Mobile education: Hasmonean boys to learn in portakabins at girls’ school

In an un-Orthodox approach, a religious secondary school for boys plans to transfer its entire incoming Year 7 class to portakabins as its only option to meet increased demand for places.

In correspondence shared with Jewish News, prospective parents were told Hasmonean High School for Boys will only be able to accommodate the  anticipated 150 students (including 50 on the waiting list) for September 2023 by locating them in the temporary buildings on a separate area on the grounds of Hasmonean High School for Girls.

They would be educated there for the full academic year; on reaching Year 8, the cohort would return to learning back at the main Boys’ School Holders Hill site.

The school says it has “been exploring options to open bulge classes for 2023 to accommodate them given that for many of these families, no other secondary nor other state school offers the same type of religious provision to meet their needs.”

Together with governors, the school said it had explored a range of options including various sites in the area, and had been in touch with Barnet, the Department of Education (DfE) and local councillors to explore the processes involved.

Hasmonean High School is also entering a planning application to develop adjoining North Hendon synagogue in order to provide an additional 13 classrooms.

If approved, it’s expected the project will be completed by December 2025.