JFS

JFS (formerly known as the Jews' Free School and later Jewish Free School) is a Jewish mixed comprehensive school in Kenton, North London, England and was founded in 1732. Amongst its early supporters was the writer and philanthropist Charlotte Montefiore (1818–1854).Ref needed At one time it was the largest Jewish school in the world, with more than 4,000 pupils.
The school is run by the JFS Charitable Trust Limited (Company number 03942126)/JFS Development Charitable Trust (Charity number: 1114730).
==Orientation to Zionism==
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JFS is a secondary school which names its four houses after racist settler colonial ideologues such as Chaim Weizmann, Israel Zangwill and Selig Brodetsky. The school says it is 'proud of its long standing and deep connections to the State of Israel. For over 40 years the school has offered a bespoke residential programme in Israel to provide an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in life in Israel, improve their Hebrew and enhance their knowledge of Jewish studies, culture and history beyond what is taught at school. ... The JFS programme [in Israel] promotes the values and ethos of JFS including the ideals of Zionist Modern Orthodoxy.'https://x.com/Tracking_Power/status/1772887855427207314https://web.archive.org/web/20211114135049/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/LEV-JFS-2020-Brochure.pdfhttps://web.archive.org/web/20241007173149/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/lev-2/
*'Students participating in Israel Club at school enjoyed a visit from speakers of Stand With Us. The session was focused on enabling students to distinguish differences between anti-Semitism and valid criticism of the state of Israel.'https://web.archive.org/web/20230215233448/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/jfs-israel-club/
*'Our dynamic JiEP department delivered outstanding programmes in commemoration of Yom Hazikaron and in celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut this week. One Year 8 student commenting on Yom Ha’atzmaut said, “The atmosphere, the food, the fun, blue and white, Israel, the socialising, it was like a big birthday party!” HAPPY 73rd BIRTHDAY ISRAEL and well done JiEP!'https://web.archive.org/web/20241007082438/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/happy-birthday-israel/
*'Last night we were honoured to host her Excellency Tzipi Hotovely, the Israeli Ambassador to London, to dedicate a special memorial garden at JFS for Dr Ami Shachori z’l who was the Israeli Agriculture Attaché in London from 1968-1972, assassinated whilst serving at the Embassy in London. His children, who are JFS Alumni, were present to cut the ribbon to the new garden... we were delighted to welcome the Sinai School Choir that sang Oseh Shalom and the Hatikvah.'https://th-th.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=623138882944095&id=100057439660589
*'Israel is at the heart of JFS. Students are encouraged to engage with Israel through visits in Year 9 ... our active Israel Club and the celebration of all Israeli festivals. We are proud that many students go on to complete a year of further study, volunteering and social action in Israel before commencing university... A range of high profile speakers also visit the Israel Society to keep students informed of current developments and points of interest... JFS has a long and proud tradition of association with the State of Israel. Since its earliest days in Camden Town, this has included offering students the opportunity to spend time in Israel on an organised programme. Currently JFS offers two schemes: Lev, a three month Israel programme for Year 9 students, based at Alexander Muss High School in Israel, and ATOI, the two week ‘A Taste of Israel’ programme.'https://web.archive.org/web/20230215233934/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/ivrit-and-israel-education/
*'This week our Head Boy and Head Girl team hosted the Senior Prefect teams from Immanuel College, JCOSS and Yavneh College for an Israel themed inter-school event. They discussed the various student-led initiatives taking place at each school, as well as Yom Hazikaron, Yom Ha’Atzmaut and October 7th; lighting candles and telling stories in remembrance. They then created hostage badges to be distributed to students in each school. This was a meaningful opportunity for the schools to reflect the unity within our community. A huge thank you to GIFT, for making these activities possible.Israel Inter-School Event, 16/05/2024.
*The school has been involved with the UJIA programme of Israel education:
::Our grants to Jewish schools also ensured over 5,000 Jewish pupils engaged with outstanding Israel learning and events at JFS, JCOSS and Yavneh College in London, and The King David High School in Manchester. Participants heard from outstanding speakers, commemorated Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut in meaningful ceremonies, and took part in various fun and educational Israel-themed activities throughout the year.https://web.archive.org/web/20201104152531/https://ujia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/5742-UJIA-Annual-Report-2018-2019-SP-ONLINE.pdf
===Israel residential Scheme===
The school has been running Israel residential trips to pupils for nearly 50 years. The information about the programme of events here is sourced from the 2020 briefing posted on the school website.Internet Archive copy: https://web.archive.org/web/20210115211716/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/LEV-JFS-2020-Brochure.pdf In 2020 the trip lasted three months from 5 January to 30 March. The programme was arranged in partnership with Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI) and 'promotes the values and ethos of JFS including the ideals of Zionist Modern Orthodoxy.' The brochure claims: 'Students develop a deeper sense of pride and attachment to their Yidishkite and connection to Israel. Students also gain skills to become more mature, worldly, independent and self-aware. They also gain Israel literacy, invaluable knowledge about Israel. Many alumni refer to our programme as the single greatest experience of their life.'
===Wiping Zionist content from the website===
Between the 7 October 2024https://web.archive.org/web/20241007192713/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/ and the 13 November 2024,https://web.archive.org/web/20241113121258/https://www.jfs.brent.sch.uk/ JFS deleted its website and uploaded an entirely new site. One effect of this was that the following terms were eliminated: 'IDF', 'Zionist' and 'Zionism'.
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==Funding== 
*The Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust | Wolfson Family Charitable Trust | Bluston Charitable Settlement | Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation | Garrard Family Foundation
==People==
===Directors===
Name 	Correspondence address 	Role 	Position 	Date of birth 	Appointed on 	Resigned on 	Nationality	Country of residence	Occupation
Manpreet Kaur Bal 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Active 	Secretary	 	5 July 2021 	 	 	 	
Robert Bradley Gershon 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Active 	Director 	July 1975 	31 March 2023 	 	British 	United Kingdom 	Chartered Accountant
Mark Michael Hurst 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Active 	Director 	January 1971 	1 September 2024 	 	British 	England 	Solicitor
Richard Ian Kafton 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, England, HA3 9TE 	Role Active 	Director 	October 1956 	13 December 2005 	 	British 	England 	Ifa
Dr David Moody 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Active 	Director 	June 1979 	26 January 2022 	 	British 	United Kingdom 	Headteacher
Ishai Eliezer Novick 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, England, HA3 9TE 	Role Active 	Director 	May 1971 	6 July 2011 	 	British 	England 	Company Director
Stephen Howard John Pack 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Active 	Director 	April 1950 	22 April 2021 	 	British 	England 	Chartered Accountant
Philip Bunt 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Secretary	 	22 July 2014 	30 November 2020	 	 	
Richard Anthony Gold 	39 Oakleigh Avenue, London, N20 9JE 	Role Resigned	Secretary	 	2 March 2000 	13 December 2005	British 	 	Solicitor
David Russel Lerner 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, England, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Secretary	 	13 December 2005 	22 July 2014 	British 	 	School Administrator
Simon Appleman 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	August 1974 	1 September 2016 	4 June 2018 	British 	England 	Headteacher
Julian David Bloom 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, England, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	October 1948 	13 December 2005 	31 December 2014	British 	England 	Solicitor
Julian David Bloom 	70 St Albans Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD1 3RP 	Role Resigned	Director 	October 1948 	16 April 2000 	19 March 2002 	British 	 	Solicitor
Philip Alan Bunt 	176 Whitchurch Lane, Edgware, HA8 6QJ 	Role Resigned	Director 	January 1958 	13 December 2005 	31 August 2011 	British 	United Kingdom 	Chartered Accountant
John Anthony Cooper 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	February 1946 	11 September 2017	30 March 2023 	British 	England 	Chartered Accountant
Geraldine Fainer 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	July 1963 	1 September 2017 	31 July 2019 	British 	England 	Lawyer
Rachel Harriet Fink 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	July 1969 	4 June 2018 	31 May 2021 	British 	England 	Headteacher
Sidney Frosh 	50 Lodge Close, Canons Drive, Edgware, Middlesex, HA8 7RL	Role Resigned	Director 	August 1923 	22 March 2006 	5 July 2011 	British 	 	None
Michael Stuart Glass 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, England, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	May 1962 	11 January 2010 	23 March 2015 	British 	England 	Chartered Accountant
Richard Anthony Gold 	39 Oakleigh Avenue, London, N20 9JE 	Role Resigned	Director 	October 1941 	2 March 2000 	13 December 2005	British 	United Kingdom 	Solicitor
Neil Barry Harris 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, England, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	July 1966 	1 September 2011 	27 June 2016 	British 	England 	Chartered Accountant
Rachel Harrison 	124 Hampden Road, London, N8 0HS 	Role Resigned	Director 	July 1946 	3 September 2001 	13 December 2005	British 	 	Student
Russell Ivor Kett 	62 Wychwood Avenue, Edgware, Middlesex, HA8 6TH 	Role Resigned	Director 	May 1953 	3 September 2001 	11 January 2010 	British 	United Kingdom 	Company Director
Jonathan Moss Miller 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, England, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	January 1962 	1 January 2008 	31 August 2016 	British 	United Kingdom 	Headteacher
Graham Bennett Morrison-Wood	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, England, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	May 1951 	13 December 2005 	15 January 2020 	British 	United Kingdom 	Solicitor
Andrew Moss 	Jfs School, The Mall, Harrow, England, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	December 1972 	1 September 2019 	1 September 2024	British 	England 	Consultant
Ruth Renton 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	September 1970	8 December 2016 	3 April 2017 	British 	England 	Solicitor
Dame Ruth Laura Robins 	31 Regents Park Road, London, NW1 7TL 	Role Resigned	Director 	October 1946 	3 September 2001 	31 December 2007	British 	England 	Headteacher
Dr Lorraine Sherr 	The Retreat, Tenterden Grove, London, NW4 1TH 	Role Resigned	Director 	November 1952 	3 September 2001 	13 December 2005	British 	United Kingdom 	Prof Psychology
Arnold Wagner 	91 Woodcock Hill, Kenton, Harrow, Middlesex, HA3 0JJ 	Role Resigned	Director 	September 1949	2 March 2000 	13 December 2005	British 	Uk 	Personnel Director
Stuart Alexander Waldman 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	August 1968 	26 July 2016 	29 March 2021 	British 	United Kingdom 	Accountant
Steven Woolf 	Jfs School, The Mall, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 9TE 	Role Resigned	Director 	January 1967 	24 March 2015 	30 June 2016 	British 	England 	Barrister
===Trustees===
*Ishai Novick Chair	(28 December 2011)	
*Stephen Howard John Pack (22 April 2021). Also trustee of The Work Avenue Foundation | AJEX Charitable Foundation 	
*Andrew Moss (01 September 2019)	
*John Anthony Cooper (11 September 2017). Also trustee of The Corporation of the Hall of Arts and Sciences	
*Richard Kafton (?)
===Staff===
====Headteachers====
2021– 	Dr David Moody
2021 	Paul Ramsay (Acting Joint Headteacher)
Anna Joseph (Acting Joint Headteacher)
2021 	Martin Tissot (Interim Headteacher)
2021 	Sir Michael Wilshaw (Executive Headteacher)
2018–2021	Rachel Fink
2018 	Simon Appleman (Acting Headteacher)
2016–2017	Debby Lipkin (Executive Headteacher)
Simon Appleman (Acting Headteacher)
2008–2016	Jonathan Miller
1993–2007	Dame Ruth Robins
1985–1993	Josephine Wagerman, OBELater elected first female president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
1973–1984	Leslie GatoffI, Jonathan Goldsmith, left in 1975 and Gatoff had been there 2 years by then
1958–1972	Dr. Edward S Conway
1897–1907	Louis Barnett Abrahams
1842–1897	Moses Angel
1732–1757	Samuel Grant
1700-1732	Marcelo Bielsa
===Former pupils===
====A-C====
*Barney Barnato, Randlord
*Gina Bellman, actressInterview: Gina Bellman, The Jewish Chronicle, 17 January 2014
*Raphael Benjamin, rabbi in Australia and America
*Eyal Booker, Love Island Contestant
*Selig Brodetsky, mathematician, Zionist leader, and President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
*Benjamin Cohen, journalist and Channel 4 News presenter
*Morris Cohen, adventurer
====D-F====
*Judith Flacks-Leigh
* Dean Furman (born 1988) - professional footballer
====G-J====
*Maurice Glasman, academic, social thinker and Labour life peer
*Jonathan Glazer, BAFTA and Oscar award-winning film director
*Samuel Gompers, first President of the American Federation of Labor
*David Joseph, chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK
====K-N====
*Ray Kelvin, founder of luxury clothing retail company Ted Baker
*Despite reports in the Guardian and the Independent, Jay Kay of Jamiroquai did not attend this school. Benjamin Cohen (who did and is listed here) recounts that the Guardian and Independent reports were themselves based on wrong information on Wikipedia – see 
* Josh Kennet (born 1987), English-Israeli footballer
*Bernard Lewis, founder and owner, River Island
*Joe Loss, musician
====O-R====
*Ofra Offer Oren, 'Israeli' writer, poet, blogger and translator
*Sandy Rashty, Journalist - Jewish Chronicle, Sky News;
*Steven Reingold, cricketer
*Barbara Roche, Labour politician
====S-V====
*Joel Samuels – DJ Luck, DJ
*Jez San, game designer, Argonaut Games
*Florence Schechter, founder of Vagina Museum and author
*Ian Stone, comedian
====W-Z====
==Resources==
*https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03942126
*https://th-th.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=623138882944095&id=100057439660589
*https://www.thejc.com/news/news/ofsted-downgrades-jfs-to-'inadequate'-1.517835
*https://www.thejc.com/news/news/jfs-gets-'good'-rating-one-year-after-shock-downgrade-3EwNVeU88TrGh5t62X9UnW
*https://x.com/Tracking_Power/status/1772887855427207314
*https://s2jnews.com/jfs-school-in-north-london-unashamedly-hold-strong-zionist-links/
*https://www.thejc.com/news/jfs-a-christian-solution-for-a-jewish-school-q35s3db1
https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/teen-thugs-attack-and-board-jfs-school-buses-while-shouting-fk-israel-at-children-yn1eyqqu
===Deleted pages on JFS website===
*https://web.archive.org/web/20240814085357/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/idf-the-moral-army/
*https://web.archive.org/web/20240203004047/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/idf-soldiers-say-thank-you/
*https://web.archive.org/web/20210115211716/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/LEV-JFS-2020-Brochure.pdf
*https://web.archive.org/web/20230601024404/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/learning-to-use-the-wires-2/
*https://web.archive.org/web/20240222102922/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/category/news/
*https://web.archive.org/web/20240225091714/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/stand-with-us-israel-advocacy/
*https://web.archive.org/web/20240422171611/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/gavin-stollar-obe-at-jfs/
*https://web.archive.org/web/20240612151536/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/special-visitors-to-jfs/
*https://web.archive.org/web/20240226120342/https://jfs.brent.sch.uk/ivrit-and-israel-education/
==Contact==
*Internet Archive holdings of jfs.brent.sch.uk
*https://jfsconnect.com/
*Ofsted: https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/23/133724
*https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03942126
==Notes==