Our future education

Investing in our island's future

Guernsey continues to work toward the new model for Secondary and Post-16 Education, which the States of Deliberation approved in September 2021.

Significant progress has already been made towards the implementation of the model of three 11-16 schools, a separate Sixth Form Centre and the development of The Guernsey Institute, however there is currently no funding allocated by the States to progress the capital infrastructure build of the new post-16 campus.

All of the work done so far on the Secondary School Partnership, initial integration of The Guernsey Institute, and the secondary reorganisation has been done in tandem with the ambitious Education Strategy, which drives for continuous improvement across the system.

Key achievements of the programme already include:

1. Progressing the implementation of new staffing structures, with all staff ringfenced for roles which are equitable across each high school, with senior staff already taking up new roles.
2. Transitioning from four 11-16 schools to three, with the merger of La Mare de Carteret High School and the former Grammar School into Les Varendes High School progressing well.
3. Progress on a digital overhaul, which aims, through major transformation and upgrades to infrastructure and increased access to devices, to ensure learners and staff will have access to high quality, modern IT.
4. Continued integration of The Guernsey Institute – bringing together Guernsey College of Further Education, GTA University Centre and Institute of Health and Social Care Studies to become a community hub for lifelong learning.
5. Once funding is secured, plans are ready to go for a state-of-the-art post-16 campus which will become an adult learning environment for all post-16 learners, no matter which path they choose.

Busting myths around the debate

The team working on the Transforming Education Programme is now a long way down the road to delivering the new model – closer than Guernsey has ever been to implementing any other model previously agreed during the the last decade or so. As such, Education remains at the heart of public debate, and in that debate, there continues to be misunderstanding and misconception about the plans. 

To help ensure everyone is equipped with the facts for discussions around the model, the Education Office have produced this booklet to try and dispel some of the myths that frequently come up.

Director of Education, Nick Hynes, said:

‘We fully recognise that education is something much of our community is very invested in, and we often receive questions about different elements of the transformation programme as a result of this. As such, we have put together this booklet to help the community understand some of the key elements of the model we are working towards, and also try to bust some myths we regularly hear.

‘The post-16 campus is an exciting opportunity for Guernsey and Alderney and we must give everyone involved in education – our staff, students, parents and carers – certainty as soon as possible after years of debate.’

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The Post-16 Campus

Plans for Guernsey’s new post-16 campus, which will create an adult, life-long learning environment for all students, have now been approved. While the team has encountered a small delay with a breakdown in partnership with the previous contractor, conversations are already taking place to engage with the market looking for a new builder.

Below is a flythrough video of the new campus, which highlights the exciting opportunity the development presents for future generations of students, staff who have been promised certainty for decades, and the whole community.

When underway, the plans will deliver 15,000m2 of internal education and community spaces, including 1,700m2 of inside sporting and recreational facilities.

You can view the full site plans here

Significant consideration has been given to ensure that the campus fits in to its natural and physical surroundings, with minimal impact. A key ethos in the design process has been to deliver a site that is as environmentally neutral as possible, with lots of emphasis on preserving and enhancing green and open spaces. As part of that, a well-known mature Sweet Chestnut tree, which featured in the former St Peter Port school emblem, will be retained as part of the plan as a fitting nod to the site’s legacy.

Construction of the post-16 campus is expected to cost up to £100m and progression of this work depends on the States agreeing to release funding.

The construction has also been planned in such a way that the intention is for Princess Royal Centre for Performing Arts to remain open throughout the development of the site.

All of these images are architectural drawings, which could be subject to change

The model

The full future model for Post-16 and Secondary Education is set out below, followed by the latest from each of the ongoing workstreams being developed to bring that model to life.

• There will be three 11-16 schools, located at Les Varendes, Les Beaucamps and St Sampson's . This will ensure equal opportunities across three-evenly sized schools, and they will sit alongside Les Voies, Le Murier and St Anne's in Alderney.
• Students choosing to continue their education beyond 16 will all progress to a new single Post-16 Campus at Les Ozouets, which will accommodate both The Guernsey Institute (TGI) and the Sixth Form Centre. This will deliver academic, vocational, professional and technical studies, side-by-side in an adult learning environment, serving the whole community's training, learning and development needs.
• The three 11-16 schools and the Sixth Form Centre make up the Secondary School Partnership.

The Secondary School Partnership

The development of the Secondary School Partnership (SSP), which operates as an integrated 11-18 partnership, is key to delivering systemic change. Joint working within the partnership allows each school to maintain its own unique identity while leaders work together to develop improvements for the benefit of all students. In practice, this has already involved groups of subject leaders and senior leaders visiting schools in England to learn from them and a focus on developing greater consistency across schools.

The implementation of the new staffing structures across the SSP is an essential piece of work which underpins efforts to improve educational outcomes and to ensure consistency of provision across all of the schools as they support students in their post-16 progression. 

New staffing structures across the three 11-16 schools and separate Sixth Form Centre have been carefully designed by the SSP Executive Leadership Team with staff, national and local union representatives invited to provide feedback during an extensive period of consultation. The Executive Leadership Team listened carefully and responded to the feedback provided, creating new roles to provide additional pastoral support for students and to reduce the administrative burden on teaching staff so that they can focus on curriculum development and delivery. Importantly, the implementation of these new structures, a process which is now well underway, will also give staff certainty over their future roles for the first time in almost a decade.

The Guernsey Institute

The Guernsey Institute has been on a journey for some years now to become a place which serves the Bailiwick by teaching future employees skills which local industries need. By doing so it will serve the future economy of Guernsey; ensuring that we have the skills and know-how on island to fuel our future workforce.

Since the inception of the organisation, senior leaders in The Guernsey Institute have worked to begin the process of integration between the Guernsey College of FE, the GTA University Centre and the Institute of Health & Social Care Studies. They have engaged with all parts of the local community, and begun work on the creation of the new, purpose built TGI building, which will be a key part of the Post-16 Campus.

“Imagine a place where education is tailored to the specific needs of the local community, where academic excellence and professional development blend seamlessly to create a learning environment that empowers individuals, fuels economic growth, and fosters social progress. This is the vision of The Guernsey Institute, an ambitious and dynamic institution that is revolutionising the way we approach education in Guernsey.” – Jacki Hughes, Executive Principal of The Guernsey Institute.

A new 11-16 school - creating Les Varendes High

The Committee and its staff have also begun crucial work on the creation of a new 11-16 school - Les Varendes High - on the current Grammar School site. This will see La Mare de Carteret High School and the Guernsey Grammar School merge to give all students and staff a school with a shared culture, a new identity, and a new sense of belonging within the Secondary School Partnership. In recent months, senior staff have been reviewing options on how best to deliver improvements on this site and have created a student and staff-led 'new school design team' to help develop this work further. This team has now met three times and has made significant strides in creating the identity for Les Varendes High.

Digital overhaul

Digital transformation, which is essential to delivering an improved education system in Guernsey and Alderney, will enable long-term and sustainable improvements across all our schools. Through major transformation and upgrades to infrastructure and increased access to devices, learners and staff will have access to high quality, modern IT. There will be an improved ratio of devices for learners which enables the delivery of the Bailiwick Curriculum and the commitments of the Education Strategy.

The Committee is pleased to confirm that work began in 2022 to upgrade the networks through a scheduled programme of activity across all schools. This work continues apace and will significantly improve connectivity across all schools by the end of 2023, which in turn will have an enormously positive impact for all staff and the students that they teach.