‘Millions more for three schools’
A LEAKED report has revealed that the three-school model favoured by the majority of deputies during the election run-up would be by far the most expensive to build in a like-for-like comparison with other models.
The interim review found that the capital costs for the three 11-16 schools with a separate standalone sixth form college would be between £91m. and £105m., depending on which site became the sixth form college.
The higher costs of this model are because of the need for four sites, including a demolition and rebuild at La Mare de Carteret.
In comparison, the capital costs for two 11-16 schools and one 11-18 school would be around £65m., and three 11-18 schools would also cost around £65m.
The two-school model was found to be the least expensive, with a price tag of around £60m.
Running costs are not listed in the leaked report, but during last week’s States debate it emerged that they followed the same pattern as the capital costs, with the preferred three--school model the most expensive by a large margin.
The report highlights that capital costs could be lowered with ‘compromises’ such as increasing average class sizes, reducing space standards and curriculum breadth, cutting back on sports facilities, like swimming pools and 3G multi-use games areas, and providing less enhanced areas for students with special educational needs and disabilities.
Andrea Dudley-Owen, the president of Education, Sport & Culture had refused to release the report because it was carried out by staff and consultants working under the old committee.
She said it would have to come with a ‘serious health warning’ because it was ‘woefully premature’ and the staff consultations were not concluded when it was written up.
The leaked version of the report has since been updated by the new ESC and includes running costs, and States members were given a presentation of this on 7 December.
Deputy Dudley-Owen has resisted calls to make the latest information available to the community, and said she would only do so if there was a ‘clamour’ from the public.
The new ESC committee has added its stamp to the review by bringing in the current four-school model to be a benchmark to compare against.
Deputy Dudley-Owen explained in a statement issued on Friday that although the current model was ‘inefficient in terms of cost and educational provision’, it would allow the States ‘to be clear about the extent to which those other models would improve upon what we have in place today’.
When the leaked report was written in October, the next phase of the review was set out to focus on the ‘prioritisation’ of facilities.
Feedback from an earlier staff survey had found that parking for all staff, larger canteen spaces and indoor social spaces for students were important, but had not been included in the two-school model.
However sports facilities, including swimming pools and 3G multi-use games areas, and communication and autism bases on all sites, were ranked as less important, and they had formed part of the baseline model.
The intention was to provide versions of each of the models at four different capital cost brackets – £60m., £70m., £80m., and £90m.
The results of this work will allow detailed comparisons between what can be delivered by each of the models.
The leaked report lists potential compromise solutions: Read more here
