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Parents of pre-schoolers and school age children in Herm have shared their thoughts about the trial closure of their school - and they haven't warmed to the decision since it was first announced last month.
The States of Guernsey's Education, Sport and Culture committee announced the decision to close the primary school for one year, on a trial basis after this summer term, with all pupils instead being offered an education at Vauvert in St Peter Port.
The announcement was made last month.
Pictured: The decision to close Herm's school came as a surprise to many people.
Express asked residents of Herm how they feel about the closure of the island's school.
Below, current parents, a past pupil, and a parent of children who had expected to attend Herm School next year have shared their views.
Accepting that the following comments represent one view point, we are also keen to hear from any current or past Herm resident with any other view.
Herm School was my primary reason for moving to Herm when my girls were 5 and 4, Megan having just started Primary School. We have been fortunate to have five great years with them at the school here, I am devastated that the school is closing, especially for future families. It is the heart of the Herm community, I cannot see why a family would move here and what mother would consider putting a 4-year-old on a rough boat in winter on their own, dealing with seasickness and being distraught leaving their parent on Herm. I certainly would never have done this.
My children have excelled academically at Herm School, Mrs Carey is a skilled and passionate teacher, and they are both learning well beyond the standard of their years and their peers. Mrs Carey has fostered in them a love of school and learning and their love of Shakespeare as well as art, maths, and all the amazing different island learning they have done – science experiments in making jam with Herm blackberries, foraging for edible foods, working with seaweed and making salt and seaweed art.
Pictured: The small school has just a few weeks left before it closes for a year on a trial basis.
The other incredible benefit is that Mrs Carey has also focussed so much on the individuality of each child, which is something that cannot be done in a class of 30. There is no ‘back row’ in Herm School. With her creative (pop star) nativity plays and concerts, the children have all learned to perform and to have the courage to stand up in front of a crowd; she has encouraged great life skills, flexibility, and has encouraged my children to be individuals, which has given them a strong foundation of self-esteem and confidence, a strong sense of ‘self’. That’s worth its weight in gold. You only have to look at all the incredibly well-rounded, decent and successful young adults who have come through the school as testament to the beneficial academic and social effect that Herm School has had.
All of us as a family have been so grateful for the experience the girls have gained at Herm School and hope that the States will reconsider the decision to close the school; it is a sad decision and does not benefit the children that live here.
As parents of the current children attending Herm School, we were all absolutely shocked and saddened at the news we received one Tuesday morning that Herm School was to close for a “trial year period”.
Pictured: Herm's children will commute to St Peter Port daily for lessons from September.
My daughter is the newest pupil to the school having been attending for the past year, where previously she attended a school in Guernsey. It was a hard decision to make to move her but felt it was the right thing to do rather than commuting each day.
We’d heard great reports from parents about Herm School and the fantastic teacher, Mary. This made the decision a lot easier, with the added bonus of a small school size of just seven pupils in total at the time.
With the news of the closure, for us personally it will be like going backwards again with the upheaval of daily commuting.
As a parent of two young children on Herm Island, I find it astonishing that the States of Guernsey can make a decision, highly likely to jeopardize the foundations of my children's future, without even having the decency to reach out and communicate with us beforehand. Myself and my husband as well as other parents of young children on Herm, had to find out via a heartless SOG Facebook post; callous acts like this do not provide any reassurance or instil confidence that SOG are making decisions based on the children's needs and I have little faith they care at all about our children's education. The States of Guernsey have treated our children as irrelevant statistics that they can sacrifice in an attempt to pinch pennies, and it's insulting.
Forcing our children to attend Guernsey based schools and having to commute via a boat all year round is impractical and highly unrealistic. What parent would want or allow a 5 year old to travel on a boat with a stranger, how can the SoG not see that putting young children in such stressful situations is going to jeopardize their education. There are many other factors, most obviously weather; it is unpredictable and during winter months often jeopardizes travel.
So what happens when our children can't travel and fail to attend school in the winter months? The Education of (Guernsey) Law 1970 (Sec 17 - 21), makes it very clear.
Duty of parents to secure regular attendance of registered pupils:
20. (1) if any child of compulsory school age who is a registered pupil at a school fails to attend regularly thereat, the parent of the child shall be guilty of an offence against this section.
I fear families will cease to reside in Herm if there is no reasonable and realistic access to education. We moved here for a better life and to build our family, how are we or any family able to do that without access to basic necessities? What parent would want to live under the constant threat and pressure of potentially being prosecuted for an offence that is completely unavoidable? And even if once charged parents can prove, as per The Education of (Guernsey) Law 1970
(20. (2,C) if the parent proves that the school at which the child is a registered pupil is not within walking distance of the child's home, and that no suitable arrangements have been made by (the Committee) either for his transport to and from the school or for boarding accomodation for him at or near the school or for enabling him to become a registered pupil at a school nearer to his home) that they haven't committed an offence, then what? Are our children just not afforded an education? Are States of Guernsey going to provide boarding, and how would that work with 5-year-olds? The option to offer a school nearer to home has been taken away already, so what then? I honestly don't think SOG have truly thought about this prior to making this knee jerk decision. It is utter idiocy.
Pictured: Herm children already attend Vauvert Primary one day per week but that will be a full time arrangement from September on a trial basis.
I will assume, based on the negligent attitude seen from States of Guernsey, they don't see any of the above as an issue and are just hoping or expecting parents on the island to give up their jobs and careers in order to home school their children. Is SoG going to subsidize the wages of these parents forced out of work? Or are we and our children simply so unimportant that no thought has been given into our lives, the impact of this decision and the future prospects of education? I dread to think how such an immense loss will affect the island, without a school you lose the children, and the sense of community that is so important to us all. The impact to resident families, the community, and the overall charm of Herm Island is hugely worrying.
As an ex-student of herm school hearing of its closure is truly heartbreaking. The education you receive whilst at Herm school really is a once in a lifetime opportunity and is one that I am grateful to have experienced. For education to say that commuting to a Guernsey school each day will benefit their education obviously have never spent a day in herm school. The education Mrs Carey gives is second to none and there is no better primary school teacher out there. I will forever treasure the memories I have of Herm school, and I am sorry for the current and future children of herm that may not get to experience this. I mean, how many people at the age of 22 still speak so highly of their primary school education - this should speak volumes to the States.
Herm parents shocked at school closure news
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