The principal of CedarBridge Academy last night spoke out following complaints about the handling of her students' graduation ceremony.

Kalmar Richards answered accusations that two of her pupils were led to believe they could graduate, but were told at the last minute that their performance had not come up to scratch.

More than 220 students from the school graduated at National Stadium on Tuesday.

She said only those who completed and scored enough credits in their academic work, as well as meeting criteria on discipline, attendance and behaviour, were able to attend. She said it was very unfortunate that 18-year-old Tariq Shakir, from Pembroke, was one credit short of graduation, but said he did not reach the standard set by the Education Ministry therefore he could not graduate.

And she said parents and students were informed of their progress months in advance, with transcript cards and letters being sent home explaining whether or not they had made the grade.

But she said in Tariq's case, it looked as though he received the card, but not the letter.

However, she said he and his family should still have known about his performance for some time. She said the exam results were only received by the school last week, which meant little time was left to make final calls to parents.

But she added that all pupils had been asked to attend the school on Friday, but Tariq did not go in until Monday. It was later that day that his mother received a call saying he would not be able to graduate.

Mrs. Richards said: "Tariq should have known when he completed the course that he had not passed.

"Regrettably, he did not complete a significant number of assignments. We have very high standards and we want students to meet them. They have to get sufficient credits.''