Immanuel College

Immanuel College develops in its pupils an understanding of Judaism, its teachings and practices, and of the history and achievements of mankind. Our goal is to nurture principled, enquiring and confident young adults who will enjoy fulfilling Jewish lives, during which they will contribute to the advancement of society as a whole. Each year we admit up to 60 boys and girls in year 7 and organise them into four tutor groups, two for the boys and two for the girls. Teaching is co-educational except for PE and Drama and by the end of year 7 pupils are placed in teaching groups appropriate for their ability in English, Maths, JS and Ivrit. New pupils arrive from Jewish schools, Prep-schools and Independant schools across years 8 and 9 until there are about 80 pupils in GCSE years 10 and 11 divided into many small teaching groups. Immanuel life is an extension of much that gives meaning and purpose to the family life of our pupils. Immanuel pupils feel at home in a school in which Tefillah - prayer - and Jewish learning are daily experiences, in which the highlights of the year include Hanukah, Purim and Yom Ha'azmaut and in which the significance of their bar and bat mitzvoth is promoted and actively encouraged, as is their development into loyal and well-informed Jewish adults. They experience a powerful degree of ownership of their school and their feelings of security and belonging are strengthened by the help and guidance offered by a very attentive pastoral system. Our pupils' success personally and academically reflects the extent to which they feel secure and valued at their school. We look for and identify the areas in which our pupils possess strengths. One of our articles of faith is that each of our pupils should experience success, both its recognition and its enjoyment. This is why in the past three years PE at GCSE and A Level, Drama throughout the school, Spanish at GCSE and A Level, Triple Science at GCSE and Sociology, History of Art, Psychology and Photography at A Level have been added to our curriculum. We believe that our four major educational journeys to York, Strasbourg, Israel and Poland, in which every pupil takes part, also offer opportunities for the development of personal confidence, as do the wide range of opportunities in Sports, Music and Drama and for voluntary service and Zedakah offered by the College. Another article of the Immanuel College faith is that Jewish and secular learning shed light on one another, that the study of each is deepened and appreciated by study of the other, and that the life of the mind and spirit should not be compartmentalised but embraced. The largely text-based Jewish Studies teaching at Immanuel is stimulating and challenging; the Beit Midrash Programme enables pupils explore additional texts more deeply and to engage in searching discussion of spiritual and ethical issues, and the month-long Year 9 Israel trip together with the high proportion of our leavers who spend a gap year in Israel before starting higher education, are evidence of our inextricable links with Judaism and Israel.