School hosts Rachel Riley for Shabbat fundraising dinner

A Jewish school in Barkingside hosted Countdown star Rachel Riley on Friday for a fundraising Shabbat dinner.

The Clore Tikva school has been hard hit by the pandemic, and for the last fifteen months has been fundraising for much-needed funds to support pupils.

Among the initiatives to raise money was a fundraiser dinner with Riley, who spoke about her career, passion for education, Strictly Come Dancing and her fight against antisemitism.

“‘It was a pleasure to attend the Shabbat dinner, I am always very keen to support our schools,” said Riley. 

“Clore Tikva is a school that I am particularly pleased to support, especially as it’s very close to where my mother grew up and therefore I wanted to give back to the community.”

Yochy and Laurence Davis, who have a grandchild at the school and organised the dinner, said they were “delighted” to have hosted the TV star.

“My son was one of the first years when the school opened and to see my grandchildren now attending is wonderful,” said Yochy. 

“The school is so important to the community and when I hear how much my granddaughter loves the school I wanted to do all I could to ensure the school’s success in the long-term.”

Margot Buller, the school’s headteacher, said she was grateful to Riley for attending. “Rachel is passionate about supporting STEM, science, technology, engineering and maths, among young people and to hear from her directly about the work she is doing to help promote this was inspiring,” she said.