Education must show its workings

The Scrutiny hearing last week was the latest opportunity to get behind the public statements and look at the Education committee’s homework.

There were some successes. We learned, for example, that it would cost an estimated £21m. just to refurbish Les Varendes, let alone rebuild it.

And it will cost ‘tens of millions’ – but probably not as much as £100m. – to turn Les Beaucamps and St Sampson’s into sixth form colleges big enough to accommodate all States secondary school pupils.

But for those who want to take a good hard look at exactly how the decision over which schools to close was reached it was still thin gruel.

Education president Matt Fallaize has assured parents, teachers and pupils it has been an objective process, based on the practicalities of each site.

Effectively, he is presenting ‘the answer’ and asking islanders to trust the committee.

Come summer, we are told, all will be revealed.

Scrutiny chairman Chris Green, a one-time member of Education, is not convinced. He questions how objective the process can really be when Education sets its own criteria. The weighting of costs versus geography, existing facilities versus disruption to pupils is critical.

Education knows this all too well. It discounted the work of architectural consultants Design Engine for that very reason. Asked by the previous committee to select two schools, Design Engine chose St Sampson’s and La Mare – but their work used the wrong criteria.

So the committee should not be surprised or disappointed that their choice of schools is being questioned. They did the same themselves when they were merely backbench deputies pushing for a two-school model.

Asking deputies and the public to wait until summer 2019 to see exactly how each school measured up will test people’s patience. And if there is to be a change in direction it will be all the harder and more costly after another eight months of planning has passed by.

Deputies and the public will watch with interest as Scrutiny promises to ‘interrogate further’ the logic behind preferring St Sampson’s and Les Beaucamps.