A HIGH-ACHIEVING faith school is celebrating its 15th anniversary teaching generations of Jewish children in Redbridge.

King Solomon High, in Forest Road, Barkingside, first opened its gates in 1993 in response to calls from families to cater for the borough’s large Jewish population.

Festivities were also accompanied by events marking Israeli Independence Day and Yom Hazikaron, which commemorates soldiers who have died fighting for Israel.

Headteacher Spencer Lewis said he was delighted with the efforts of staff and pupils at King Solomon through its history.

He said: “the school has gone from strength to strength. We are in the top 25 per cent of schools in the country with excellent results at both GCSE and at A Level.

“King Solomon is the pride of the local Jewish community and is at the heart of its activities.”

Celebrations last week included a special dinner, a fair and a Eurovision-style song contest for year seven pupils.

Students in years seven and eight also wrote down their “wishes for Israel” before attaching them to helium-filled balloons which were released into the atmosphere last Wednesday.

Teacher and organiser of the spectacle, Melanie Shutz, said: “It’s been amazing. We put the school’s email address on the balloons and we’ve already had three responses from Epping, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.”

Ex-pupil Robert Sands, 20, who is currently studying medicine at UCL, said: “For everyone involved with the school it’s fantastic to have reached this landmark.

“I’m so glad I went there, I wouldn’t be where I am today without the hard work from my teachers.”

However recent weeks have seen fears raised of a lack of applications for next year's school year, but Mr Lewis said he was “confident” the places would be filled come September.

He added: “Our admissions process is ongoing and we look forward to another excellent year in 2009-2010.

"It is true that the local Jewish community is not as large as it once was but the school is strong and vibrant and I am delighted to say very popular indeed amongst almost all of the local Jewish community and beyond.

“There may be a few spaces empty come September but it is impossible to predict this at the moment.”