The number of pupils enrolling in Jewish schools has dropped for the first time in thirty years, according to new research.
The latest report from the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) finds that more than 36,000 Jewish pupils are registered in 136 Jewish schools in the UK today. However, in both the mainstream and Strictly Orthodox sectors, official figures show a decrease in enrolment in 2023/24 for the first time since the mid-1990s.
Key highlights from the report, by Dr Carli Lessof and Adam Possener found that
those 136 Jewish schools (a net increase of 3 schools since 2021) are made up of 45 mainstream Jewish schools and 91 Strictly Orthodox schools.
Screenshot: JPR
For the first time, the mainstream sector has decreased across all three years in secondary and primary schools while the strictly Orthodox sector saw an overall increase, in the last academic year, the number of pupils in those schools fell by 358.
The report suggests the results are not because of demographic decline or a change in parental preference; instead, they reflect shifting government policy and practice in schools, reducing the number of children recorded in registered strictly Orthodox schools.
Overall, the balance between registered mainstream and Strictly Orthodox schools has remained stable. 60 percent of Jewish pupils in Jewish schools are in Strictly Orthodox schools; 40 percent are mainstream Jewish schools. This is a significant shift since the mid-1990s when the ratio was 55 percent mainstream to 45 percent Strictly Orthodox.
Screenshot: JPR
The report also reveals that 87 percent of Jewish pupils in mainstream schools are in Greater London and South Hertfordshire. This distinction is much less pronounced in the Strictly Orthodox sector, with 63 percent being in London.
Dr Jonathan Boyd, executive director of JPR said: “Education is at the core of every Jewish community, and tracking the number of Jewish pupils in registered Jewish schools is essential both to ensure that there are enough schools places for those who want them, and to understand broader demographic trends affecting British Jewish life as a whole.
“These new data show that the growth story that we have long seen in the number of Jewish children attending Jewish schools is changing, but more work is required to understand why. In the mainstream sector, it is unclear whether it is a consequence of smaller cohorts due to lower fertility or about changes in parental preferences, and looking ahead, questions remain about whether concerns about antisemitism will prompt parents to make different school choices for their children.”
He adds that in the Strictly Orthodox sector, it’s “unclear to what extent it is about practical, economic or political pressures, or indeed whether the latest counts are simply a temporary blip.”
