Parents and teachers picket King Solomon High School in protest at possible closure
Despite a consultation on the school's potential closure in August 2027 having ended, no final decision has been announced
Parents joined teachers on a picket line outside King Solomon High School in Essex this week to express dismay at the proposed closure of the area’s only remaining Jewish secondary school.
Displaying signs with slogans including “Save our Students”, “We love our kids and stand for their future”, and “Silence is not a decision”, the twenty person protest came after last month’s closure of a consultation on the school’s future, with no final decision having been released since.
King Solomon, which opened in 1993, currently has 515 pupils across Years 7 to 11, despite having space for 900, meaning 385 places are empty. The school stopped admitting new Year 12 pupils in 2024 after too few students applied to make the year group financially viable.
The Ilford-based school’s governors launched a consultation in September on plans to potentially close it on 31 August 2027.
The school has 515 pupils across Years 7 to 11, despite having space for 900. That means 385 places are empty, and it has served the Jewish community since 1993.
Bianca Spencer, whose friends have children at the school described how the schools current 500 pupils “will lose their school placements. This is especially difficult for Year 10 students, who will be sitting their GCSE exams next year, as there are extremely limited Year 10 placements available – and of those that are [available], not all are compatible with the same syllabus. This sets them up for failure.
“Additionally, the parents of SEND pupils chose this school because it is a smaller, more supportive learning environment. Many have made friends; this supportive environment is just as important for SEND pupils as academic success… [the school closing means] they would lose friendships and familiar staff. This is stressful for any pupil, but the added stress on SEND pupils is significant.
While no final decision has been announced by the Governors of King Solomon, parents are already looking for other options; Jewish News reported last week that 15 students had left King Solomon for Yavneh.
King Solomon is not the only Jewish educational institutionto have faced recent difficulties. Earlier this year it was announced that Immanuel College would close its doors; however, a group of donors stepped in to save the community’s only private secondary school.