocaust testimony of my great-grandmother, That experience led me to write for the Jewish News about Holocaust survivors adapting to the digital world, and to realise the responsibility I had to carry her testimony forward.”

Head Dan Endlar said: “Thirty-five years is a remarkable milestone but what truly defines our school is the feeling you get when you walk through the gates. The sense of personal connection; where every pupil and every family matters. It’s our environment that creates the happiest, kindest and most confident students with whom I have ever worked.”