Carmel College (Oxfordshire)

For other colleges of this name, see Carmel College (disambiguation).

Carmel College was a predominantly Jewish co-educational boarding school in England operating between 1948 and 1997. It was first situated at Greenham Common near Newbury and then at Mongewell Park near Wallingford, Oxfordshire. It was Europe's only Jewish boarding school. It also had a number pupils who were not of Jewish descent as day pupils.

Typical boarding fees in 1996 were £10,000 per school term. The selection process was competitive and applicants were required to sit entrance exams as well as demonstrate the ability to contribute to the school ethos and uphold core school values.

History

The school was founded in 1948 by the late Kopul Rosen. In June 1997, the school was closed mainly due to diminishing pupil numbers and financial difficulties having been seriously affected by the termination of government assisted places by the labour governement; the grounds were sold to property developers for an undisclosed sum. The sale was overturned by the Charity Commission, however, following significant pressure from parents and former students who claimed the land was undersold. The distinctive concrete synagogue, dining hall, and amphitheatre, designed by local architect Thomas Hancock, are Grade II listed buildings; the Julius Gottlieb gallery and boathouse, designed by Sir Basil Spence, is Grade II* listed.^{[citation needed]}

The Mansion House was an old manor house with particular significance. Agatha Christie (who lived nearby in Wallingford) used it as the basis for the mansion in her 1952 play The Mousetrap.^{[citation needed]} The Headmasters study was also the room used for the final briefing of the Dam busters who departed from nearby RAF Benson. The 2011 film, 'The Iron Lady' featured a scene where Margaret Thatcher is perfecting her prime-ministerial voice, which was shot on location within the Synagogue of Carmel College.

Location

The school grounds in Mongewell Park had the straightest run of the River Thames flowing through it, and Oxford University made full use of this during their preparation for the annual university boat race.

Structure

It was attended by children from the age of 11 until 18 — although earlier on there was a preparatory school which took children from around the age of 8. Later a girls school was built — about a mile from the main campus, although the buildings were never actually used for this purpose. Instead, it was turned into a junior school in the late 1960s for children up to the age of 13, when they then moved to the main school. Girls were later admitted into the main school, starting at the sixth form in the early 1970s. However there were daughters of teachers at the school even before this, including the youngest daughter of Carmel's founder Rabbi Kopul Rosen, who was a pupil in the late 1960s. The Junior school was closed down several years before Carmel closed, and the buildings sold.

Carmel and had several boarding houses, which changed regularly throughout the school's life. The final boarding houses were as follows:

• Mansion House — 1st, 2nd, 3rd year male.
• Ridgeway House — 4th & 5th year male.
• School House & Sherman House — L6 & U6 male.
• Newnham House — 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th year female.
• River Court — L6 & U6 female.

Earlier house names included Gilbert House, Montefiore House, Alexander House, Raleigh House and others.^{[citation needed]}

At the time the school closed, the headmaster was Philip Skelker.^{[citation needed]}

Notable people connected with Carmel College

• Roland Joffe, alumnus, English-French film director
• Sir Philip Green, British businessman, owner of the Arcadia Group
• Joshua Gabay, headmaster of Carmel College and Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party politician.
• de:Oliver Polak, German comedian
• Matthew Engel, journalist
• Katy Dee, author
• Jill Kenton radio presenter

See also

• Fridolin Friedmann

External links

• Carmel College website
• Hey Little Missy - From Neglect To Respect, Building A Bridge To A Better Life. Book of memoirs written by a former student,set in Carmel College, Wallingford.
• Seven Years at Carmel College
• Risky Buildings: Carmel College
• Photos of Carmel College in 2006
• We are not the only Jewish School - recollections of Jewish Schools