Where it all began

Simon Olswang is one of our Founding Trustees. Here he recalls how a group of parents came together 30 years ago to start the Langdon journey…

Simon and James Olswang

It was Chanukah, 1990, and our son James was coming to the end of his first term at Delamere Forest School. Delamere was a residential home and school in Manchester for Jewish children with special educational needs.

After the Chanukah celebration the Headmaster, Stuart Lewis, took a small group of parents aside. He had a problem. After Delamere, there was nowhere appropriate within the Jewish community for the school leavers who still needed further education. Four of us – Jonny Manson, Barry Welck, Barry Ross and I – got together to see what we could do. Geoffrey Berger joined soon after, and we became the Founding Trustees of a brand new venture.

We knew little, but we found people who knew a lot, starting with Stuart Lewis and the formidable Chair of Delamere Governors, Sylvia Conway. We took and adapted plans originally intended for a hostel in London, and set about fundraising in earnest. The generous Manchester Jewish community came on board almost immediately, and less than two years later building work began on a further education college for Jewish students with special educational needs.

Henry Freeman came out of retirement to become our first principal and the then newly installed Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, became our Patron. Langdon College – named after the founder of Delamere Forest School, Margaret Langdon – opened its doors to its first six students on 26^th February 1995, and we never looked back.

30 years on, the College is still going strong, and a whole range of services has been added to the Langdon offer. Today Langdon provides supported living, employment opportunities and a varied activity programme, in both Manchester and London. I am proud to have played a role in establishing such a vibrant community, and long may it continue.

Simon Olswang