But Blanchelande College would continue to receive grant support from the taxpayer as at present.
Elizabeth College and The Ladies’ College, which are set to run completely independently with the backing of philanthropic support, both want to buy some of the land they use from the States – the whole Les Gravees site for The Ladies’ College and the Upland Road building and part of the Beechwood junior school site on Queen’s Road for Elizabeth College – and then walk away from their financial arrangements with the States.
They would be registered as independent schools under the Education (Guernsey) Law, and the roughly £2.2m. a year they currently receive between them would be redeployed by the States.
The most significant change is for The Ladies’ College. Unlike Elizabeth College, which is already governed independently, it is currently legally run by the States, which has a role in decisions ranging from the make-up of its governing board to its curriculum. The law from 1962 would be repealed, and the college’s operations, assets, liabilities, staff contracts and governance transferred to a new charitable structure that would run the school daily – most likely done through fresh legislation. Education and Policy & Resources have pulled together the proposals coming before the States.
‘We have responded swiftly but with careful thought and due diligence to take the steps necessary for the colleges to become wholly independent of the States so they can accept the donor’s offer,’ said P&R president Lindsay de Sausmarez.
John Roche, chairman of the board of Elizabeth College, and Caroline Chan, chair of the board of The Ladies’ College, thanked the two committees for their work.
‘They have worked immensely hard to deliver it on a timeline that we hope will allow us to move forward for the benefit of all.’
The colleges say fees would stay at broadly their current level in real terms, and both have confirmed they do not intend to increase their overall capacity.
The Ladies’ College, which is currently operating below capacity, has said it would use a new bursary scheme to grow its numbers over time, while Elizabeth College would extend its existing bursary offer. The two schools would remain subject to external inspection under the Independent Schools Inspectorate framework, and would continue to supply the States with data on pupil numbers, attainment and capacity, as well as meeting the usual obligations on safeguarding and standards.
Blanchelande College, which has received grant aid in its current format at Les Vauxbelets since 2001 and is already independently governed, would not be affected by the changes to the other two – but would become the sole grant-aided college. As a result, the committees say its current grant agreement with the States would need to be varied or replaced to reflect that position, with any new terms to be agreed between the college and the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture.
The proposals will be debated by the States next month.
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