Grammar School site chosen over La Mare for third 11-16 school

Friday 14 May 2021

Les Varendes will become an 11-16 school and La Mare de Carteret High School will close and not be rebuilt, under latest proposals by the Education, Sport & Culture Committee.

ESC is set to publish its plans for the future of secondary and post-16 education on 28 May.

Latest information from committee discussions has clarified minds over which three sites will make up its 11-16 mainstream comprehensive schools. 

When ESC announced in March that St Sampson's and Les Beaucamps would be used, it was uncertain which of La Mare de Carteret or Les Varendes would make the cut in the final proposals, which also include plans for a single sixth form centre co-located at Les Ozouets with the Guernsey Institute.

Pictured: Today's announcement relates only to La Mare de Carteret High School and not the Primary School.

Further investigation of the costs of rebuilding La Mare High has seen the school's future all but ruled out. 

"We have spent a lot of time reflecting on the right thing to do – the right proposals to take to the States," said ESC President Andrea Dudley-Owen.

"For the last few months our thinking had been that we would give the States the choice of the location of the third school, but as the project has progressed, within the context of the emerging financial circumstances, we know a rebuild of La Mare simply does not make sense financially given an additional cost in the region of £30m than using Les Varendes. 

"After a lot of soul searching and discussion, we’ve decided the proposals we take to the States will not include the rebuild of La Mare as an option for the third 11-16 school. We joined the Committee knowing we would have to make some tough decisions and this has been by far the hardest."

Pictured: The rebuild of La Mare High was formally proposed in 2017 by the then-Education Committee and, at the time, was set to be completed by 2021. However, it did not figure in the next committee's plans for two 11-18 schools, and has now been all but ruled out by the present committee. 

The Committee has written to La Mare de Carteret staff and parents today, saying the rebuild of La Mare cannot be justified because of how much it would cost. 

The full proposals will go to the States for approval at a debate starting on 14 July.