Teachers' poll shows more than 70% against selection

More than 70% of 445 professional educators in States' primary and secondary schools and the College of Further Education supported the States' decision to scrap selection and move to all-ability secondary schools from September 2019.

But Committee for Education, Sport & Culture president Deputy Paul Le Pelley has said he plans to look at retaining four secondary schools, including rebuilding La Mare de Carteret, keeping the Grammar School and finding an alternative form of selection to the 11-plus.

Only 3% of teachers and lecturers – fewer than one in 30 – voted to retain the 11-plus in the survey. While 21% – approximately one in five – voted for a different form of selection such as continuous assessment of students in the last two years of primary school.

The survey was organised by local teachers following claims, they said, made by some politicians that the teaching profession was fairly evenly divided on selection at 11.

'It is well known that head teachers are united against selection, but some deputies have been insisting that classroom teachers are much more evenly divided on the issue, which certainly wasn't my experience from talking to colleagues,' Castel Primary teacher Connie Armstrong said.

'A few of us wanted to give the profession a chance for its voice to be heard and so we organised this survey.'

In every sector of education – primary, secondary and the College of FE – there was an overwhelming majority in favour of ending selection.