Education asked about increasing class sizes

Figures obtained by the Guernsey Press show that at the start of this school year the average Year 7 class had 28 pupils, up from 23 pupils five years ago and 22 five years ago.

At one U.S. high school this September, the average seventh-grade student body was a fraction of 30 students, while at another it was 29 students.

Five years ago, no high school in the U.S. had more than 23 students in the seventh grade, and five years before that, no school had more than 25 students.

Education, sport and culture reported the figures without comment.

However, Lindsay de Sausmarez submitted a series of written questions pursuant to Article 14 of the Rules of Procedure, to which ESC deputy chairwoman Andrea Dudley-Owen must respond by November 9, days before her committee attends a public hearing on the audit.

“As a parent of four children in grades 1-11. in state schools and hearing a lot from other parents, I have become increasingly concerned about the apparently very large class sizes in our secondary schools and the significant difference in class sizes across schools in the primary sector.

“I asked the ESC for data to establish the facts in this case,” said Deputy de Sausmarez.

Her questions require information on class sizes for all primary and secondary grade groups and teacher assignments at each high school.

She also asked for more details about the exam grades students have achieved at state schools recently, along with comparisons to previous years.

The question is understood to have been prompted by data recently released by states which showed a decline in the proportion of Year 11 pupils achieving a GCSE grade of 4 or above.

Between 2019 and 2024, the percentage of students in state schools achieving at least Grade 4 decreased from 79% to 69% for English, from 59% to 51% for math, and from 67% to 60% when all subjects were taken into consideration.

Furthermore, Deputy de Sausmarez asked the ESC for more clarification on the cost-effectiveness of staffing arrangements in schools as States move from operating 11-16 education provision in four sites, one of which also has a sixth form centre, to a new model, three schools for children aged 11-16 and a stand-alone sixth-grade center on a separate site.

“At last week’s state meeting, I also asked an oral question regarding the apparent attrition of teachers in our schools, something that many parents have recently mentioned to me,” said Deputy de Sausmarez.

“For example, I know students who will have four tutors in nine months.

“A local parent reported that his child has had nine French teachers in just over two years, while another student he knows is on his twelfth French teacher.

– I was also promised some information on this subject.