Now is the time to fight for schools

They are hypotheticals now and the debate is well-mannered and somewhat muted but the reality is that the department is committed to taking the will of the people to the States and is therefore doing its best to get islanders involved.

At present about 1,000 people have taken part. It's a healthy number but a long way short of what is needed.

That will be boosted by feedback by focus groups but the more people who fill in the questionnaire the stronger the department's mandate.

When firm proposals to, say, end the 11-plus, turn the Grammar School into a comprehensive, close a high school and end support for the colleges are put forward the quiet debate will explode into life.

Even if the result is to keep the status quo there will be people furious that an opportunity has been missed.

Inevitably, those who did not have the time or energy to take part in the consultation at this stage will suddenly have a cause to fight for.

When it is their school threatened with closure and their children who will have to move across the island the education debate will become much less muted.

If the numbers who participate in the Your Schools Your Choice consultation are low it will offer critics more of a chance to question the results. The proposals will lack authority.

Deputies will then feel more entitled to challenge and tinker with the plans, coming up with last-minute amendments which may have profoundly damaging consequences.

If, however, the consultation is a success (and it is hard to judge exactly what that means) the States debate will have at its core a considered view that represents islanders much better than can be achieved by one deputy or department.

That does not mean it will be universally accepted. The stakes are too high for that. But the more people who take part the more acceptable the outcome.