URGENT HELP - girls high school

loveJudaism ↓

Yesterday at 12:30 pm

Hi mothers, I need your help.
I have a 15 year old daughter currently out of school (homeschooled) and we are trying to find a new school for her and are currently struggling. We are based in London and have not had good experiences with schools (reason for homeschool now), not enough that I don’t believe in the school system anymore as a whole but also was very put off due to a lot of girls in the schools today are judgemental, pokey and not observant which is very off putting for a baalei teshuva.
She is already behind in Jewish studies since she did not attend a Jewish school previously but let alone her time was very unpleasant, she didn’t enjoy anything.
The schools in London are either secular, modox (which is closer to being secular) or too charedi. She thinks like a charedi but her appearance doesn’t match, she is 100% obersvant, doesn’t swear, doesn’t have social media, doesn’t watch films, wears 100% tznuit but has dyed hair and few ear piercings, its very hard to fit into a box.
We were thinking of moving to RBS but didn’t know if it was the right place for us, we don’t have any help or guidance/adviser and we don’t know what school she’d like there. Most that we contact are telling us to wait until we get to Israel.
All she really wants is to improve her social life, even a homeschooling group that could involve meet-ups would be nice.
Hope to see some responses.

amother

Dandelion

Yesterday at 1:23 pm

Hi-your daughter sounds like a a wonderful girl. Are you thinking of moving to the US? Or sending your daughter to board? When you say her hair is dyed, do you mean a color that could be natural, or like a bright color? A couple schools that come to mind are Yeshiva of Greater Washington in Silver Spring, MD and Shaarei Torah in Richmond, VA. Both are more open minded, with a mix of girls from a range of backgrounds. YGW is small but it's bigger than Shaarei Torah and has much more resources, and they take a small number of boarders in each grade, who stay with families. Shaarei Torah has a dorm, but girls in the dorm will probably all have more exposure, social media, movies etc. than the local girls who mostly don't. So I'm not sure if the dorm is the right fit for your daughter but she may be able to board with a family. Both schools should be OK with natural or natural-ish dyed hair and probably some extra studs in her ears if they are small (if not she could take them out for school--they for sure won't hold it against her that she has extra holes) and most importantly both have an appreciation and respect for baalei teshuva families. Hatzlacha!!!

amother

NeonYellow

Yesterday at 1:42 pm

Have you looked into hasmonean? The school offers a great curriculum in kodesh and chol. There is a range of girls but I believe every year has a crowd of frum girls who take halacha seriously. Ear piercings wouldn't be seen as odd although she might not be allowed the earings in school. And I'm not sure what you mean by dyed hair. If it's blue or pink then no, but if its dyed a natural colour I don't see it being an issue

Brit in Israel

Yesterday at 1:43 pm

amother Dandelion wrote:

OP wrote RBS - I assume they plan to move to Israel.
OP - edit your subject to add location - write Israel or RBS if you are set to that area

amother

Chestnut

Yesterday at 1:46 pm

amother NeonYellow wrote:

before I saw she wrote RBS schools Hasmonean came to my mind.
my neice is there and she is from a chareidi home, for medical reasons she couldn't go to Menorah like her siblings. She is doing do well there. doesnt have social media etc

↑ loveJudaism ↓

Yesterday at 3:31 pm

amother Dandelion wrote:

Thank you for your reply, we arent thinking of moving to the US or sending her abroad. Due to COVID and not such a great school experience so far she hasnt had much experience in going out alone or with friends so she wouldnt have the confidence to do that. I appreciate it though

Last edited by loveJudaism on Mon, Jan 13 2025, 3:37 pm; edited 1 time in total

↑ loveJudaism ↓

Yesterday at 3:33 pm

amother NeonYellow wrote:

No no obviously not blue or pink LOL

just some blonde highlights and the ear piercings are barely noticeable or she could hide them if necessary, thanks for getting back to me

↑ loveJudaism ↓

Yesterday at 3:36 pm

amother Chestnut wrote:

Good to know, how old is she?

↑ loveJudaism ↓

Yesterday at 3:41 pm

amother Opal wrote:

My first vote would be Hasmo too. Great school, great education, real mix of girls and families.
Most places in Israel are also quite polarised. I'm not sure you'll find the mix you're looking for.

Do you know anyone who goes there, or your kids? If yes how old are they and how are they doing?

Thanks for getting back to me

tree of life ↓

Yesterday at 4:52 pm

loveJudaism wrote:

Hi I live in rbs happy to guide you I have a teenager to

↑ loveJudaism ↓

Yesterday at 5:10 pm

tree of life wrote:

Hi I live in rbs happy to guide you I have a teenager to

Hi, thanks for getting back to me. It’s not a plan to move there but an idea, still undecided. Just wanted to know like any good schools there for English speakers, doesn’t have to be particularly an English school, could be few English speakers in a Hebrew school. But In general, is beit shemesh different to other parts of Israel? Does it have the Israeli mentality? Is it a noisy place? Is there girls who are frum because I’ve heard that even BY girls are not that frum and I see a lot on TikTok so it worries and intimidates me? Would you say the place is expensive as a whole like groceries, housing, travelling? Would I be able to find an orthodontist over there who could help mid treatment? Overall hows the places in your opinion?