In September 2019, the four mainstream secondary schools started taking in all-ability year groups. This will allow all children in the future to be provided with similar opportunities at each secondary school.
The Committee for Education, Sport & Culture have implemented a 'partner school' system for Year 7 secondary admissions, from September 2019. The Partner School model means children from groups of primary schools are placed at their Primary School's Partner Secondary School Site, even if they no longer live within the catchment area of the primary school that they currently attend.
This will allow primary school year groups to be kept together during their transition to secondary education. It also enables secondary schools to work more closely with their partner primary schools, which will help to make the transition to secondary education as smooth as possible. In addition to this, it means that children are able to maintain the friendships they have formed at primary school.
The Partner Schools system originally accounted for the previously agreed one school, two college model, and would have seen children in Year 5 and below feeding into one of either Les Beaucamps or St Sampsons High Schools. These plans, however, have been put on hold following the 'pause and review' requête, which the States supported in March 2020.
Instead the partner model from 2019 has been extended, but slightly tweaked, to allow for evenly sized year groups across the four high schools when the next year group moves into Year 7 in September 2021. The main change coming out of that tweak will be that Vauvert feeds into Les Varendes, rather than La Mare de Carteret. For more information on this decision, see the media release attached to this page. Information for pupils currently in Year 5 and below (as of the Academic Year 2020/2021) will be confirmed when the review of secondary education is completed, and a decision is made on which model is right for the island.
Partner Schools for year group moving into secondary education in September 2020
Primary School Secondary School Site Amherst Les Varendes Castel Les Beaucamps Forest Les Beaucamps Hautes Capelles St Sampsons La Houguette La Mare de Carteret La Mare de Carteret La Mare de Carteret Notre Dame Les Varendes St Martins Les Beaucamps St Mary and St Michael St Sampsons Vale St Sampsons Vauvert La Mare de Carteret
Partner Schools for year group moving into secondary education in September 2021
Primary School Secondary School Site Amherst Les Varendes Castel Les Beaucamps Forest Les Beaucamps Hautes Capelles St Sampsons La Houguette La Mare de Carteret La Mare de Carteret La Mare de Carteret Notre Dame Les Varendes St Martins Les Beaucamps St Mary and St Michael St Sampsons Vale St Sampsons Vauvert Les Varendes
Can I make a request for my child to attend a different secondary school site?
- Parents and carers are able to apply for their child to attend a different secondary school site from the one that is partnered with their primary school, if they can demonstrate that it would be unreasonably detrimental to their child's education to attend the identified site. These are referred to as 'Parent/Carer Request for an Out of Catchment Area/Partner Site' (PC-OCAPS).
- Circumstances in which it might be appropriate to make such requests include:
- Where a child has medical, psychological or specific social needs;
- Where an elder brother or sister attends, and will continue to attend, the requested school during the next school year;
- Where a school-based employee feels it would be unsuitable for their child to attend the school in which they work.
- To avoid unreasonable transport arrangements.
- Please bear in mind that capacity is limited at all secondary schools and therefore it may not be possible for such requests to be approved.
- For further information, please see the Secondary Admissions Policy and the PC-OCAPS Policy Directive, which are both available from the downloads section of this page.
- These requests must be made by 5pm on Friday 10th January 2020. Please note that this deadline has been extended in order to give parents and carers more time to submit such requests.
Parents and children will have the opportunity to visit their secondary school during Year 6.
