Hebrew University Secondary School

The Hebrew University Secondary School (LEYADA) was founded in 1935 as a pedagogical laboratory for gifted and talented students in Jerusalem. Today, with more than 1,150 students and 200 teaching professionals, Leyada is one of the country’s leading high schools for outstanding learners and is widely acclaimed for its capacity to nurture intellectual curiosity, creativity, and academic excellence. It offers a unique educational experience, combining a challenging STEM curriculum, humanities studies experiential learning, and community engagement to foster the development of ethical, curious, and knowledgeable citizens who are capable of meeting the challenges of an evolving world and assuming leadership roles based on broad social awareness.

While learners who have consistently excelled academically continue to represent the majority of our student body, Leyada also embraces underprivileged children, including from the Ethiopian community who were unable to reach their full potential in elementary school. Leyada provides intensive support to help them close gaps and fully integrate into the mainstream program. The School’s diverse student population also includes young people from Jerusalem’s religious and Arab communities. Twelve years ago we also opened a program for gifted and talented students who had been diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum. This is the only program in Israel that addresses these two special needs simultaneously. Our institution is committed to multiculturalism, pluralism, inclusion, and equality, and to the educational success of all its students.

Located adjacent to the Hebrew University’s Givat Ram Campus, Leyada enjoys fruitful ties with the University, which enrich our curriculum with guest lectures, academic courses, visits to academic laboratories, and research supervision delivered by leading faculty members. In addition, aspiring educators and student teachers intern at Leyada. Many of our teachers are indeed Hebrew University graduates.

Since its establishment, Leyada has seen thousands of students graduate. Among our Alumni  Nobel Prize laureates, a Fields Medal winner and Wolf Prize recipient, Israel Prize recipients, and prominent figures in the fields of politics, science, the arts and letters, law, high-tech, medicine, and the military.

Our school’s primary mission is to develop gifted and talented students from all parts of Israeli society in Jerusalem and the region toward future leadership in a democratic society. Leyada aspires to sustain its position as a role model both in the education system and in society as a whole.

Erez Hacker, Principal

Video by Jerusalem Education Authority