The Education Committee admitted that it was rethinking the project, which has been States policy since 2021, and looking at a range of alternative options for the future of A-level studies.
In an interview for the Guernsey Press Politics Podcast, new Education president Paul Montague, who previously favoured building a Sixth Form at Les Ozouets, indicated that the scheme may no longer be feasible.
‘I think the word I used was “ideally”, if money was no object, but actually we are not in that world,’ he said.
‘It is something that we need to think about a lot. There are a number of options. The plan was a purpose-built Sixth Form Centre at Les Ozouets. But there are other options as well.’
Listen to a full interview with Deputy Montague on the Guernsey Press Politics Podcast
The Policy & Resources Committee is understood to have significant doubts about the next phase of construction proposed at Les Ozouets, which now has an estimated cost of up to £50m. at a time of increasing pressure on public finances, and at least two members of the new Education Committee itself have consistently voted against the policy.
Critics of the secondary education model agreed by the previous Assembly, which included separating sixth form studies from 11-16 schools, believe it will fail to help raise standards and prove too costly, especially at a time when the number of students is declining sharply.
Deputy Montague, a former teacher and union leader, said he had previously seen the advantages of various models of secondary education and was yet to make a firm decision about the proposals his committee should present to the new Assembly.
‘I’m really open-minded about this, but we’ve got to factor in the cost and value for money and that demographic,’ he said.
‘The mood at the moment is that money is very, very tight and that fiscal revenue streams are just not certain. This is why we’ve got to be open-minded.’
But one option Deputy Montague all but ruled out was keeping the Sixth Form Centre permanently at its temporary home at La Mare de Carteret.
‘I’m not happy to see it there at all. It’s sub-optimal, it’s not what we wanted, and we’ve said that all the way through,’ he said.
‘We’ve got to make the best of what we’ve got.
‘We can still have students getting incredible outcomes. But we need to find a permanent home.’
States’ decisions about the future of secondary education are not expected to affect the current construction of The Guernsey Institute at Les Ozouets.
The Education Committee recently visited the site and studied the final plans for its completion in 2027.
‘We were impressed by how well the project is being managed.
‘It is running on time and on budget,’ said Deputy Montague.
‘It will be a strategic asset for the island, the aim being to provide a vibrant and inclusive centre of excellence for technical, vocational and professional learning to serve industry and our community.’
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