In the article ‘Campaign for Jewish primary school draws one step closer’ (www.borehamwoodtimes.co.uk, June 5), Mr Landsman (of Edgware), one of the two people submitting the application for the LL Primary School, stated that the Jewish ethos of the school is justified because 33.3 per cent of the community in Borehamwood is Jewish. However, as the 2011 census proves, this figure is grossly incorrect.

In Hertsmere as a whole, 14.3 per cent of the population is identified as Jewish. This is not even close to the figure quoted by Mr Landsman. But what about Borehamwood alone, could this have a significantly higher Jewish population than the rest of the borough? The answer, unsurprisingly, is: no. Rather, the gulf becomes even greater. The figures for the Jewish population in the individual wards in Borehamwood are as follows: l Borehamwood Brookmeadow: 18 per cent (1,429 residents out of 7,928 population) l Borehamwood Cowley Hill: 6 per cent (505 / 8,439) l Borehamwood Hillside: 13.6 per cent (1,319 / 9682) l Borehamwood Kenilworth: 11.1 per cent (657 / 5,906) Using these figures (which are freely available online) it is possible to calculate a definitive statistic, which reveals that only 12 per cent (3,910 of 31,955) of people from Borehamwood identified as Jewish in the 2011 census. 33.3 per cent is therefore a gross exaggeration.

The calculation changes somewhat if you include the figures from Elstree. 36 per cent (1,840 / 5,110) of Elstree identified as Jewish. This means that 15.5 per cent (5,750/37,065) of the population of Elstree & Borehamwood identified as Jewish. This remains nowhere near the 33.3 per cent claimed by Mr Landsman. Moreover, he specifically referred to Borehamwood, so 12 per cent is the relevant figure.

So, let us correct the apparent mistake in Mr Landsman’s statement so that it now reads: “The proposed primary school for Borehamwood has got a Jewish ethos because 12 per cent of the community in Borehamwood are Jewish.”

Can it really be argued that Borehamwood needs a school with a Jewish ethos because 12 per cent of the population identify with that faith? What about the other 88 per cent of the population? I suspect that Mr Landsman and co will regurgitate the claim that 50 per cent of places at the LL Primary School will be available to children of other faiths. However, this would be a wholly unsatisfactory argument. The operative word here is ‘available’. Clearly, 50 per cent of the places are not available to other faiths, which means half of places at the proposed LL Primary School will be reserved solely for 12 per cent of the population (which is not to say that it would even be justified to reserve them for 33.3 per cent either). Moreover, I think it would be wishful thinking in the extreme to imagine that the remaining 50 per cent of places will all go to other faiths.

If the LL Primary School gets the go ahead, 88 per cent of the population of Borehamwood will have been neglected in favour of 12 per cent. Moreover, Borehamwood will be getting a school run by people who have produced a worryingly skewed figure.

Of course, I stand to be corrected if Mr Landsman and Mr Lewis can demonstrate how they made their calculation, although 33.3 per cent still does not justify a single-faith ethos. If Mr Landsman cannot justify his claim, may I request that the Borehamwood & Elstree Times update the online version of the relevant articles to show that the quoted figure is incorrect and misleading?

If Borehamwood needs a new primary school, the statistics suggest that the town needs a school with a multi-faith ethos; one that does not promote any single religion; and one whose admissions policy does not discriminate.

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