Applications to private colleges increase

Wednesday 17 January 2024

Guernsey’s three grant-aided private colleges have all experienced increases in applications over the past several years.

It comes as parents continue to express frustration over the level of disruption experienced in the States schools due to dysregulated students while Education seeks to “focus on behaviour”.

Express spoke to two parents who have children at Les Varendes. They said their peer group are starting to look at private education as an alternative to States schools, but for some it’s simply too expensive.

“We’ve gone from losing the 11+ to transferring into a high school based on your catchment... losing all the scholarships at the three colleges, which gave students another opportunity to develop their learning and education experience at a school of their choice, appropriate to their needs, and their ability,” said Suzanne Pontin, who currently has a child at one of the States schools and three other children who’ve all gone through the 11+ and what used to be the Grammar School.

“When I speak to people now with younger children, many have already got their children’s name down for the colleges. They simply no longer want their children going through a States school system which they have no faith or trust in, and some of these people are panicking already as to how they’re going to afford private school fees, which are also ever increasing.

“With the increase in registration at the private colleges for students, I wonder how their buildings will have the capacity for so many students transferring to private education, will this one day mean that the colleges have to increase the size of their schools or will the student demand require the opening of another private school to accommodate the students?”

classroom school education

The concerns raised by Suzanne and a second parent who spoke to Express have led to a group of 12 parents at Les Varendes coming together to meet and discuss education.

"[The behaviour] it's taking education away from our children, my daughters, hearing language at school that she should never be hearing. There's a complete lack of respect where the students are swearing at teachers,” said a parent who chose to remain anonymous.

“No one seems to be dealing with our children and helping them move forward and making them feel confident in their ability and giving them confidence in that they're doing well at school.”

Both parents stressed that they have no issue with the teachers, who they say are working to the best of their abilities in a difficult situation.

Express undertook an investigation into perceived behavioural issues in the island’s States schools late last year. You can read that report HERE.

The Private Colleges

Following the interview with the two parents, Express reached out to the three private colleges to find if applications have indeed gone up and discovered that they have. However, the colleges have provided differing reasons for this increase.

Blanchelande College has two forms in Year 6 with a capacity of roughly 40 students. It also has an additional class in Year 7 bringing the senior school capacity to 60 give or take. Coupled with the primary years this brings the school body up to more than 450.

The school has grown in size by 50% since 2016 and its Principal, Rob O’Brien, said the school is opening a second class in Year 3 “due to strong demand for places”.

Elsewhere, the Ladies College has seen an increase in interest in the school over the past two years.

“Through conversations with our current and prospective parents, we attribute this increase to several factors. The Ladies’ College has a well-established, strong and stable educational provision which delivers excellent value to pupils both in terms of academic achievement and cocurricular opportunities,” said the Principal of the School, Daniele Harford-Fox.

“In addition, fees for private education in Guernsey are comparatively lower than in the UK and our growing bursary provision enables us to extend educational opportunities to a diverse range of talented and motivated young women in our island community.

“Furthermore, in recognising and responding to the ever-evolving world around us, from September 2024, our ‘Pathways’ programme will form part of our Sixth Form curriculum, to run alongside A levels, and we continue to develop ‘future ready’ skills across the years. As a result, we have experienced a notable rise in interest in our Sixth Form offering, along with an increase in applications across our year groups. This interest is indicative of the enthusiasm the College continues to generate among students and parents who value the innovative and empowering educational experience we provide.”

Both the Junior and Upper Schools at Elizabeth College are “essentially full” and demand for places has been high “for some years”.

"There have been some significant changes at Elizabeth College recently which have contributed to an increase in demand,” said the College in a statement.

“The Upper School became co-educational in 2021 and at the same time launched the Foundation Bursary Scheme offering means-tested Bursary places to those unable to meet the cost of fees.

“Both initiatives have contributed to the College now being very close to capacity in all years, and also an increase in forward registrations. Registrations for Year 7 entry for the next few years are strong.

“We have also seen an increase in the number of students being registered for a place in Year 12, for entry in September 2024/25. The opening of our new Sixth Form Centre in Perrot Court in February 2023 was a catalyst for a number of these enquiries.

“We encourage any parents interested in a place at Elizabeth College to register as early as possible as date of registration is one of the key entrance criteria when places are over-subscribed.”