JFS invites former pupils back to school

Since JFS was founded in 1732, tens of thousands of pupils have spent time in its hallowed halls.

Now, its leaders are hoping to bring many of them back together as it relaunches its alumni network.

On June 8, the school will be holding the first of a number of school reunions. The inaugural one is for people who attended the school between 1958 and 1967. Another one is planned in November for ex-pupils who attended from 1968 to 1975.

An old JFS school photo (Photo: JFS)[Missing Credit]

Natalie Joseph, director of fundraising at the school, said: “JFS is approaching its 300th anniversary in 2032. As the oldest and biggest Jewish school in Europe, it has educated thousands and thousands of people.

“It feels like there is no such thing as ‘six degrees of separation’ when it comes to JFS. It’s more like one or two. Everyone in the community has a link to the school, which has been a cornerstone of British Jewish life for three centuries.”

Joseph said that while fundraising for the school was not the main objective, “we would love alumni to consider supporting the school financially so that we are able to continue giving students the same experiences that our alumni had”.

As important was the social element of the alumni community, she said. “We hope that through the network, we will reconnect people with one another, enable them to make new friends and also bring them back to the place which made them who they are today.”

JFS was set up in 1732 as the Jews’ Free School in London’s East End. It was a small charity institution for orphaned boys.

According to the National Archives, between 1880 and 1900, one third of all London's Jewish children attended the school, and by 1900, it had around 4,000 pupils and was the largest Jewish school in Europe. Notable former pupils include comedian Bud Flanagan and the novelist Israel Zangwill.

The old JFS Camden school (Photo: JFS)[Missing Credit]

After relocating to Ely during the war, it reopened as JFS Comprehensive in Camden in 1958, before moving to its current site in Kingsbury in 2002.

Joseph said that a newly established alumni network would also show current JFS pupils “where they could end up” and hoped that alumni would contribute to school life by mentoring pupils, giving talks on their profession or having a stall at the JFS careers fair. The school is also planning to relaunch its alumni magazine.

“If you look at what some of the alumni are doing in the community or outside of it, whether that’s in the UK or abroad, it’s incredible,” she said.

Former JFS pupils (Photo: JFS)[Missing Credit]

It is not uncommon to find families where three or more generations have a connection to JFS. “We had a grandparents’ tea recently, and there was a couple in their 80s, who met at the school and now have grandchildren there,” said Joseph.

Richard Kafton, 68, a former JFS pupil from the class of 75 and whose three children also went to the school, told the JC: “There is a great sense of camaraderie between JFS alumni, with good memories of happy times at the school.”

Among these were the times when “all the naughty boys, myself included, would meet up at lunchtime for a cigarette in the toilets behind the music room. I could never understand how the teachers didn’t discover us.”

Kafton, from Finchley, who has been on the board of the JFS Charitable Trust for 22 years, is arranging the reunion on November 6, which he hopes will also include a handful of former teachers.

Former JFS pupil Richard Kafton (Photo: Richard Kafton)[Missing Credit]

Urging other ex-students to come along, he said: “An alumni network is important as it maintains the unity that you developed with your school friends in later life and also allows you to pass on the benefit of your own school experiences to later generations of students at the school.”

To join JFS’ alumni network, click here or go to: https://www.jfs.brent.sch.uk/jfs-alumni

To attend the first reunion on June 8 for ex-pupils who were at the school from 1958 and no later than 1967, click here or go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jfs-alumni-reunion-1958-1967-tickets-1330201782339?aff=oddtdtcreator

A later booking link will be available for the November reunion