A headteacher has been appointed for the Jewish Community Secondary School (JCoSS) due to open in East Barnet next year.

Jeremy Stowe-Lindner, 35, who was assistant headteacher between 2002 and 2005 at Copthall School, in Pursley Road, Mill Hill, was selected out of a shortlist of ten candidates.

He is currently deputy headteacher at Swakeleys Secondary School in Hillingdon and will take up his new post this autumn.

Commenting on Mr Stowe-Lindner’s appointment, Mike Grabiner, vice-chairman of the school’s governors, who also led the recruitment process, said: “We thought he was outstanding in pretty much all respects. He had a very good track record and experience and very good communications and leadership skills.

“The headteacher is crucial to the success of any new school and I have no doubt whatsoever that Jeremy shares the governors’ vision of quality schooling and excellence for all and, more importantly, has the skills and experience necessary to deliver it.

“JCoSS is a unique school taking on Jews from all backgrounds.”

Swakeleys was recently identified by the Department for Children, Schools and Families as one of London’s most improved schools, based on the number of pupils achieving five A* to C grades in the 2006/7 academic year.

Apart from his duties as deputy headteacher, a position which he has held since 2006, Mr Stowe-Lindner teaches religious education.

The school, in Clifton Gardens, received an outstanding grade for this subject in its most recent Ofsted inspection.

Mr Stowe-Lindner said: “I am thrilled and honoured to have been given this opportunity.

“JCoSS is an incredible project and, I believe, is central to the continuing vibrancy of the UK’s Jewish community.

“But to achieve its goals, it must first offer a quality of education second to none with the very high- est standard of academic results. That is what I am determined to achieve.”

Mr Stowe-Lindner holds an MBA in educational management from Leicester University, as well as a National Professional Qualification for Headship and qualified as a history teacher.

He has also worked with autistic children at the Richard Oastler Special School in Leeds.

Mr Grabiner describes him as being deeply involved with the Jewish community. He is chairman of the charity UJIA’s social responsibility committee which co-ordinates social action across the Jewish community and works with all the main Jewish youth movements.

He is also a trustee of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, based in Golders Green, and has lectured at Limmud, a Jewish educational organisation which runs conferences across the UK.

JCoSS will open in September next year. Applications for its first intake of Year 7 pupils need to be submitted before October this year.

For more information on the school, visit jcoss.org