Hebrew University High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Hebrew University High School, commonly known as Leyada, is a six-year, secular, "experimental", academically-autonomous, semi-private secondary school. It is located next to the Hebrew University Givat-Ram campus in Jerusalem. Along with the Haifa "Reali" High School, it is considered one of the best high schools in Israel.
Founded in 1935 as "Beit-Hakerem High School", it soon established a unique methodology and syllabus, carefully screening applicants through psychotechnical entrance exams. Its alumni include former president of Israel Yitzhak Navon, Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, Nobel laureates Daniel Kahneman and David Gross, and many other key figures in Israel's science, arts, business, and—to a lesser degree—political and military arenas.
The school is one of the few in Israel to employ a five-day week (Sunday through Thursday), keeping facilities open on Fridays for self-study. In addition to the 25+ classrooms, facilities include two 200 seat lecture halls, fully-equipped physics and chemistry laboratories, a library, a chamber-music auditorium, and a 600-seat theatre.
Over the years, the school has carried out several integration projects in response to accusations of social elitism. However, due to its semi-private status, Leyada's students still majorly come from middle- and upper-class families.
The current principal is Dr. Gilad Amir (class of 1970), who joined faculty in 1977 as a math teacher, and took the top position in 2003 from 35-year veteran Hannah Levita. Among the school's board of directors is Labor-Meimad party's Orna Angel, a 1980 Leyada graduate and currently a CEO of two major corporations.
