Immanuel College, Bushey

If you want your child taught Jewish and secular subjects to the same standard in the same place, that is what Immanuel College was built to do. It is an independent, co-educational, modern Orthodox Jewish day school in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on the northern edge of London, taking pupils at eleven into Year 7 and again at sixth form. It is academically selective. The entrance assessment is four papers set by GL Assessment, sat at the school on a morning in late November, followed by an interview, and a Certificate of Religious Practice forms part of the application.

The school opened in 1990. It was the project of the then Chief Rabbi, Lord Jakobovits, who wanted a Jewish day school that could stand comparison with the long-established independent schools, and it was paid for by two families whose names are still in its formal title. His two maxims, 'Let my people know' and 'Let my people grow', are still the frame the school uses to describe itself. It sits on eleven acres around Caldecote Towers, a listed Victorian mansion.

Jewish Studies is timetabled through Years 7 to 9 as a subject with real content, from the laws of kashrut to Talmud for those who want it, and prayer is taught as a skill, with pupils learning to lead services rather than only attend them. The school year follows the Jewish calendar, and there are trips to Israel and to Poland. The Good Schools Guide describes 'an excellent Modern Orthodox education, producing confident, fulfilled young people in a family atmosphere'. It is a small school of around 340, so a child will be noticed either way. It suits a family who want both halves of the education taken seriously.