Immanuel College, Bushey

Caldecote Towers, Immanuel College

Immanuel College (formally named The Charles Kalms – Henry Ronson Immanuel College) was founded by Lord Jakobovits in 1990. His vision was of an educational establishment that would affirm Orthodox Jewish values and provide secular education. The college aims to create in pupils "an integrated personality whose Jewish identity is knowledgeable, secure and proud, as a spur to achievement and responsibility, and as a challenge to exemplary citizenship in a pluralist society".[4]

A report by The Sutton Trust placed Immanuel College in the top 2% of schools nationally in terms of its students' success in gaining admission to the 13 most competitive research universities.[5]

The school's programs include annual trips to Israel, Poland, Amsterdam, North France, Strasbourg, and Madrid; a charity committee ('Shevet Achim'), which organises fundraising activities, for instance in 2017 primarily raising money for ACE (an education charity in Uganda) Save a Child's Heart (based in Israel), and Hatzalah (an ambulance organisation in North London); and a social-action community service programme. In January 2018, a trip was organised for the first time for students to visit the tikva orphanage in Odessa, Ukraine. Shevet Achim yearly elects three charities to raise money for, through the tuck shop run by year 10 and 11 students, the Chanukah fair, as well as other fundraising events such as an Open Mic Night.

View of Caldecote Towers from the Rose Garden

The school is situated on the 11-acre grounds of Caldecote Towers, adjacent to a Dominican convent, and on the former site of the Rosary Priory Catholic girls' school.[6] Caldecote Towers primarily serves as a sixth-form and staff building, accommodating the Head Master's and Deputy Head Master's studies, the bursary, the senior combination room and the art and music departments.

Built around 1870, Caldecote Towers was for a time home of Sir Robert Leicester Harmsworth, MP for Caithness. It became a convent in the early 20th century before becoming a girls' school. The exterior of the Towers was used in many film and television productions from the 1960s onwards, chiefly due to its relative proximity to Elstree Studios. It featured in the 1960s TV series The Avengers, The Baron and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) amongst others, and as the mansion of Dr Phibes' in the movie The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971). It also was used in the Tom Selleck movie High Road to China (1983).

The school offers public examinations in Years 10 and 11 (GCSE and the International GCSE) and in the Sixth Form (AS and A Level and International A levels). The EPQ qualification is commonly done in sixth form, and increasingly by those in the lower years as well.

Immanuel College underwent an inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in March 2010. The inspectors noted that "standards are excellent" and that pupils' results at GCSE "are high in comparison with all maintained schools; at A level they are high in comparison with maintained selective schools".[4] They also observed that throughout the school "pupils make excellent progress in relation to their above average ability, showing an exceptional grasp of Jewish language, culture, faith and practice, in addition to achieving success in examinations across the secular curriculum."[4]

The report states that "a high proportion of excellent teaching was seen"[4] and highlights the "excellent quality of pastoral care", where "each individual is cared for and valued equally".[4] The inspection team comments on how 'the outstanding support and guidance that the pupils receive is rooted in the excellent relationships between all at the school', and states that "the school is quietly but outstandingly led".[4]

The Independent Schools Inspectorate inspected Immanuel College in May 2006 and the key findings of its report are:

• 'The standard of pupils' learning is high for both boys and girls throughout the ability range.' (Section 2.10)
• 'Throughout the school pupils develop an excellent level of spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness.' (Section 2.22)
• 'The quality of teaching is good and much of it is outstanding.' (Section 2.29)
• 'The overall quality of pastoral care and the welfare, health and safety of pupils are outstanding' and members of staff 'care devotedly for pupils' well-being and development.' (Section 3.1)
• 'The quality of leadership and management is outstanding.' (Section 4.5)

The inspectors' overall conclusion was that 'the school is entirely successful in meeting its aims and aspirations' (section 5.1), and that 'the school has no major weaknesses and so, as at the last inspection, there are no significant measures it needs to take that are not already in its plans' (section 5.3).

• Denis Felsenstein (1990–1995), Head Master
• Myrna Jacobs (1995–2000), Head Mistress
• Philip Skelker (2000–2012), Head Master
• Charles Dormer (2012–2017), Head Master
• Gary Griffin (2017–), Head Master

• Immanuel College official website
• www.hmc.org.uk
• www.shmis.org.uk