September 2013 will see the introduction of the Leeds Jewish Free School as an extension of Brodetsky Jewish Primary School in Alwoodley. Currently, 100 students are taking a 90 mile round trip from Leeds to their closest faith based school situated in Manchester. Filling two coaches the number of passengers has quadrupled over the past 5 years.
267,000 people in the UK selected their religious identity as Jewish (2001 Census). The new opening of a Leeds based Free Jewish High School is therefore welcomed news for a significant number of students currently enduring long trips to school as well as being a weight off many parent’s minds.
Dan Cohen, a governor at the school and Conservative councillor for the Alwoodley ward, said:
I am tremendously grateful that Manchester has taken our children for so long and given them a great education, but that shouldn't mean that as a city we can't try to replicate those successes here on our own doorstep
