On a residential street in Gateshead, an unexpected sound drifts from open windows. It is the murmurings of hundreds of young men as they read aloud from the Torah or explore the meaning of the religious texts.

Not so long ago, the soundtrack of this city on the river Tyne was the noise of heavy industry: shipbuilding, engineering, coalmining. It was all gone by the 1980s and 90s and, like so many other places, Gateshead struggled with unemployment, deprivation and loss of identity. Now it is home to the fastest-growing strictly Orthodox Jewish community in the UK, fuelled by the reputation of its educational establishments and cheap housing.

There has been a Jewish presence in the north-east since the late 19th century but most communities have shrunk or disappeared. “This is the only [strictly Orthodox Jewish] community outside London and Manchester that is growing, thriving, dynamic and forward-looking. It’s expanding day by day,” said Joseph Schleider, who has lived in Gateshead all his life and is the community’s historian. The regular community of several thousand people, concentrated in a grid of streets in the neighbourhood of Bensham, is swollen in term-time by 1,500 students from all over the UK and abroad. About 350 study at the Gateshead Talmudical College, the most prestigious of the community’s numerous religious educational establishments, which is producing the next generation of rabbis and scholars.

“Gateshead is the Oxbridge of the UK Jewish community,” said Rabbi Shraga Feivel Zimmerman, a New Yorker known to his congregants simply as “the rov”, meaning notable rabbi. Since he arrived from Brooklyn in 2008, the community has doubled in size. “I hope I’ve helped the community to adapt to make it fertile ground for growth.”

I came here to be challenged, I never expected it to be easy. It’s the foundation for my life Dovid Belovski, yeshiva student

Gateshead was “quite a distance in miles, culture and mentality” from Brooklyn, said Zimmerman, but he came for the “unique opportunity to lead a community”. “England is a very conservative place and resistant to change in many ways. If you come from the outside, you have a fresh perspective.”

The rabbi is credited with turning the community to engage with wider society. Links between the community and Gateshead council, the local further education college and other mainstream institutions have been nurtured. But Zimmerman is conscious of the potential downside of rapid growth. “One seeks a positive dynamic while still retaining a sense of community. Everyone here still knows each other, shares in each other’s celebrations, grieves together. We don’t want to keep doubling every 10 years,” he said.

At the yeshiva, as everyone calls the Talmudical College, young men between the ages of 16 and early 20s study and debate religious texts in pairs for about 12 hours a day. They live in dormitories, have no access to smartphones, television or mainstream newspapers, and limited internet access.

“This is a serious time of study,” said Rabbi Gershon Miller, a senior member of staff. “There are prayers at 8am and study [in English, Yiddish and Hebrew] goes on until 10pm or later.” Infractions of the code of behaviour are rare. “No one is being watched or monitored. You get a little fraying at the edges from time to time, but for most this is the lifestyle they want to pursue.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Scholars at the Gateshead Talmudical College, or yeshiva. Photograph: Cnaan Liphshiz

Nineteen-year-old Dovid Belovski, a Londoner in his second year at the yeshiva, said: “It’s intense, I can’t deny that. But I came here to be challenged, I never expected it to be easy. It’s the foundation for my life.”

Studying at the Gateshead yeshiva may also improve a young man’s marriage prospects. The college’s graduates are considered a high-status catch by ultra-Orthodox parents seeking a match for their daughters.

But, said David Schleider, who runs a youth club for boys in the community, “not everyone is cut out to be a rabbi or a teacher. We want to encourage those who aren’t to be skilled up while maintaining a full religious lifestyle. We have a very good relationship with Gateshead College, which provides culturally sensitive and accessible training.”

In Orthodox Judaism, women cannot become rabbis, but bright girls are encouraged to teach. About 450 girls aged 16-plus – more than a quarter from abroad – are enrolled at the Jewish Teachers’ Training College in Gateshead, which offers A-levels in maths, biology, biblical Hebrew, computer science and art, as well as teacher training. Another girls’ seminary in the community has a more vocational focus, offering courses in information technology, health and childcare.

A 2015 study by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research said the average birth rate among ultra-Orthodox women was seven, compared to 1.98 for mainstream Jewish women. A group of women community leaders in Gateshead, who all work outside the home, acknowledged the challenges of large families but spoke assertively about being fulfilled professionally, religiously, and as mothers and home-makers.

One consequence of the expanding community is the growing number of businesses owned and run by strictly Orthodox Jews. Kosher bakery goods, milk and meat are produced locally. Blooms, a food takeaway that opened a few years ago with the blessing of Rabbi Zimmerman, is Jewish-owned but is partly staffed by young Geordie women who blithely talk through the requirements of kosher food preparation in between gentle banter with their ultra-Orthodox customers.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Blooms is a popular takeaway among the students. Photograph: Cnaan Liphshiz

Low house prices have helped the community to grow. One man who moved to Gateshead from north London a few years ago bought a six-bedroom house for £150,000. “It needed a lot of work but in London it would have cost at least £1m,” he said. Four years ago, the community completed its first social housing project, consisting of 12 four- or five-bedroom houses for rent.

“Housing here is significantly cheaper than in London or even Manchester. But lots of families are low-income households, in receipt of benefits, and we tend to have bigger than average families. So there is a big demand for large affordable homes,” said Shlomi Isaacson of the Jewish Community Council of Gateshead (JCCG).

Antisemitism appears to be less prevalent than in other places with high ultra-Orthodox Jewish populations. Nevertheless, the yeshiva has 80 CCTV cameras plus security guards. Most incidents fall into the “low-level antisocial antisemitism” category, said Jonathan Klajn, also of the JCCG. “It’s par for the course for someone to drive down the road, roll down their window and shout expletives at us. We’re uncomfortable with the security presence, but it’s a deterrent.” He added: “We rub along fine with the local Muslims.”

The JCCG and representatives of Gateshead council meet regularly to discuss the needs of the community. “We recognised the culture and lifestyle of our Orthodox community is quite different to other communities,” said Dave Andrew, who has liaised on behalf of the council for the past 10 years.

“Communication is the key, given that many households don’t engage with mainstream or social media so we need to ensure they get to hear what’s happening. This is not an insular community, but the reason for that perception is that it’s a community that helps itself at every life stage from the cradle to the grave.”

Rabbi Zimmerman – who answers about 500 emails a week seeking guidance on Jewish law and practice – also rejected the suggestion of insularity, saying the community was independent and self-sustaining. “In former times, children grew up and left, they moved on to a larger world,” he said. “Now it’s a realistic option to stay.”