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Public input sought on GEMS school proposal

Meetings in Pemberton, Whistler this week

Residents will soon have their say about the proposed development of a private school in Pemberton when public meetings are held in Pemberton and Whistler this week.

The Pemberton meeting will take place Wednesday, July 23 at 7 p.m. at the new community centre. The Whistler meeting will take place July 24 at 7 p.m., in the Westin hotel. Both meetings will offer information about GEMS Education, the Dubai-based company that hopes to the build the school, as well as the proposed “Independent Day and Boarding School” to be located in Pemberton.

Plans to build the school were announced in 2007. The proposed site is Ravens Crest, outside the boundaries of the VOP.

The site is a rock bluff, according to project proponent Cam McIvor, but developers have nonetheless submitted a “non-farm use” application to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC), which oversees the use of land in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), where farming is a priority use.

They have also submitted an application for rezoning to the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District.

“The school’s proposed primarily on unimprovable, non-arable land, very hard soil that can never be improved,” McIvor said. “We are seeking a non-farm use application so that it will remain agricultural and it will be under the jurisdiction of the ALC when it comes to permits and uses on the land.”

GEMS, which stands for Global Management Education Systems and has operated for 48 years, is headed by Sunny Varkey, an India-born businessman who now operates the company out of Dubai.

Varkey sees education as a business. His schools offer K-12 education at three levels of affordability: budget, mid-market and premium. School fees at English schools have ranged anywhere from £5,000 a year to £12,000 (the equivalent of over $24,000).

The schools themselves can be found throughout the world — there are more than 30 schools in the Middle East, in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Libya, while 11 are operating in England. The Pemberton school would be the first for GEMS in North America.

The education itself is largely traditional, with teachers trained in several curriculums including the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, the American Curriculum and the Ontario (Canada) Curriculum. The academic program stresses four values at all GEMS schools: world citizenship; universal values; leadership qualities; and forward thinking.

Academic results are “consistently high,” according to the GEMS website, with English GEMS schools ranking nearly 40 points above the UK national average. The website also says that students have gone on to such institutions as the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and Columbia University.

McIvor expects that there will be some focus on both the IB curriculum, as well as the traditional one at the Pemberton school, if it comes to fruition.

“It would be both day and boarding and the curriculums are adapted to the area,” he said.

As for the students who would attend the school, McIvor said a GEMS school in Pemberton would be likely to attract both an international and local clientele. Based on studies, it’s expected 70 per cent of students would be international, while 30 per cent of students would come from the Sea to Sky Corridor.

They could even come from Vancouver, according to McIvor.

“Vancouver is weighed prominently in the market study,” he said. “There’s a significant number of Vancouver students that might be interested in even boarding at the facility, due to the proximity of the Whistler Ski School and Big Sky Golf Academy and those types of things.”

As for the cost of tuition, McIvor admitted that it can be “pricey” at an independent school, but stressed that he would like to see it as an education option for students.

He added that GEMS is entertaining the idea of bursaries to make education available for some local families that may not be able to afford it.

“The number of bursaries and how that fits into the business model hasn’t been finalized yet,” McIvor said.

Plans for the school have drawn praise from community members in Pemberton, who have written to council saying that they fully support the proposed GEMS school.

Dean Linnell, a realtor with the Whistler Real Estate Company, wrote to Mayor Jordan Sturdy on June 9 and called the school a “fantastic project that should be supported on every level.”

“The jobs this school will create through its construction and ongoing operation not to mention an inflow of new families here bringing cash to the community will bring huge benefits to this valley,” he wrote.

Beau Craig, a property agent with Whistler Resort Management, has also expressed his support.

The public meeting, according to McIvor, is a way for Sea to Sky residents to receive more information about the school. GEMS representatives will be present at the July 24 meeting to answer questions.