Latest news with #KieranJames
BBC News
7 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Guernsey sixth form centre ask the community for support
Islanders have been urged to consider ways they may be able to contribute to Guernsey's new sixth form States of Guernsey said the centre's move to its new temporary home at the La Mare de Carteret site will take place in September, before it moves to a campus at Les said the policy and resources committee approved £283,000 to ready the site for the sixth form, with £179,000 to fund equipment and bike form principal Kieran James said the vision was to create a "smart, professional" environment, adding: "We are asking Guernsey's incredible community to come together and contribute to this important project." Officials said the revamp work includes remodelling parts of the building's interior, as well as transforming the current sports hall into a university-style lecture theatre and multi-purpose study James said the centre would reach out to individuals and businesses who were keen to collaborate."This could include support through corporate social responsibility initiatives, from providing interior design advice or donating additional quality office furnishings, to offering mentoring support to our students or helping to fund motivational and inspirational graphic artwork to enhance the site," he James added: "The students who graduate from the Sixth Form Centre they become our future doctors and our lawyers and our teachers and our journalists."What we're asking is that the community therefore gives some input into the sixth form to be part of that journey."Nick Hynes, director of education, said the relocation work was "on track and in budget".
BBC News
26-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Guernsey teachers' dedication in Covid remembered five years on
Five years since Guernsey schools closed for the first Covid lockdown, islanders have been looking back at what happened and how the pandemic impacted their lives. Nick Hynes, who at the time was the head of Inclusion and Services for Children and Schools, said it was a "scary" time. "At the time, it felt like we were making very big decisions - not only personally but for the whole community - and not quite understanding what that might mean then and in the future."He said during the lockdown teachers worked through their Easter holidays and supported Guernsey's most vulnerable now director of education said: "After Covid, education was struggling for a long time, because of the ongoing illness of staff and pupils, and the challenges of recruiting and retaining staff."I'll never forget the dedication that staff put in, without complaining." For Kieran James, principal of the Sixth Form Centre, the transition to online learning was the first said: "We started working with telecoms agencies and businesses to distribute wi-fi dongles because we realised immediately that some students couldn't learn online as they didn't have internet access. "We were literally going round dropping dongles and books through people's postboxes so students could learn."I think we all came back thinking, 'we do like school, we like being in school, and this is our community'." Sophia Roger, now 17 and studying at the Sixth Form Centre, said: "I think, as an island, we did deal with it really well. "We came together and did what we were told to do to pretty quickly which prevented any spread [of Covid]."I don't feel that I missed out on too much education, because my school at the time [Blanchelande College] made sure we had what we said the lockdowns taught her to be more grateful."We value things more now. "We value social interactions with our friends and having one-on-one conversations with our teachers, even going out to the shop." Tom Rylatt remembers leaving university in a rush and later struggling to complete his studies he says spending the summer months of the first lockdown in Guernsey gave him a much better experience than that of his peers in the UK."It was one of the only times in my life it felt as though everyone was putting their faith in the States - they were pulling for us and we were pulling for them - which doesn't always feel like the case now."What I remember was community, freedom and good weather."
