La Mare de Carteret is a precious asset

Last week our school celebrated the beginning of a new dawn for every member of our community. We had been recognised as the first school in Guernsey to secure consecutive grades as 'Very Good' with one area defined as 'Good' by Education Scotland under the 'How Good is Our School?' framework. This validation report effectively identifies our school to be the sector leader in Guernsey within secondary education and further substantiates the feedback that we have received from partner organisations, professionals and the Education Department that in a number of key areas we are a model of best practice. Having extensively publicised this validation through television, radio, print and online media I must assume that the outcomes from the report are known by deputies as invested stakeholders in the quality of public services provided on island. Therefore, I was naturally surprised to learn of the counterintuitive proposal from Deputy St Pier that his preferred model of schooling should include the closure of a flagship success story that had been recognised only 6 days prior as achieving 'transformational change' for young people in Guernsey.

The content and context of the report by Education Scotland in February 2016 provide a useful starting point for any public discussion around the future of our school which I will first summarise as a response to the question 'What would you lose if you lost La Mare?' To begin with you would lose a very good school in which the inspection team found that, 'overall the quality of teaching is very good' and 'a strong feature of the school is the considerable investment in shaping the curriculum around the needs of learners'. These findings are further supported by the fact that students make better progress in English than the UK national average, attained 7% more A*/A grades this year and ensured that no child left without a qualification for the last three years. More striking is that these outcomes taken together are unique features of our school and if lost will not be accessible by children in our community to allow them to reach their potential.

In addition, our school offers an enriched school experience that stretches beyond the academic realm of study into personal development. The inspection team noted that, 'students have opportunities to develop and demonstrate leadership at each stage' and 'Individual students make their mark by being successful ambassadors for the school and for young people on the island'. Our development of young leaders is further supported by the contribution of our students to the Youth Forum elections where we recorded the highest voting turnout of any participating school, our victory in the Mourant Ozanne Youth Speaks competition and our established Junior Leadership Team. We offer an extensive enrichment programme that totalled over 400 hours of revision last year and we know that over 90% of our students participate in our enrichment programme of activities. These features contribute to the significant investment that we make in our students every day and extend to become part of the opportunities for developing the next generation of leaders that would be lost if the school were to be closed.

In summary, from an educational perspective the closure of our school as a valuable public asset is fatally flawed. If our school is closed then Guernsey will lose a very good school. This will have a detrimental impact on the future academic success and personal development of young people and the 'transformational change' that has been delivered by our teaching team will have been squandered. The idea that our school should be discussed in the context of closure is counterintuitive and illogical considering the opportunities it provides to young people in Guernsey. To take these experiences away from future generations is unjustifiable and it is indicative of either ideological motivation or inefficient, short-term thinking.

That I am passionate about my role within my school is not uncommon amongst my colleagues who have given everything to deliver a unique public service to our students. However, when faced with the flippancy of an elected official who can drop the name of a school he would like to close in passing I cannot refrain from commenting on the thinly veiled contempt that I am ashamed to have seen before when observing those in power discussing the future of our school. The lack of respect our young people have been shown demonstrates the insulated perspective of those who are content with other people's children being taught in substandard facilities, flooded libraries and freezing mobile huts.

La Mare de Carteret is a precious asset and I urge you to depart from the myopic idea that only through elitism can something be truly special. We are an inclusive school and we embrace working with young people whatever their background. We represent the real Guernsey and endeavour to foster aspiration and achievement for all children. We believe that every one of our students should never settle for anything less than their best. The only thing about our school rooted in the elite are the standards that we set of ourselves, our students and parents. To believe that we are simply another school that can just be closed misses the true gravity of the decision befalling deputies. To support the closure of our school would be a betrayal. In dismembering a vibrant, successful and caring community all those in political power would be accountable for cutting the heart from the community with an impact on the future human capital available to Guernsey.

Despite all the challenges we face we have achieved excellent results and forged something that you now have the opportunity to preserve and catalyse. I would urge with humility that if the details of our recent inspection are not known to you at this time that you consider the full weight of evidence available through the Education Department website to fully appreciate the contribution of our school: http://www.education.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=100961&p=0

I ask that you consider the moral imperative of equality of opportunity, the value of a very good school to young people, the importance of our community to the people we serve and the capacity we have to provide human capital in the future. If you close this school then you will be accountable for the loss of a very good school and the schism of a successful community. Antoine de Saint-Exupery said the following about truth; 'It is only with the heart that one can see rightly'.

Think on this and do what is right for your next generation.

Kind regards,

Dan Cleary

Assistant Headteacher

La Mare de Carteret High School