Immanuel College Appoints a new Chair of Governors

Monday, 1st February 2010

Dr Sara Levene, the new Chair of Governors at Immanuel College, has first-hand knowledge of the benefits of an Immanuel education. Dr Levene’s daughter, Dodie, now studying Medicine at Imperial College after a year in seminary in Jerusalem, was Immanuel’s Head Girl in the academic year 2007/08. Her son, Harry, is in Year 11 and sits his GCSE examinations this summer.

Dr Levene is a doctor who studied at Cambridge. She specialised in paediatrics and was for many years adviser to the Child Accident Prevention Trust and the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths. She also worked in the UK and Europe on safety standards and product safety. She is currently a Medical and Special Needs recruitment adviser for the Metropolitan Police.

Dr Levene, previously a governor of the Hasmonean Primary School, has been involved in the Association of United Synagogue Women and is currently on the committee of the Jewish Police Association.

Dr Levene fits the role of Chair of Governors in three important respects. She is an orthodox Jew, who has achieved highly academically and has long been involved in the care of children. She values Immanuel because “at an orthodox Jewish school, Jewish children are able to fit in, find suitable friends and develop their knowledge of and attachment to Judaism.” She describes Immanuel College as a school “able to support academic high achievers shown by the pupils’s success in attaining excellent exam results and gaining places on demanding courses.”  As a doctor, she is part of a caring profession: “Immanuel’s achievement arises because the school knows about every child, builds on their strengths and provides unrivalled pastoral support.”

Her plans for the future of Immanuel College include the building of a new classroom block and a remodelled Beit Midrash, which will provide better facilities for Jewish Studies for pupils of all levels of Jewish knowledge. Dr Levene expects Immanuel College to offer pupils a wider range of examinations than just GCSE and A Levels. Above all, she wants Immanuel “to carry on providing an excellent education in an environment that supports each individual pupil.”