Select a region
A 17-year-old "star of the future", who spent her summer working in a restaurant in preparation for starting a tourism and hospitality diploma at Highlands on Monday, has spoken of her devastation at having the course cancelled with less than a week's notice – leaving the teen and her coursemates uncertain about future plans.
The Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality Level 3 Diploma is a full-time course offered as an A-level equivalent as part of Highlands College's sixth form provision.
The course is open to 16 to 18-year-old students who have a minimum of five GCSEs and is advertised as a stepping stone to university degrees, Level 4 Diploma programmes, or employment.
It promises to provide students with the "necessary skills to manage operations and businesses across a diverse range of contexts including tourism and hospitality, cultural heritage, and events".
However, students hoping to start this course as part of the 2023-25 sixth form cohort were informed last week that the course had been cancelled due to a low enrolment numbers – leaving them with just five days to make important decisions about their future.
17-year-old Poppy Jones was one of the students enrolled on the Tourism and Hospitality course, and described feeling "devastated" that it had been cancelled.
"I was so looking forward to it," said Poppy. "I wasn't sure what I wanted to do after my GCSEs at first but, when I found this course, it felt like everything had fallen into place."
Pictured: Poppy (17) spent her summer working at El Tico to gain hospitality experience in preparation for the now-cancelled course.
Poppy explained that Highlands College had offered her alternative courses, but these were part-time courses or Level 2 (GCSE equivalent) courses instead of Level 3 (A-level equivalent).
"It's not the same as the full-time course I was meant to be doing," she explained.
Poppy had been working at El Tico in to build up her experience ahead of starting the Tourism and Hospitality course, with senior staff members at the restaurant describing her as a "star of the future".
She even explained how she hoped to one day own her own business in the island.
But now Poppy's future is uncertain. She said that she had been looking at the possibility of study off-island, but would ideally like to stay in Jersey.
"I just don't know what to do," she admitted. "I don't understand why there's no hospitality course available on an island built on hospitality and tourism."
Pictured: Last year, Highlands College's Level 3 Performing Arts course was cancelled for the second time in three years due to insufficient student numbers.
Earlier this year, it was also announced that the Level 3 Performing Arts course at Highlands College was cancelled ahead of its September 2023 start date following low student demand.
The cancellation has received backlash from islanders concerned about the lack of study opportunities for performing arts subjects in Jersey and a petition was set up calling for the course to be saved.
In May, Highlands College also announced the cancellation of the BA (Hons) in Business and Management degree, again due to a lack of demand. While the College could not specify the exact number of applicants for this degree, they said it was less than five.
On Thursday 14 September, Principal of Highlands College, Jo Terry-Marchant, said: “There were fewer than five applicants for the cancelled full-time two-year course which would make it an inadequate learning experience.
"However, all applicants are currently studying at the College full-time and settling in well."
She also confirmed that an alternative full-time Hospitality programme with advanced level qualifications as outcomes is running at Highlands College to provide for students.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.