11-plus 'past its sell-by date and needs review'
SELECTION is no longer fit for purpose, the deputy Education minister has claimed, demanding a level playing field for Guernsey's poorest families.
Deputy Andrew Le Lievre, pictured, was speaking a day after he shocked deputies with the revelation that not one child in social housing had secured a scholarship at any of Guernsey's colleges in the last seven years.
He recalled that when he was younger, many children from States housing attended the schools in large numbers.
'Now between 2007 and 2014 there is no success whatsoever, something has gone majorly wrong,' he said.
'My belief is that the general income of social housing tenants has gone down and, because of that, they can't access pre-school education or afford special tutoring – there is no longer a level playing field.'
This week the States approved proposals for a universal entitlement to pre-school education, which Deputy Le Lievre said went some way to addressing the problem.
However, he added it would not solve it on its own, arguing that the 11-plus had 'passed its sell-by date'.
