Figures obtained by the JEP under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the public are footing the bill for the hospitality costs of the Island’s fee-paying schools, which include Jersey College for Girls and Victoria College and their respective primary schools.
Fee-paying spending – average of £2,028 per school over two years
13/12/2013 £114 School show open evening – drinks and canapés
06/09/2013 £285 Year 7 parents welcome barbecue – food and soft drinks
12/11/2013 £1,195 Drama production – drinks for parents and guests
24/03/2014 £319 Lunch for several visiting teams and match officials during rugby tournament hosted by school
13/06/2014 £336 Guest speaker – buffet lunch for 12
05/09/2014 £162 Staff welcome drinks – drinks for new staff
States school spending – average of £346 per school over two years
11/12/2013 £281 School show refreshments and mince pies
26/06/2013 £368 Year 11 leavers food from canteen
07/02/2013 £332 14+ activities days from other schools – sandwich lunch (4 days)
22/09/2014 £500 Staff meal to welcome new staff
29/01/2014 £2,872 Hospitality for Chinese students from Bayi School, Beijing
30/0/014 £898 GCSE awards presentation evening
And when compared to similar spending by States schools those in the fee-paying sector are costing taxpayers more than five times as much in hospitality costs per school.
The figures also show that £400,000 has been spent by the States in the last two years on hospitality.
The Economic Development Department was the biggest spender, splashing out £127,904 on everything from hosting guests at rugby games in the UK and drinks receptions to charity golf days.
By contrast the Social Security Department spent just £490 during the same period, including £146 on a staff awards ceremony buffet and drinks.
Overall the figures show that States hospitality spending has dropped from £248,587 in 2013 to £176,634 last year.
Details of the spending by fee-paying schools is revealed in the Education Department’s breakdown of its hospitality costs.
A total of £8,114 – or just over £2,000 per school – was spent in 2013 and 2014 by fee-paying schools on drinks and canapés for school events, barbecues for parents whose children have just started school, lunches for visiting cricket teams, welcome drinks for new staff and hospitality for guest speakers, among others.
All bills were covered by the Education Department, which pays annual subsidies to the schools.
Currently each fee-paying school receives a set grant per student per year – worked out at 50 per cent of the cost of educating a pupil in the States Secondary sector and 25 per cent for primaries, which amounts to millions of pounds annually per school.
Four years ago the then Education Minister, James Reed, caused controversy when he proposed cutting those grants as part of spending cuts within his department.
However, following a public outcry from fee-paying schools and their supporters those plans were shelved. The States also owns and maintains fee-paying schools’ buildings and employs their teachers, although the schools are required to contribute to the cost.
The Island’s 27 States schools, five of them at secondary level, also have their hospitality costs paid by the States. The figures show that they spent a total of £9,340 over the two years – the equivalent of £346 per school.
The figures released to the JEP show that on ten occasions in 2013 and 2014 Education paid for lunches for golf, cricket and rugby teams visiting fee-paying schools. During the same two-year period no sports teams were hosted by States schools.
The department, which has not named individual schools, also paid the bill for four visiting guest speakers at fee-paying schools compared to none in the public sector.
The biggest single expense for any schools during the two years was by a States secondary, which spent £2,872 hosting students from a school in Beijing.
- There are seven fee-paying schools in the Island – Jersey College for Girls, Victoria College, De La Salle College, Beaulieu School, FCJ Primary, St Georges Preparatory School, and St Michaels School.
- All of these schools provide primary education, and four also provide secondary education.
- Jersey College for Girls and Victoria College are known as States fee-paying, because their buildings belong to and are maintained by the States and their teachers are employed by the States, although they are required to make a contribution to the cost
- By contrast, the remainder of the fee-paying schools own and maintain their own buildings, although from time to time they are offered help with capital projects and employ their own staff.
- This distinction, however, does not affect the amount the colleges are given in subsidies. The States provide, on average, 50 per cent of the cost of educating a student at a secondary States school per year to fee-paying schools.
