Thousands in march against two schools

Sunday 02 February 2020

Up to 2,500 people have marched through St Peter Port to protest against the current plans for the future of secondary education in Guernsey.

The march - organised by the newly formed group People Power - saw thousands of islanders gather at North Beach carpark, and then march along the front to the Albert Pier and up into Market Square. The crowds stretched back into the Arcade as more people arrived to hear the speeches being made in Market Square by the organisers and some of their supporters.

WATCH: Thousands joined the protest. 

Sporting green ribbons, the crowds of parents, children, teachers and concerned people all marched together and then gathered in the square to hear a number of speeches - from former education boss Jon Buckland, a parish representative, a representative from the Guernsey Disability Alliance and a concerned student: Angel.

Each of them outlined their worries to the roaring crowd, who cheered on Mr Buckland, urging any deputies to support the requête, which will see Education's two school model stalled, and other ideas brought forward for comparison. 

Pictured: Deputy Gavin St Pier was in the crowds. He has said he was there to talk to people and to listen. 

"Changing your mind and supporting the requête is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength," he told the crowds, "I think Education know they have lost the support of the public and of the professionals. It is time to stop wasting money and effort on something that the public doesn't want." 

Mark Mauger and Rachel Presland were two of the main organisers of the march. They said they didn't really know how many people to expect, and were guessing at a couple of hundred people to turn out, but when they had been organising the event with Guernsey Police, they were told to expect thousands, not hundreds.

Mr Mauger said police had said this because of the activity taking place on social media. 

Pictured: Thousands of people turned out for the march. 

"It really is amazing to see so many people, Guernsey has spoken," he said, "it is time ESC started to listen to us." 

Ms Presland added: "if this kind of turn out is not a strong enough message to make the Committee change their minds, then we will keep going. We will keep going until they listen." 

People Power will also be protesting the steps of the States when the requête is set to be debated. Mr Mauger said this was the chance for people to make their voices heard. 

More to come... 

Pictured top: The protest in pictures.