Hayes Certified Industrial School for Jewish Boys Finnart House School

Hayes Certified Industrial School for Jewish Boys Finnart House School

Finnart House School, originally known as the Hayes Certified Industrial School for Jewish Boys, was opened in February 1901. Prior to this date there had been no specifically Jewish institution for the education and training of abandoned or problematic boys. The East London Industrial School at Lewisham had accepted some Jewish pupils, but had become less willing to do so by the turn of the century and so the establishment of a suitable school became a pressing concern for the Visitation Committee of the United Synagogue. Support came from the Rothschild family, which was instrumental to the foundation of the school in Hayes, Middlesex. The school was certified by the Secretary of State to receive 60 boys, although this number quickly became insufficient and an extension to the building was built in 1909. By 1918 the school held 128 boys.

However, from 1920 onwards, despite the educational success of the school, the number of pupils progressively declined. This decline was due to the fact that fewer Jewish boys were committed to the school by the courts, which was in part a consequence of legislative changes brought about by the Criminal Justice Act (1925) and the Children and Young Persons Act (1933). It became obvious during the 1930s that the Hayes School was too large for their needs, and a decision was made to remove entirely from the rapidly industrialising area. The old school building was let to the Middlesex County Council to be used as a Senior Approved School, and in 1937 the former Hayes School was reopened at Finnart House, Oatlands Drive in Weybridge, Sussex.

After the move numbers in the school continued to decline, and it was no longer considered a reasonable demand on public funds to maintain a specifically Jewish Approved Junior School. As a consequence a decision was made at the end of the 1930s to admit Church of England boys along side any Jewish boys still referred to the school.

Finnart House School was closed in the 1970s when the running of such institutions was passed into the hands of Local Authorities. The issue of who should benefit from the sale of the school and grounds eventually made its way, as a test case, to the House of Lords. Ultimately a trust was set up for the aid of underprivileged Jewish children.