Committee warns Guernsey 'running out' of space for new Sixth Form Centre

Guernsey's Education Committee has warned the island has "run out of viable real estate" for further education facilities.

The existing Sixth Form Centre, which only opened in 2005, is set to be incorporated into the new Les Varendes High School when it opens on the site of Guernsey Grammar School.

The further education facility is currently due to temporarily move to the La Mare de Carteret High School site in September 2025, but the government says "that cannot be a long-term solution".

The committee says if the Sixth Form Centre was to remain at its current location, there would not be enough space for the proposed merger of La Mare de Carteret and the Grammar schools to go ahead.

Around 1,200 students will be based on the site when the merger goes ahead, something committee president - Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen - says won't be not viable without significant investment.

She said: "It is simply not possible to accommodate the larger 11-16 school and a separate Sixth Form Centre at Les Varendes, without significant further investment to manage the circa 1,200 students who would be on that site.

"Neither can we leave the Sixth Form Centre at La Mare de Carteret for anything more than an interim period."

Deputy Dudley-Owen added: "As such, if we are serious about improving education in Guernsey and Alderney – and we do not believe the States can avoid this investment in post-16 education facilities any longer after years of uncertainty and indecision – then building a new Sixth Form Centre as part of a wider post-16 campus not only represents value for money, but also ensures much greater educational benefits where students no longer have an inequitable offering for post-16 education and will all attend the new adult campus."

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