‘Education’s replies prove Les Varendes has sixth form space’
A CRITIC of moving the States’ Sixth Form Centre to La Mare De Carteret has claimed that Education’s recent replies to her written questions proved there was enough space to keep A-level studies at Les Varendes.
The Education Committee denied there was enough space at the former Grammar School, but it also accepted that its own consultants had advised that both 11-16 students and the sixth form ‘would theoretically fit’ on the site if they continued to share some teaching areas.
Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, who would like Education to scrap its plan to relocate the sixth form to La Mare until at least 2029, believes the information provided by the committee strengthened her case.
‘The answers to my questions confirm that there is ample space to keep the sixth form at Les Varendes rather than moving it to the La Mare de Carteret High School building, which the answers also confirm is in poor condition,’ she said.
‘That would, to my mind, be a more sensible course of action, in terms of both economic and educational outcomes.’
La Mare, which currently operates as an 11-16 school, is effectively merging with Les Varendes at the Footes Lane site.
Education said that, once that process had been completed, there would be a gross space requirement of between 9,811sq. m and 11,161sq. m.
The total available area at Les Varendes was 12,070sq. m.
Education estimated that it would cost between £1.5m. and £5.4m. to provide the additional space it believes would be necessary to retain the sixth form at Les Varendes, as opposed to up to £700,000 to accommodate it at La Mare between 2025 and 2029.
‘The key difference is that Les Varendes will continue to be used as a school for the foreseeable future, whereas any money invested at La Mare to move the sixth form there will be wasted when the building is demolished after a few years’ use,’ said Deputy de Sausmarez.
‘Investing in Les Varendes is therefore much better value for taxpayers’ money.
‘It is also clear that greater efficiencies in running costs could be achieved by keeping the sixth form in its current location.
‘The cost estimates provided by Education show that, once the sixth form is de-coupled from the rest of the school, it becomes more expensive to run them as two separate institutions.’
Education has not asked the States to vote on relocating the sixth form to La Mare, but Deputy Aidan Matthews, who has also campaigned for it to remain at Les Varendes, said recently that he was considering a requete to force a vote on the plan.
