Teachers from Thirst Music School, which had provided discounted instrumental and vocal lessons at the school for a number of years, will no longer be permitted to teach there.
The announcement came following a delay to lessons at the start of this term.
Officials at Education, Sport & Culture said they had become aware over the summer that paid-for music lessons were being delivered to pupils at the school during curriculum time, which breached an established policy.
‘The island-wide policy is clear that parents cannot be charged for education delivered during curriculum time, and this applies to every provider and every learner equally,’ said head of education operations Sophie Roughsedge.
‘This consistency is about fairness, and so for this reason the lessons in their current format cannot continue.’
Mrs Roughsedge said that ESC was working to find a solution, and that the States-run Guernsey Music Service continued to offer a broad programme open to every learner.
An email to parents from St Sampson’s High said staff ‘shared your disappointment’ that the long-standing provision had been forced to stop, and echoed that work was under way to secure a permanent solution.
Thirst Music School said the move was ‘disappointing all round’ but they were working closely with parents and the school to ensure that all students previously taught there were offered alternative lessons out of school time.
‘Parents have been very understanding and St Sampson’s High have been very supportive,’ said co-director Lorraine Mahy.
Tyler Edmonds, founder and director of the School of Popular Music, said he recognised Education’s ‘responsibility to ensure that its policies are applied transparently, fairly and consistently across all schools and providers’.
‘We strongly support making music education accessible and affordable to as many young people as possible,’ he said.
‘Guernsey has a fantastic music community, including the valuable work of the Guernsey Music Service, and we are keen to play our part in helping as many young people as possible access high quality music education.’
One 12-year-old St Sampson’s student, who asked not to be named, said she was disappointed to hear that the in-school lessons would stop, having benefitted from them for the past year.
She was hoping to continue them out of school hours but was not yet sure if that would be possible.
‘I’m already quite busy outside of school, so that’s why I liked them in school, so I could actually fit them into my school day,’ she said.
She thought music was an essential part of the curriculum because ‘it teaches creativity and listening skills and lots of other things’.