2 September 2004 ORT Israel has started the academic year with three new high schools a technological college for flight and space and two religious high schools. The new college, in the Jerusalem suburb of Maale Adumim, offers military and civilian study tracks the former training cadets to become technicians and engineers for the Israeli Air Forces technological reserves, the latter offering students a choice of majors, including electronics, and science and engineering. Headed by former pilot navigator Colonel (Ret.) Nissim Yogev, the college has 18 classes for grades 10 to 12 at a temporary site. The new building is due to be completed in time for the next academic year. ORT Israel designed the colleges study program in conjunction with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. There has been a lot of interest in the cadet flight and space program, said Col. Yogev. We have enrolled 60 outstanding students in the first class. As part of their orientation they met members of the F-16 fighter squadron at the Hatzor Air Base. The addition of the two religious schools to the ORT Israel network follows an agreement signed by the organisations National Director, Zvi Peleg, and the Mayor of Tiberias, Zohar Oved, last month. The Ulpana for girls and Yeshiva for boys are comprehensive schools for grades seven to 12, with a combined student population of 1,400. Mayor Oved said that ORTs reputation had made the transfer of the two schools from the municipality popular with the citys residents. Tiberias needed a change in its educational philosophy, he said. This link with ORTs level of excellence will lead the city to a technologically oriented reality and the vision will begin with these two schools. Mr Peleg said ORT was already committed to investing more than $70,000 in upgrading the schools equipment and teaching programmes.