The battle may be won, but the war may not be over yet for St. George?s Prep parents.

On Thursday, the twenty-five families fighting to reverse a Ministry of Education decision to axe the second Primary One stream at St. George?s Prep for September 2004 won a decisive victory.

At a hearing held that day, the Appeals Board decided to support the appeal to keep the second stream open for the 2004-2005 school year in accordance with the Education Act.

Though parent spokesperson Nick Duffy said on Thursday: ?I honestly hope it is over now,? that may depend on what Cabinet decides to do with the decision.

Education Minister Terry Lister yesterday admitted the decision was unexpected. ?I am surprised by the outcome and the decision made,? he said.

?At this stage I need to review the decision. We are getting the written ruling on Monday. I will discuss it with Cabinet on Tuesday, so we will come to the public on Wednesday with our decision.?

Asked if the Government had the power to repeal the Appeals Court ruling, Mr. Lister said it would be premature to speculate on what would happen.

?There are a lot of things we can do, but I want to wait until Wednesday.?

He did agree that the final course of action will have to be decided on soon, with the end of the 2003-2004 school year rapidly approaching. ?We are very sensitive to that.?