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With an increasing number of island children not being educated at Sark's only school, Chief Pleas has had to change the mandate of its Education Committee.
Chief Pleas used to have an Education Committee and a Board of Education.
The decision was made earlier this year to rename the Board of Education to reflect that its interest is in Sark School and not any wider educational matters in the island.
Now known as the Board of Governors, the board is no longer responsible for every child's education and is solely focused on the work of Sark School.
Pictured: Sark School educates children from pre-school to age 13.
At last week's Michaelmas Chief Pleas, it was decided that the Education Committee will take over responsibility for all other Sark Government funded education.
That will include teenagers studying on or off island, as well as any children of mandatory school age (5 – 16) who are educated anywhere on island other than at Sark School.
Sark School itself educates children from age 3 (optional) or 4 (compulsory) until the age of 13.
When a child reaches Year 9 - the year at which they choose their GCSE subjects in Guernsey and Alderney - they must be educated elsewhere until they are 16.
Sark children have previously often attended secondary school in Guernsey, or a boarding school in the UK, or have been homeschooled.
Recent difficulties in securing housing for teenagers attending school in Guernsey has left Sark's Education Committee looking at other options, including online schooling.
Pictured: Sark is looking at offering online schooling for its teenagers.
A report was noted during July's Chief Pleas meeting where the Education Committee suggested that the island enrol its teenagers at King's Interhigh online school.
The report said that the Education Committee had "spent considerable time researching the providers offering" online school models and "amongst these, King’s
Interhigh stood out and the Committee was impressed by the standard of education plus the extras they offered".
If Sark does work with King's Interhigh the benefits to the island are financial mainly - with the added benefit of possibly becoming a ‘Partner School’ with discounted fees.
King’s Interhigh is said to be willing to create a tailor-made timetable for Sark's secondary age pupils - who could also attend things such as sports events in Guernsey, while using science labs, art rooms, and music facilities in Guernsey too.
Work experience would continue to be offered in Guernsey too while King’s Interhigh also offers other programmes at partner schools in the UK and abroad that Sark's teenagers could take part in.
While Sark's Education Committee is keen to pursue this idea it acknowledged that it might not suit everyone.
"It is therefore considering whether Sark should offer parents the choice of the online school for those who prefer to stay in Sark, or a subsidy towards an off-island school of their choice for those who feel that is a better option for them," the report stated.
Over the summer the plan was to discuss these options with all stakeholders before any decisions are made.
Online school plans for Sark's teenagers
Sark to keep its school open for teens
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