The (Avigdor Hirsch) Torah Temimah Primary School, located in the former Dollis Hill Synagogue, is a one form entry Voluntary Aided maintained primary school in the London Borough of Brent. It is a strictly Orthodox Jewish single-sex primary school for up to 204 boys aged 3–11. The school includes a Nursery.
History
The school was opened in 1989 when a group of parents found that local Jewish schools in north west London were becoming overcrowded, and who in addition wanted a school that aligned to the style of education that they wished for their children - a single-sex boys' school with: orthodox Jewish practice; pre-eminence given to a high standard of Jewish Torah studies; moral, spiritual and personal development of pupils to high standards; and a broad secular education to a high standard (including the UK National Curriculum) compatible with orthodox Jewish values. Its first premises was in Golders Green before moving to Woodside Park Synagogue. Having outgrown the Synagogue premises, in 1996 the school moved to permanent accommodation in what was formerly the Dollis Hill Synagogue, which the school purchased from the United Synagogue in 1995 for £360,000.
Originally called just Torah Temimah Primary School, the school name was changed to Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School when the new building was dedicated in memory of the late Avigdor Hirsch, whose family made a donation to the school for this purpose. It is still known as Torah Temimah for most practical purposes but is sometimes listed as Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah in official documents and other sources. "Torah Temimah" means "perfect Torah" in Hebrew and the name is taken from Psalms 19:8. The school is sometimes mistakenly confused with the former Avigdor Primary School, also an orthodox Jewish Voluntary Aided primary school, in the Stamford Hill area of the London Borough of Hackney, which closed in 2005; there was never any connection between the two schools (although a former Headteacher of Torah Temimah, Rabbi Yitzchak Freeman, was also a former Headteacher [2003-2005] of Avigdor Primary School).
The school became voluntary-aided (VA) in the London Borough of Brent in April 2000. Rabbi Ephraim Klyne was appointed as Principal and Head Teacher in 1989 and remained in this post until September 2002 when he was promoted to the position of Menahel (Principal) with responsibility for the religious ethos and direction of the school. In September 2002, Anthony Wolfson was appointed Headteacher, a post he held for eight years. Wolfson left in July 2010 to take up another headship and was succeeded by Rabbi Yitzchak Freeman, previously Head at Kisharon. In August 2021, Rabbi Freeman retired and was succeeded as Headteacher by Michael Coleman.
Achievements and standards
Ofsted graded the school as Good in 2007, 2010, November 2011, September 2016 and October 2021. The majority of students achieve above-average levels in SATs.
Architecture of the building
(This section includes information taken from: Constructing Identity: Anglo-Jewry and Synagogue Architecture by Sharman Kadish, Architectural History Vol. 45 (2002) pp. 386–408; Diary of Dollis Hill 1929-1996, published in pamphlet form by Michael Brooke in 1996 to mark the rededication of the building as the Torah Temimah Primary School; and the Wikipedia entry for Dollis Hill Synagogue. There are a small number of mostly minor discrepancies in certain historical, technical and chronological details between these sources.)
The school occupies the building and site of the former Dollis Hill Synagogue. The Dollis Hill Jewish community had its origins, like other suburban London Jewish communities, in the emigration of families from the Whitechapel and neighbouring areas of London's East End to the more affluent suburbs in the 1920s. An organized Jewish community was formally constituted locally in 1929, and included families from what became the Willesden, Cricklewood and Neasden synagogues. For the first few years, services were held in a number of temporary rented rooms and halls. A separate Dollis Hill Hebrew Congregation was formed in 1933 and affiliated to the United Synagogue. This congregation also used a number of temporary premises for some years. The fledgling Dollis Hill Hebrew Congregation leased surplus railway land from the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company in 1933 and held services in a building on the area of what is now the school playground. The site freehold was acquired from the railway company, together with some adjoining land, for £980 in 1937.