Leeds Jewish Free School Review 2026: A small, values-led secondary with a distinctive Jewish ethos

A one-form-entry secondary with a deliberately small intake, Leeds Jewish Free School is built around two parallel priorities, secular study and Jewish studies, with day-to-day routines shaped by Orthodox Jewish practice. Founded as a free school and opened in September 2013, it was created to give Leeds families a local Jewish secondary option, rather than regular travel to Manchester.

Leadership has recently stabilised, with Charlie Kelsey in post as interim executive headteacher since September 2023. The most recent inspection (April 2024) kept the school at Good overall, while signalling that consistency in curriculum strength and staffing remains a key priority.

This is a small school by design. Ofsted’s published data for the setting shows a roll in the low hundreds, with a capacity of 175, and that scale shapes almost everything parents notice first, who teaches their child, how quickly concerns are picked up, and how visible students are in the life of the school. In a community-facing faith school, that closeness often extends beyond lessons into pastoral routines and enrichment, and the school explicitly frames belonging, responsibility, and kindness as practical expectations rather than abstract ideas.

The ethos is expressed through Jewish values that are repeatedly used as organising principles, including tzedek (integrity and respect), chessed (kindness), mishpat (respect for rules and laws), and rachamim (compassion and forgiveness). These are not presented as occasional themes; they appear in formal structures such as the house system, where houses are named after those values and linked to whole-school participation.

Faith practice is not an “add-on” but a defining feature. The school describes a model where students are encouraged to engage with Jewish texts and practice, connect through tefillah (prayer) and mitzvot, and learn Ivrit as both a modern language and a bridge to heritage. For non-Jewish families, the school’s own positioning is inclusive, but the lived rhythm remains that of an Orthodox Jewish setting, and parents should assume daily life will reference faith, community, and Jewish calendar events as normal.

Performance data presents a mixed, interpretable picture that is best read through both outcomes and progress.

GCSE-level performance indicators show an Attainment 8 score of 52.4 and a Progress 8 score of 0.45. Progress 8 above zero indicates students tend to make stronger progress than pupils with similar starting points across England, and that is an encouraging sign for families prioritising academic momentum rather than headline grades alone.

Rankings provide a further benchmark for comparison across England and within Leeds. Ranked 1840th in England and 20th in Leeds for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), the school sits broadly in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

One caveat is the Ebacc profile. The recorded figure for grades 5 and above in the Ebacc is 3.2%, and the average Ebacc APS is 4.48. Families considering language-heavy or Ebacc-driven pathways should probe how the school structures GCSE options, how many students are entered for Ebacc subjects, and how curriculum time is balanced against the school’s Jewish studies programme.

The core educational proposition is a dual curriculum: secular subjects alongside Jewish studies (often referenced as Kodesh), delivered by specialist teachers in each area. In practical terms, that can suit students who thrive with clear identity, predictable routines, and a curriculum that joins academic learning to values and community responsibility.

At Key Stage 3, the school highlights an early focus on transition and character education, including a dedicated “Resilience” element at the start of secondary. That emphasis matters in a small setting, where peer dynamics can feel more immediate and where confidence and learning habits quickly become “known quantities”.

Curriculum design is also constrained by scale. Smaller cohorts can mean fewer parallel sets, fewer combinations at GCSE, and recruitment challenges in some subjects. That does not automatically reduce quality, but it does mean parents should ask direct questions about subject breadth at Key Stage 4, staffing stability in core departments, and how gaps are handled when specialist teachers are hard to recruit.

Leeds Jewish Free School is described in the latest Ofsted report as a secondary setting with students aged 11 to 16. This means post-16 progression typically involves moving on to sixth forms and colleges across Leeds and the wider area, with pathways spanning A-levels, vocational qualifications, and apprenticeships.

The inspection evidence points to a school culture where students are keen to do well, feel supported, and are encouraged to take responsibility, including through structures such as student voice and council activity. In practical progression terms, the school is required to provide students in Years 7 to 13 with information and engagement about technical education and apprenticeships (provider access legislation), which can be helpful for families who want high-quality guidance for non-university routes as well as traditional academic pathways.

Because the school does not operate a sixth form, families with a strong preference for an 11 to 18 “through-route” should factor in that transition at 16, and treat Year 10 and Year 11 as a period to plan post-16 options early, including entry requirements, travel, and subject availability.

Admissions are a core part of the school’s story because intake is intentionally small. The published admission number for Year 7 entry in September 2026 is 26 places, which creates a level of competition that is structurally different from most Leeds secondaries.

Applications are made through the local authority in the normal coordinated round. The school’s 2026 to 2027 admissions policy sets out the key national timetable: apply by 31 October 2025, with offers made on 1 March 2026. Leeds’ coordinated scheme corroborates the normal round secondary closing date of 31 October 2025.

As a faith school, oversubscription criteria include a religious practice test evidenced through a Supplementary Information Form (SIF). The policy explains that the SIF records participation in religious or community activities and includes questions such as attendance at Jewish educational activity, synagogue attendance, volunteering, and the presence of a mezuzah at the home entrance. A points-based approach is used, and the policy states that a minimum of 10 points is required to meet the religious practice threshold for certain priority categories.

Where applications cannot be separated on criteria alone, distance from the school is used as the tie-break. For parents, the practical implication is that admissions strategy is not just about preference order, it is about understanding the faith criteria evidence requirements and the distance tie-break logic, early.

A small school can either feel exposing or reassuring; the difference is usually the quality of pastoral systems and the consistency of staff relationships. The most recent inspection evidence describes a supportive environment, with students feeling accepted and bullying described as rare. That matters, particularly for families choosing a faith setting that may feel culturally specific or community-centred.

The school also maintains a dedicated Wellbeing Centre section, explicitly covering mental health, safeguarding, healthy lifestyle, bullying prevention, and targeted support for students who need additional help. It also identifies a Senior Mental Health Lead role, which signals that wellbeing is treated as an operational responsibility rather than a generic aspiration.

Parents should still test how this works day-to-day: how concerns are raised, how quickly parents are contacted, what the escalation route is, and what external services are used when needs exceed internal capacity.

Extracurricular life is unusually shaped by the Henry Cohen Campus model, with the school sharing a site with Brodetsky Primary School and an associated community youth centre, The Zone. The school positions this as a way to increase after-school opportunities and social connection, particularly important in a setting where cohorts are small.

In terms of named activities, the school lists clubs and options including trampolining, table tennis, running, and non-sport options such as Japanese, Maths, English, and homework clubs. Families should view these as examples rather than an exhaustive list, then confirm what is currently running and how it is staffed.

Two structured programmes stand out because they are described as part of personal development rather than optional clubs. NAVIG8 is presented as a planned set of experiences across Key Stage 3, including “Faith Weeks” covering three different faiths, visits to places of worship, an annual school Shabbat event, and civic exposure such as a visit to the Houses of Parliament. ACTIV8 is described as a PE and sport initiative focused on inclusivity and broad participation, intended to widen the sports students experience.

The school day is clearly set out: compulsory attendance from 8:10am to 3:35pm Monday to Thursday, and 8:10am to 2:30pm on Friday, with intervention running 3:35pm to 4:30pm.

Term dates and calendar planning reflect the Jewish calendar, including early finishes around Yom Tov and the scheduling of festivals within the school year. For working parents, that reality matters for childcare planning, especially given the Friday finish time and the way religious observance can shape the school timetable.

Because this is a state school, there are no tuition fees. Families should still anticipate the normal costs of secondary school life, including uniform, trips, and optional activities.

• Very small Year 7 intake. With 26 places available for Year 7 entry in September 2026, admissions are inherently competitive, and “near miss” outcomes can be common when cohorts are that small.

• Faith criteria evidence can be detailed. Applicants seeking priority under faith criteria need to understand and evidence the Supplementary Information Form points model, including community participation and practice-related indicators.

• Inspection signal on curriculum consistency. The April 2024 inspection kept the overall judgement at Good, but highlighted that students have not consistently benefited from a strong curriculum over time, with improvement work still developing.

• No sixth form route. Post-16 progression involves moving elsewhere at 16, which suits some students well, but may not suit families seeking a continuous 11 to 18 setting.

Leeds Jewish Free School is best understood as a small, community-shaped secondary where ethos is not branding but structure, from houses built around Jewish values to personal development programmes that explicitly join faith, citizenship, and inclusion. It will suit families who want a state-funded school with a strong Orthodox Jewish character, a close-knit scale, and clear routines, and who are comfortable engaging carefully with a faith-informed admissions process. The main trade-off is that small size can amplify both the benefits of being known and the operational challenges of staffing and curriculum breadth, so families should visit with clear questions and a realistic view of fit.