Rebrand of Grammar gets underway

Tuesday 28 March 2023

A student and staff project team looking to create a new identity for Les Varendes High School has had its first meeting.

The design team for the new school was announced when the preferred name for what will become the former Grammar School was selected.

It consists of 10 students each from Grammar and La Mare de Carteret High School, as the two schools phase integration before fully merging by September 2025.

A new uniform and how to implement the identity across the two schools is on the design teams’ to-do list.

The Committee for Education, Sport & Culture has also confirmed that the new name will start to be used from September 2023, coinciding with the last cohort of selective students completing their studies.

The new uniform will be adopted the following school year. 

Pictured: La Mare secondary was supposed to close for good following the transition, but it is now highly likely it will be used as a temporary sixth form centre in lieu of purpose-built facilities at Les Ozouets in the interim. 

Education President, Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen said students have a crucial role in creating the new school, with the opportunity “to build on all of the positives of both organisations”. 

She thanked those involved for volunteering their time and participating.

Liz Coffey, Executive Principal of the Secondary School Partnership, and former Headteacher of the Grammar School, said nearly 80 students applied for a place on the team. 

“We want to put that energy front and centre in the creation of Les Varendes High and ensure the student’s voices are not only heard, but also listened to. In the first meeting we gathered their ideas for a uniform and crest, and these ideas are now being used to build the brief for a designer to bring them to life,” she said. 

“The first meeting was filled with positive energy from students and staff alike, we are looking forward to working together more in the coming weeks and months.”