| AdminHistory | According to a speech made during the Banquet celebrating the opening of the Hebrew School, the school came into existence when several members of the Congregation, including the businessman David Barnett 'were led to reflect on the forlorn and neglected condition of the children of our faith, whom they had noticed idling about the streets of this busy town.' (Levine, p. 39). They decided to donate ten pounds each to establish a school, and called a special meeting which included prominent members of the Synagogue. At this meeting, held in November 1840, the synagogue agreed to give £25 a year to the school and granted the use of the vestry of the synagogue, then in Severn St, for 5 years.
By November 1841, there were over 70 pupils at the school, the boys being taught from nine until twelve and from two until five o'clock daily, except on Wednesday afternoons, when the girls were taught Hebrew.
In August 1843, land for a new school was purchased in Lower Hurst St, and the foundation stone of the school was laid by Sir Moses Montefiore. This event was widely reported in the press and celebrated at a dinner which was attended by many prominent people in the town, including Wesleyan, Unitarian, and Roman Catholic clergy.
According to its Laws, which were published in 1844, the school was established 'for the study of the Hebrew language and literature, of the classics, mathematics, French, English, writing, arithmetic, and all the usual subjects embraced under the head of a commercial education.' Boys had to be over five years of age to attend; girls, who were only given religious instruction for two half days per week, attended from the age of six. There were three masters: the headmaster, who had to be Jewish, with a knowledge of both Hebrew and secular subjects; the second master, who had to be able 'to impart a sound classical and English commercial education' and the third master, who was required to teach the junior classes the 'rudiments of Hebrew and English'. The headmaster was paid £180 a year and the second master £80 a year. The staffing was the same in the 1850s: In the 1850s, 'The teaching was on the so-called 'simultaneous system', i.e. the Headmaster taught the Upper class, the other master the second class, while both jointly supervised the third class; although the rules allowed for a third master one was not apparently appointed.' (Newman)
The school was funded by subscription; subscribers included the Synagogue, NM Rothschild and Sons, and over 70 individuals from all over England. Some of the children paid fees; in 1840, the school charged 1/- a week for boys and 6d for girls, but children could also be admitted free by application to the School Committee.
The School Committee had thirteen members, six of whom retired annually in rotation. The Committee elected a President, Treasurer, and Secretary, and every subscriber paying two guineas was eligible for election. It dealt with all aspects of the school's management including financial affairs, the employment of staff, admissions, disciplinary action, organizing the annual examinations and prize giving, maintenance and repair of the school buildings.
In 1848, management of the school was transferred to the Birmingham Hebrew Congregation and the school was managed by a committee made up of six elected subscribers and the Synagogue Council.
In 1853, a branch school was set up to give instruction to girls and junior boys. Girls, who had been taught only Hebrew before this, were now able to learn reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, geography, grammar, history, and needlework.
Although the school had a good reputation in the 1840s, by the 1850s, it had deteriorated. In the 1860s, it was revived, following the appointment of new staff, the building of a new school room in 1863, and the introduction of a new Code of Laws in 1859.
The new Laws stated that the school was to be managed by a Committee of 24: twelve elected by the Synagogue Council and twelve by the Birmingham Hebrew Educational Aid Society (see MS 2539 and MS 1678) Every week, 3 members of the committee would visit the school and enter comments in the Visitors' Books, which date from 1860.
A new school structure was set up, which divided the school into three: the Upper School for fee-paying boys; the Lower School for free boys or boys who paid 3d per week; and a third school for girls which ran on the same terms as the boys. From this time, girls were separated from boys. The Upper School took boys from the free school if they showed 'good conduct and progress in studies'. The Hebrew Educational Aid Society paid their fees. Free places at the school were advertised on the door of the synagogue and the children and their parents had to appear before the School Committee, who would vote on each candidate.
In the 1840s, the school attracted children from all social classes in the city, but by the 1860s it was seen as a charity school for the poor. Wealthier Jewish families sent their children to non-Jewish schools such as King Edward's School and provided religious education at home.
In 1867, the school was put under government inspection and received a grant. From this time, it was regularly inspected. Summaries of the Inspector's Reports appear in the school Log Books, which survive from 1867 onwards. Fees were altered so that the pupils paid weekly amounts varying from a penny to six pence a week, according to the means of the parents. During this time, an extra boys' class was set up, the schools were opened for another half day per week and average attendance increased from 130 to 206.
The character of the school did not change until the end of the Second World War. It was still looked upon as a charity school for the poor. The School Treat was a popular tradition at the school which began in 1897 and is frequently mentioned in Log Books and minutes. In the summer, the school went on an outing to Sutton Park, while in the winter, the Director of the Alexandra Theatre invited them to a special matinee of the Christmas pantomime.
In 1903, following the Balfour Education Act of 1902, the School Committee's attendance book shows that the Committee was replaced by two committees: the Hebrew and Religious Instruction Committee (see JA/1/C/2) and the Foundation Managers' Committee (see JA/1/C/5). The Foundation Managers are appointed by Council, with the Chief Minister as an ex-officio member. The number of managers is determined by the Education Act currently in force. The Congregation still elects Foundation Managers of the King David School.
Until 1904, the Headmaster of the school was also the Secretary to the Congregation.
A School Properties Committee, responsible for maintenance of the school buildings, was set up in 1953 and lasted until 1973, when the Buildings Committee took over its work (see JA/1/E).
School buildings
From 1840-1843, the school was held in the vestry of Severn St synagogue. The first school building was in Lower Hurst St. Its foundation stone was laid by Sir Moses Montefiore in 1843 and was celebrated with an official dinner. In 1856, the school moved to a building next to the new Singers Hill Synagogue. Another building, the New Infant School, was built in 1899 at the corner of Blucher St and Gough St, using money left to the Congregation by Albert Bremer. It opened on 7 September 1901. 'The 'big' school attached to the Synagogue consisted, on the ground floor, of a large hall divided into three classrooms by flimsy curtains (Birmingham Jewry vol II, p. 141)
In the 1930s, as part of the Communal Scheme rebuilding project, the Congregation's offices and school buildings were remodelled. A new school was built on a site at St Luke's Road, opening on 1 May 1932. The old school building next to the Synagogue, which became known as 'the Communal Hall', was used as an assembly hall and as offices for the Congregation. The Communal Hall was later renamed the Joseph Cohen Hall.
In 1966, the school moved to a new building in Moseley and was renamed the King David School.
The King David School web site address is http://www.kingdavid.bham.sch.uk/
Information from Zoe Josephs, 'Birmingham Jewry. Volume II', published Birmingham (1984), pp. 129-141. |