'Rebuild La Mare – but close secondary school'
ONE of the four States secondary schools should be closed, an independent review panel has said, but it still wants La Mare High rebuilt.
The bold proposal in the review report, published in full today, recommends La Mare High is built as a 600-pupil school, but that a wide-ranging investigation is launched into secondary and tertiary eduction, including moving from four to three schools.
That would put Grammar, Les Beaucamps and St Sampson's under threat, as the panel recommends that La Mare and its rebuild are safeguarded, as the most 'flexible' site for future change.
The panel, chaired by UK-based Dr Christopher Nicholls, said it was not making any judgement on which school should close, but it would expect work to start on the review after a decision on La Mare.
Dr Nicholls said it did not believe the long-awaited La Mare project had to get held up by its rationalisation proposals.
'Our feeling is that if it is going to cause great anguish for pupils and staff at La Mare and the parents, and they are deeply worried about the commitment they have already made, they should get started,' he said.
