Why two schools, 11-to-18 is better option?

An 11-to-18 school improves academic outcomes for students

Teachers who teach over all three Key Stages have a longer view of the way the secondary Key Stages fit together and understand clearly the requirements of sixth form study in their subject so can plan their teaching in the lower school (Years 7 to 11) accordingly, ensuring that Programmes of Study in lower school equip students to cope at A level. This is of benefit to students who have teachers who see the whole picture.

In a larger school, setting works more effectively. You have more chance of support for those who struggle in a subject and the opportunity to push on for those with flair in a particular subject if they are in different sets. Larger schools do not equate to bigger classes – just more classes.

In a larger school it is more likely that students in all key stages will be taught by teachers who are specialists in a particular subject. In smaller schools, finance often dictates that a teacher’s timetable is filled up by teaching a variety of subjects for which they are not qualified to the detriment of the student’s progress in that subject.

For recruitment and retention of well qualified staff

Most specialist secondary teachers value the experience of teaching over the three Key Stages: -

Key stage 3 – Years 7 to 9

Keys stage 4 – Years 10 and 11 (GCSE years)

Key stage 5 – Years 12 and 13 (A Level and IB years)

This is particularly true of teachers who are on a short term license or teachers who intend to return to teaching on the mainland eventually. The experience of teaching in an 11 to 18 school keeps all their options open when applying for jobs.

11-to-16 is not an attractive option for most teachers. At one high school the maths department has only had one year in the past 10 years when there was no change in personnel. This affects the possibility of continuity, of a member of staff being familiar with programmes of study, and has an impact on the head of department’s time, needing to introduce the new teachers to systems, procedures and the culture of the school.

Staffing and recruitment for physics, biology and chemistry would be difficult in a tertiary college. Most IB science specialists who are recruited come from the International Schools Circuit and we would not be able to attract them to a tertiary college in the same way as we can to an 11 and 18 school. Sometimes there are only 2 classes in Year 12 and Year 13 in chemistry and physics, an A-level group and an IB group. This would mean that only part-time posts would be needed in these subjects and no one would want to come to the Island for a part-time post.

An 11 to 18 school guarantees a team of specialist teachers in any one subject

In an 11-18 school, there will be more than one specialist teacher in every subject area and several in most. This is because teachers would be teaching lower school as well as at IB and A-level. This means you can always have at least two staff who are expert in the A-level and IB specification and assessment. This enables specialists to collaborate and co-operate on a daily basis, share expertise and good practice and where appropriate divide the labour. The benefits of this to students are enormous.

It will also have a positive impact on recruitment and retention of staff if teachers are able to work in a supportive and collaborative environment. In a combined post 16 institution there would be just one A level/IB specialist in most subjects areas. They would be working in isolation with no opportunity to share ideas, workload or discuss subject issues. This working environment would not be attractive from a recruitment and retention perspective.

Also, in the event of the single specialist teacher being absent for a period of time or leaving unexpectedly there would be nobody else in the college (or on-island) with the relevant up to date expertise and experience in that examination to cover the classes. Even when a teacher leaves with full notice, there is often at least a term (sometimes more) before they are replaced with a specialist. A level and IB courses are just 5 terms long – if one (or more) of those terms is lost due to lack of staffing the negative impact on students will be very significant. We cannot afford to build this risk into any model for post 16 education (and it would be reckless to do this).

Science is taught more successfully in an 11-to-18 school

The head of department at Les Varendes site worked in 11-to-16 schools before moving to Guernsey and she has found that the teaching of science is more successful in an 11-to-18 school.

In 11-to-16 schools the focus of the head teacher and teachers is student grades achieved at GCSE level. This is problematic for the sciences as it is more difficult for some students to get pass grades in challenging subjects and students can be encouraged by the school to follow a less demanding programme of study in order to get more pass grades in less difficult subjects.

Whereas in an 11-to-18 school, even by the end of Year 9, teachers are aiming to keep options open so that the most able students will be able to access what they need at A or IB level. The focus in an 11-to-18 school is where the students want to go next, their progression path, rather than purely focusing on results at GCSE.

Currently, in 11-to-16 schools on the island, not as much teaching time is given to science subjects compared with the time given on the Varendes site so it is more difficult for students from the high schools to get good grades in science. Head teachers of 11-to-16 schools tend to prioritise resources and teaching time for subjects where the majority of students are likely to achieve well at GCSE. As a result, fewer students than expected join the sixth form from the 11-to-16 schools to pursue studies in the sciences. This situation would become even worse if we moved to the 11-to-16 model.

At the moment, many students go on from the Sixth Form Centre to top universities to study the sciences, engineering, medicine or veterinary courses. It is less likely that this would continue with the 11 to 16 model for reasons already mentioned.

Additionally, science is better resourced in an 11-to-18 school because of the equipment needed in order to teach A-level courses. For instance, the Sixth Form Centre has an autoclave. In a tertiary college this would be underused but in an 11-to-18 school the lower school students would benefit from using such equipment, particularly GCSE students in Years 10 and 11. Such expense could not be justified in 11-to-16 schools.

An 11-to-18 school functions as a whole community

Having older students and younger students in the same school mirrors Guernsey society as a whole where all age groups need to interact for a successful community. It offers sixth form students the opportunity to play a supporting role with younger students. They function as role models, and can be inspirational for lower school students, especially in subjects like sport, drama, art and music.

The 11-to-18 option offers continuity for the students and encourages a rapport between teachers and students

Transitions can be disruptive to education and in an 11-to-18 school such disruption after GCSEs is avoided. There is also more opportunity for teachers to get to know the students really well. As the students begin sixth form studies, teachers will already know many of the students, having taught them in lower school.

We should not choose a state secondary system where the only 11-to 18-schools are in the private sector

An 11-to-18 school is evidently viewed as a successful and desirable model, with many parents choosing to pay for their children to go to an 11-to-18 school – Ladies' College or Elizabeth College. This option should not only be available in the private sector.

An 11 to 18 school offers more opportunities for students

At present, on the Varendes site, the school is able to offer students the possibility of studying a variety of modern foreign languages at KS3, KS4 and KS5. This is because languages are a compulsory part of the curriculum.

If the current proposals were to be voted in there would not be a sufficiently large number of students able to study languages within any of the 11-16 schools to allow for a variety of foreign languages to be taught. The only way that such a breadth of language study could continue would be within a larger 11-18 school.

Given that languages play such an important role in the business and finance worlds here in Guernsey, the provision of MFL needs to be given careful consideration when deliberating on the future structure of on-island education.

In a bigger school a variety of different modern foreign languages can be offered which can provide a pathway for modern foreign languages post 16. In a bigger school it would also be possible to offer a number of sets in years 10 and 11, offering support for students in lower sets and the opportunity to push ahead for higher sets.

There are problems for the teaching of English in an 11-to-16 model too. English language is perceived as the gateway qualification in an 11-to-16 school and many students are not offered the option of taking English literature.

In at least one of the High Schools currently, students complete their language course and take the exam, only embarking upon the literature course in the January of Year 11, which is risky, potentially sets them up for failure and encourages a cramming style of learning rather than fostering a love of the subject, or embedding new skills. It creates difficulties for the students if they want to study English literature at IB or A-level.

In an 11-to-18 school the English specialist teachers would be aware of the importance of offering English literature to as many students as possible at GCSE through careful setting to give them the necessary skills for A-level work and to keep their options open post-16.

There are advantages to an 11-to-18 model in other subjects too. On the Varendes site recently, a talented Year 11 art student joined a sixth form photography group on a field trip which enabled, not only extension, but also experience of a course not delivered at GCSE but strongly represented in the sixth form. An 11-to-18 school allows this kind of extension opportunity for the gifted and talented in the lower school.

Offering choice post-16

By the time students have taken GCSEs, they generally welcome the opportunity to have choice. Even if they are not pursuing courses in technical, vocational or part time subjects, many students welcome the change of culture and approach offered by the College of Further Education, and embrace choice at the age when young people can vote in Guernsey which can only be a good thing.

The option offered by the Education Committee and Education Department offers no choice post-16.

Some students have just had enough of the traditional school setting and wish to try an alternative approach. If the two school model focuses on the St Sampson’s and Varendes sites, financial savings should enable the financial investment that the College of Further Education so obviously needs so that it can function effectively from one site.

Similarly, many students from Ladies' College and Elizabeth College currently choose to transfer to the state system in the sixth form with the wide choice of subjects that the Sixth Form Centre offers at A- level and the opportunity to access IB. This is something that the Education Department should be proud of and wish to safeguard.

Benefits of size

Students do not become ‘lost’ in a larger school. In a larger school pastoral care can be improved in the alternative proposals for two reasons. A larger school will be able to employ more specialist, non-teaching staff to pastoral and support roles, such as counsellors, attendance officers, support assistants, administrative staff.

This actually frees up teacher time to be able to spend more time with their students, both as a subject teacher and a form tutor and so helps improve those crucial relationships.

All our secondary colleagues aim to offer enrichment opportunities to students and much work is done beyond the school day by most teachers.

However, a bigger school can offer more of a range of opportunities. For example, in sport, if there are more members of staff in a department, more opportunities can be offered for in school and after school activities and the staff will be able to offer more of a range of specialism.