REBUILDING EDUCATION: Education is not just another service; it is the foundation of Guernsey’s future. Without a strong, inclusive education system, we cannot grow our economy, lift up our people, or build the resilient community we need to face the future. Yet today, our Secondary Education System is in chaos. The reforms to secondary education have been mishandled at every stage. The decision to separate the Sixth Form into a tiny standalone centre, housed in a crumbling building, is already degrading our education offering. Despite the best efforts of our brilliant teachers, the curriculum is narrowing, pastoral support is weakening, and students are being let down. The model being implemented creates inefficiencies at every turn: duplicated administration, resources stretched thinly across sites, teachers travelling between schools instead of building deep relationships with pupils. Money is being spent not on new teachers or learning support, but on maintenance, middle management, and additional overheads. Class sizes have crept up, damaging the delivery of effective SEND support. The uneven distribution of students across the three secondary schools has made the problem worse, concentrating needs unevenly and making it harder to deliver consistent standards. Students with additional needs, particularly academically able neurodivergent students — such as those with Autism — are being failed by this system. Large class sizes and overstretched support structures mean that students who should be thriving academically are instead struggling to access the curriculum. Some underachieve quietly; others drop out altogether, with families forced to pick up the pieces, often turning to homeschooling — without any of the subsidy that is available for private Colleges. There is also a growing gap in challenge and stretch for those who are capable of excelling but are not being given the opportunity. We cannot simply plough on and hope for the best. Students must come first — not political ideology. Right now, only those who can afford private fees at the Colleges can access a full 11–18 education in a single environment. That makes the preservation of an excellent, inclusive Sixth Form offering even more vital. Sixth Form has never just been about academic study. Its breadth of enrichment, its diversity, its community ethos have been a jewel in Guernsey’s education crown. We are watching it being dismantled before the move has even happened. The failures are not limited to structure. Governance Boards, while neat on paper, have proven toothless in practice. Instead of true devolution and accountability, we have created another layer of bureaucracy — further distancing the Committee from scrutiny and further disempowering schools and teachers. Meanwhile, essential reforms like the overdue Education Law gather dust. And throughout this term, the vital Primary School Review, needed to address falling numbers and the impact of tiny, resource-stretched schools, has been ignored. This is shameful. It is a difficult conversation, but failing to face it only weakens the quality of education offered to our youngest learners. There is hope. The Guernsey Institute, once fully realised, has the potential to be a powerhouse for growing our own skilled workforce. But that potential must be nurtured — not treated as an afterthought. We need to stop pretending that all is well, and start facing reality. That means: Putting student outcomes, not political pride, at the heart of decision-making. Having real, ongoing, honest conversations with the public — not cosmetic consultations. Building a sustainable, efficient, excellent secondary model. Supporting the Guernsey Institute to thrive. Reforming the Education Law to deliver genuine accountability. Facing the Primary Review honestly, and planning for a school structure that works. If we want to give every young person the chance to thrive, we must fix the system now — not in five years, not after another committee cycle, but now.