IT is generally agreed that the Island’s education system is of a high standard.

The subjective view that it is doing a good job is, moreover, supported by objective evidence, some of it in the shape of the excellent A-level and GCSE results which are recorded annually. In addition, the majority of our school buildings are bright, modern and well designed and the facilities available in them are first class.

This picture, complemented by teaching staff who do a demonstrably good job, might suggest that we can rest on our laurels, content in the knowledge that, educationally speaking, we live in the best possible of worlds.

But real life admits of no such complacency. Educational practices change continually and new ideas are always forthcoming – such as the opportunity to study for the International Baccalaureate. More worryingly, the Education department and the institutions it supports are coming under increasing financial pressures.

It is, therefore, entirely appropriate that major reviews are planned in the field of education, focusing in particular on 14+ transfer to Hautlieu and the whole question of vocational training. What was educationally effective only a few years ago might well now be ready for revision – though it is clear that no one should jump to premature conclusions.
In the 1990s a fierce battle was fought over the future of Hautlieu. This was ultimately won by those who argued that it should retain its essential identity and that selection at 14+ should continue.

The wisdom of favouring the status quo in that case has been confirmed by Hautlieu’s subsequent performance. This does not, however, mean that structures that currently exist cannot be questioned. It is right and proper that potential improvements should be examined.

This applies to the question of vocational courses as well as to the organisation of secondary education as a whole. Equipping young people with genuine skills that lead directly into the world of work should certainly be part of the educative effort.

We must nevertheless guard against the danger of seeing schools in purely utilitarian terms. Training – for that is what vocational courses are all about – must take its place alongside the traditional liberal education which has so long been offered in our classrooms.

The Island needs plumbers and mechanics, accountants and computer specialists; it also needs young people whose personalities and attitudes have been shaped by reading Shakespeare, probing the mysteries of abstract mathematics and physics and studying world events, both current and historical.