THE vast majority of primary-school head teachers are opposed to a proposal to set up three bilingual English-French schools in Jersey, according to the results of a new survey.
The survey, conducted by the Education Department, gathered responses from 21 out of 24 schools, with none supporting the idea put forward by Deputy Sir Philip Bailhache.
Deputy Bailhache’s proposition, which he has deferred a debate on “to try to find some common ground” with the government, calls for three schools to gradually introduce bilingual teaching from 2025 and aims to preserve French as a key part of Jersey’s cultural heritage.
Education Minister Rob Ward has said plans to convert three primary schools to teach the curriculum in French as well as English could cost more than £2 million to implement, was not the best way of providing high-quality French teaching and could lead to job losses.
He added that this was “neither inclusive nor accessible to all children and young people” in Jersey.
Concerns about staffing and recruitment were expressed by head teachers in the survey.
Several said it would be difficult to find enough qualified teachers who were both fluent in French and capable of delivering the local curriculum.
