Principal warns against cutting private funding

Daniele Harford-Fox said pupils would be forced to leave the independent colleges if fees were to go up

The principal at an independent college in Guernsey has said plans to cut funding to the private education sector on the island would "actually cost taxpayers a lot more money".

Daniele Harford-Fox, principal at The Ladies' College, made the comments after the Committee for Education, Sport and Culture said it was in favour of phasing out financial support.

The States said the planned cut was to redress an "unfair allocation" of funding as it currently widened inequality.

But Ms Harford-Fox said: "If you reduce this funding and therefore we have to increase fees we think it will actually cost taxpayers a lot more money."

She added: "This is absolutely not a saving. It is not like the UK where only the top 7% of students go to independent schools.

"On Guernsey, 30% of our secondary pupils go to the independent colleges and we're able to educate 30% of our children for 3% of the education budget.

"That works out at about £2,000 per child in the independent sector versus, and it's hard to get exact numbers, but somewhere between £10,000 and £15,000 in the state sector."

'Put up fees'

Ms Harford-Fox said: "We have shrunk all of our costs to make it as accessible to middle earners as possible so if this funding is withdrawn we will have to put up fees," she said.

"These parents, who are often working second jobs, they're taking money from families to send their children to the colleges, they will have to move across to the state sector, which I think will be sad."

Blanchelande College, Elizabeth College and The Ladies' College are the institutions that would be affected by the proposal.

According to the States, the colleges were expected to receive £2.85m in government funding in 2025/2026.

The Committee for Education, Sport and Culture said this was an increase of nearly 400% since 2019.

Previously the committee said it was in favour of phasing out financial support for the colleges for four reasons: it said it was not the best use of taxpayer money, it was an "unfair allocation" of funding, it widened inequality and it was not necessary for the colleges to continue running.

The official policy letter is set to be published on Monday.