"We must move forward"

Thursday 09 November 2023

Alternative sources of funding to ensure the building work at Les Ozouets can go ahead could be agreed today, as the Director of Education tells parents and carers that "we are in a critical position where doing nothing is not an option".

With the States 2024 Budget debate continuing today, the President of Education, Sport and Culture will ask deputies to re-prioritise the Transforming Education Programme by moving the post-16 campus project back into the capital portfolio.

If the States agree with the proposal put forward by Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen and seconded by ESC committee member Deputy Sue Aldwell it will mean an additional £101million in capital spending compared to the portfolio agreed last month by the States which stands at £340m. 

The Transforming Education Programme includes the demolition of the former St Peter Port Secondary School and the creation of a new post-16 campus at Les Ozouets with a single site for all aspects of The Guernsey Institute and a Sixth Form Centre.

The plans would cost £111m in full - and while the project was backed in principle by the States during the debate on the Funding and Investment Plan, no financing was agreed so the entire programme is in a state of limbo.

Ahead of this week's budget debate, the man in charge of all States-run education services in the Bailiwick wrote to parents and carers of pupils to outline his shared disappointment with staff, his sorrow over the ongoing delays to the Transforming Education Programme and his hope that there will be some more positive news this week regarding the funding of the building work.

Pictured: Nick Hynes open letter to all parents and carers can be read in full HERE.

The Director of Education, Nick Hynes wrote a four-page letter with supporting documents, outlining the current situation, what could happen next and a reminder of what the actual plans are for the Transforming Education Programme.

"We are in a critical position where doing nothing is not an option," he wrote.

"We must move forward, and this includes investment in the buildings for both TGI and the Sixth Form Centre, therefore, we are really hoping that an alternative source of funding can be secured."

The decisions affecting the Les Ozouets campus don't just affect the post-16 learners who will study there - with Mr Hynes assuring parents and carers of children at La Mare de Carteret and Les Varendes high schools that they "can be confident that work to merge the two schools will continue as planned" - meaning that La Mare de Carteret High remains on course to close once current students have completed their GCSEs and the younger pupils who would have attended that school will instead continue to be educated at Les Varendes.

Pictured: The former St Peter Port Secondary School (pictured earlier this week) is boarded up and seems to be ready for demolition.

With the sixth form centre currently at Les Varendes Mr Hynes also assured parents and carers that he is aware of their concerns regarding their children's high education.

"For those of you with children and young people who will be imminently considering options for Post-16 education, we know that you may have questions about the Sixth Form Centre and we are working hard to ensure that the move into Post-16 is as smooth as possible, despite the circumstances," he wrote.

"The timeline for the implementation of the new Secondary and Post-16 model is September 2025 and so for those young people entering the Post-16 phase in September 2024, they will move to either the current Sixth Form at Les Varendes or Post-16 provision at the Coutanchez or Delancey campuses of TGI.

Mr Hynes also assured parents and carers that the plans for the Transforming Education Programme remain the best option for the students and the island as a whole.

"While the outcome of the (October F&I) States debate is clearly disappointing, I want to take the opportunity to reassure you that our staff continue to work as hard as ever to support your children. Their wellbeing and success is our collective priority and despite the challenging circumstances, we are determined in our ambition for the islands’ learners, and we continue to work towards ensuring excellent outcomes for all our children and young people as set out in our Education Strategy.

"This will in turn lead to overall benefits for the whole island."

Read Mr Hynes letter in full HERE.

Pictured top: Nick Hynes, Director of Education, and Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, President of ESC.