Guernsey States to debate if Herm school reopens

Three additional amendments have been added to the requête

Reopening options for Herm's school will be put to the States of Guernsey.

The Committee for Education, Sport & Culture (ESC) lodged three additional amendments to the requête about education provision in the island.

Herm primary school was closed in July after a fall in the number of pupils, with students set to travel to Guernsey to be educated in a year-long trial.

Deputy David De Lisle called for the island's education committee to reverse its decision to close the school.

The ESC committee said it did not support two amendments to reopen the school

Children starting from age five will trial travelling daily between Herm and Guernsey by boat to get to school for one academic year.

The privately leased Channel Island has a year-round population of about 60.

In its amendments, the committee suggested reopening the school for pupils up to year 2, and to create a group to oversee the trial.

It said if the school was to reopen, it would need the Policy & Resources Committee to "ensure that education is provided on a basis that is equitable and appropriate" and properly funded.

The committee said it did not support the amendments to reopen the school or provide education on-island for infants, but wanted to provide the States with more options.

'Invest resources'

Deputy Sue Aldwell, member of the ESC committee, said when teaching a small number of students "across several year groups, there are many barriers to successful teaching and learning".

"If the States is determined to continue providing education in Herm without the evidence from the pilot to inform that decision, they need to understand that we will need to invest resources so that the provision is more equitable with that received by children in Guernsey," she said.

The debate will be put to the States on 5 September, the first day of school.