A JEWISH faith school could open in Haringey as soon as 2011 as part of Government education reforms to introduce "free schools".

Education Secretary Michael Gove revealed yesterday details of the first 16 schools which could operate under the new system including Haringey Jewish Primary School.

Like academies, the school would be state-funded and not under local authority control, but has been driven by demand from the community as opposed to private businesses.

The Haringey school could be open as early as September 2011 and be based in a location central to Crouch End, Muswell Hill and Highgate.

In a statment, campaigners for the primary school, led by Peter Kessler, said: "This is a phenomenal result, and we are delighted.

"We are pressing ahead immediately with plans to finalise our premises and produce a business plan to be submitted to Government, which hopefully will lead to final approval."

Unlike other Jewish schools, Haringey Jewish Primary would not be linked to any one synagogue, but would be open to all.

The school's ethos, campaigners said, would be "to create a school that is not only a great place for education, but also a place where all members of the Jewish community - Orthodox, Reform, Masorti, Liberal and Secular - can come together under one roof in harmony, while respecting their differences."

Mr Gove said the school would now be given support from the Department of Education to help meet the 2011 target.

He added: "This is a challenging timescale, and some groups may decide that it is preferable to open at a later date for practical reasons."