07 September 2009
On the 4th September 2009 the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture and the President of Le Don Balleine charitable trust formalised a partnership agreement to help protect and promote Jèrriais, the Island ’s traditional language.
Coinciding with the launch of a new GCSE equivalent qualification for secondary pupils, the partnership agreement underpins the support given to run L’Office du Jèrriais, the base from which the teaching programme operates.
Ten years ago, following a States decision to fund classes, the first pupils began to learn Jèrriais in schools across the Island. Now the efforts of the teachers employed by the Le Don Balleine are being recognised in the partnership agreement which cements the relationship between Le Don Balleine and the Department for Education, Sport and Culture.
Le Don Balleine President, Mr Jean Le Maistre, warmly welcomed the development, describing it as ‘remarkable’ that each year some 200 pupils opt to learn Jèrriais out of normal school hours.
“It is a very positive reflection on the way that a significant number of young people - and clearly their parents who support them - value our culture and our heritage. In addition, this year for the first time, we are able to extend the teaching to secondary level with a GCSE equivalent which is a major step forward”, he said.
The Minister for Education, Sport and Culture, Deputy James Reed, said that he was very pleased that the arrangements were now to be put on a formal footing.
“One of the objectives of the Cultural Strategy is to try to revive Jèrriais as a language which reflects our cultural identity. The teaching programme is an important aspect of this and a formal agreement which sets out the relationship with Le Don Balleine is an important step. It will also encourage us to look at other ways draw public attention to the language", he said.
"The department will be working with L’Office du Jèrriais to develop a language plan to help make the language more prominent on a daily basis as well as encouraging further interest in student and adult classes", he added.
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