By Paul Harris
THREE storeys above the King David Schools’
complex in Wilton Polygon, I peered down at the
familiar entrance to the infant department topped by
its star of David-shaped window.
I recalled my last day at KD Primary School 48 years
earlier and a picture taken with friends on those
very steps which now are part of a building site
with all the attendant paraphernalia.
Today, that building — along with the newer High
School and Junior sections – will host their final
assemblies nearly 60 years after the former Derby
Street Jews’ School transferred to the site.
But it’s a case of out with the old and in with the
new as pupils and parents and those passing KD over
the last year will already know.
Like a huge steel grey aircraft carrier, King
David Schools’ new £22m building has slowly risen
from the centre of the campus, surrounded by the
old.
And the Jewish Telegraph was this week given the
first guided tour of this magnificent edifice.
Attempting to do justice in print to the 70
something rooms in the new school is rather like
trying to describe a magnificent work of art without
the benefit of seeing the real thing.
This is a 100,000 square feet state-of-the-art
school.
It is the near fulfilment of a two decade dream
for its progenitor Joshua Rowe and his wife
Michelle.
A broad beam spreads over his face as we later
wander round the old High School building and he
spots a table hastily set up in the hall for a
politics A Level tuition group, its members
struggling to hear themselves above the din of
fellow pupils making for post-lunch classes.
Perhaps this more than anything demonstrated for
me the real need for the new building, with every
available corner occupied by some activity or
another or used for storage.
The real fulfilment of Joshua’s dream will come
the week after next when the children start to enter
their new surroundings.
The new KD is quite breathtaking. Pupils and
staff will be issued with booklets to help them find
their way round.
The first impression is of high-ceilinged rooms with
lots of natural light, wide corridors, comfortable
seating and attractive, restful colour schemes –
pale blue, grey and white mostly, yellow for the
science rooms and turquoise for the nursery.
There are fresh air inlets throughout and the
emphasis is on green technology with solar power
providing 10 per cent of KD’s requirements.
There are shared kitchens for high, junior and
infant departments with separate serveries opening
on to the two massive halls, measuring 600sq metres
and 400 sq metres respectively.
The former can also split with soundproofed
dividers into two smaller units.
The all-meat kitchens can provide 1,400
Manchester Beth Din-supervised meals each day.
There’s a magnificent 900 sq metre sports hall. That
together with the other two halls will be available
for hire to the community for sports events and
simchas and the school can also provide kosher
catering.
Mr Rowe envisages the possibility, too, of an
evening restaurant and takeaway.
Teachers are in for a treat with a huge staff
room which eventually may be expanded to three tiers
to allow them additional space.
They also have their own study room with PCs for
preparation.
All classrooms have interactive whiteboards and
are disabled friendly and there are lifts for staff
use and for the physically challenged.
But amid all the euphoria over the new building,
there is still a £2m shortfall.
The government-funded Building Schools for the
Future has provided £20m for the project
The governors must find the remainder and are
seeking donations from the community.
Mr Rowe told the Jewish Telegraph: “The school is
always short of money – about £200,000 to £600,000 a
year.
“At present this is met by the same, regular pool
of donors.
“We need to make this a community school. Not
just for Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool but
nationally.
“It’s a jewel in the crown.”
Already KD High attracts 80 pupils from Leeds and
10 from Liverpool.
“The High School provides education on a par with
the top grammar schools,” added Mr Rowe.
Running costs in the new premises will be lower
than previously because there they are more
efficient and there is less maintenance, but the
government will also cut its annual contribution by
half.
But Mr Rowe observes that while government
funding provides £4,000 annually per child as a
state aided school, private establishments charge
parents some £9,500 a year.
“We’re asking parents to contribute £1,500 a
year, including Hebrew tuition. At present only half
the High and Primary School parents make the
voluntary contribution.
“That amount also includes security and remember
we have four security guards and the buildings are
monitored round the clock.
“The governors and trustees have to cover 100 per
cent of the capital costs annually and these vary
quite wildly.”
Mr Rowe added: “All parents should contribute,
obviously though not those in dire financial
straits.
“But there are far too many who can afford it who
do not make their parental contributions.”
Some £160,000 towards the £2m target has already
been raised by various means before naming rights
for rooms and halls in the new building.
There are many such opportunities still
available, including the eight laboratories, CDT
rooms, the music section when it eventually
transfers fully from the old building, the one or
two computer rooms on each floor, the primary,
senior and sixth form libraries or the wonderfully
equipped food tech room which can accommodate up to
18 pupils.
Some £1.2m has been spent on new IT equipment alone.
In July next year Mr Rowe and his team, including
KD project manager Simon Rosenthal, Michelle
Phillips, co-chairman of the Junior School governors
and deputy head Hilary Edis, will probably breath a
collective sigh of relief when the entire project is
complete, all the demolition work is finished and
the grounds are landscaped.
Then, the pupils will have nearly three times the
current play area and as Mr Rowe observed: “They
have been just amazing. With all the upheaval, there
has been no bad behaviour.
“They are outstanding.”
Including some of the retained buildings, the new
site will occupy 100,000 sq feet.
Yavneh boys and girls will remain where they are
and the current administration block will eventually
become a drama suite.
KD is battling, too, to retain its swimming pool
and gymnasium.
Manchester City Council will no longer contribute
to its upkeep since it is deemed to have outlived
its useful life, which is disputed vehemently by Mr
Rowe.
But he is determined to retain the facility which
will have to be financed privately.
And finally on Sunday, July 24, 2011 the
community at large will have the opportunity to
celebrate KD’s opening with a giant barbecue in the
school grounds.
Meanwhile, Mr Rowe will have to be content today
with receiving the keys to the new building when it
is officially handed-over by the builders.
