- Institute of Directors annual debate covered a multitude of topics: Oxbridge, ‘second class’ secondary education and the Jersey curriculum
- Take a look at the pictures from this year’s debate below
- Watch: A video of a local IoD event last year
UNIVERSITY fees, the reputation of the non-fee-paying schools and the relevance of the curriculum were among the questions levelled at the Education Minister by students at a business event.
All secondary schools were invited to send representatives to the Institute of Directors annual debate, which this year focused on health and education.
On the education panel were Education Minister Rod Bryans, chief officer Justin Donovan, former Victoria College head and consultant Robert Cook, the principal of the Kingston upon Thames private school Surbiton High School and Amanda Spielman chairwoman of the exam regulator Ofqual.
Although most of the questions to the panel were fielded by moderator Alastair Stewart the students were given up to 15 minutes at the end of the five-hour event on Thursday to ask their questions.
They also took part in a ‘straw poll’ of the audience, who were overwhelmingly in favour of more involvement in education by the financial services industry, and marginally in favour of a more Jersey-based curriculum and fewer, but better quality, GCSE exams.
In answer to a question about the new A-level syllabus – which focuses on end-of-year exams instead of continuous assessment – Education director Justin Donovan said he was concerned that this was a ‘backward step’ and that he was ‘not a fan’ of the changes initiated by Michael Gove, the former UK Secretary of State for Education.
Several questioners focused on the curriculum, asking whether there should be more current affairs to prepare students for the world they were entering and why students were made to study French instead of IT.
A former Grainville student asked the panel what they would do to stop people thinking that Grainville and Haute Vallée schools were ‘second class’. Mr Donovan replied that he would be happy to send his children there and that both schools did ‘a remarkable job’, although it was not his place to dictate the structure of the Island’s education system.
Former States chief officer John Mills revealed that only one Jersey candidate had succeeded in getting into Oxford or Cambridge this year, and suggested that more should be encouraged to prepare for Oxbridge entrance exams.
But a JCG student said that it was too expensive for many Jersey candidates because at Cambridge they were charged the same fees as international students from outside the British Isles.
Mr Donovan said this was a problem his department had taken seriously, with all universities except for Cambridge and Imperial College charging Jersey students the same fees as UK students.
The panel also discussed whether the curriculum should focus on exams or be broadened to wider skills, the importance of results, and whether head teachers should be the main decision-makers.
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Mr Donovan said that in his view the Jersey curriculum did not yet reflect the Island’s history and culture, nor was it closely aligned with Jersey’s economic needs, which resulted in children ‘not well equipped’ to deal with the world of work.
