Dena Coleman

Dena Coleman (née Dena Friedman; 7 September 1952 – June 2013) was a headteacher. She was a board member of the Jewish National Fund in the United Kingdom and founding head of Yavneh College, Borehamwood.

Life She was born in Islington, on 7 September 1952. She was the first child of Muriel Amelia Rachel, born Kovler and Norman Friedman. Her father made handbags. She would have two younger brothers.

In 1998 she became the head teacher at Bushey Meads School. She was at Bushey Meads until 2005. She went on to be head of Hasmonean High School In 2002, she and Richard Gold who was a solicitor published Running a school 2002/03: legal duties and responsibilities. She was at Hasmonean until 2005.

Coleman died of meningitis in June 2013, 6 weeks before her planned retirement. Tributes included one from the Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks, who noted her idea that “Every child is good at something and it’s our job to find out what that is.”

A sports hall at the Gevim School in Beersheba was dedicated in her memory in Israel in 2015,