Pupils of Francis Patton School took to the roadside this morning to protest a recent announcement by the Ministry of Education that would mean they will go to middle schools instead of remaining at their primaries for years 7 and 8 as anticipated.

Year 7 and 8 pupils involved in organising the demonstration chanted “we are not experiments” as passing commuters beeped their horns.

The protesters, accompanied by parents, urged the Government to stick with the previous plan to build two school buildings and keep the two upper levels at the Hamilton Parish school.

A meeting at Francis Patton this week left parents frustrated and confused after they were told by the principal that the primary school would be reverting to being years P1 to P6, while middle schools would continue to teach years 7 to 9 [formerly M1 to M3], but would be renamed.

They heard that without the Government funding to construct the school buildings, there was not space to continue to house the year groups.

Under the Government’s earlier plan, middle schools were to be abolished, and in turn, primary schools were to add two more years, classed as years 1 to 8, while senior schools would teach years 9 to 13.

Debra Fray, the parent of a year 7 pupil at the school who was demonstrating, said: “Their message is ‘we are not experiments’ because they do not want to go to the middle school; they want to stay at Francis Patton.

“It’s important because they [the Government] keep talking about data and if you look at the data you will see that this actually works for Francis Patton School because the school is great, the parents trust the school, the teachers, the principal … that’s why we don’t want our kids to go.

“They should build the buildings or they should make the space, one way or another. They made it work so the parents are confident that they can make it work again.”

Another parent, who wished to remain unnamed, said: “My son is in P8. They have been telling us for the last three years they will go straight from here to Berkeley [The Berkeley Institute].

“Talking to my son, he said they promised all these things, we had school tours, we are missing sports tournaments for this — he is a student athlete.

“I am here on behalf of my son to say, this is what has happened for the last three years and now we have to change in five months? It is very short notice again.

“We are trying to get the kids to speak up for themselves. Our ancestors did this — they fought for what we have today.

“I said to my son, even though this affects you for only one year, what about the kids who come after you? My son knows what is going on, I have always been very transparent with him.”

Talks also took place at other parish schools including Harrington Sound, Purvis and Elliot.

Meetings were held, too, at Sandys Secondary, Dellwood and Whitney Institute middle schools.

The Ministry of Education has insisted it remained committed to taking public schools to a two-tier system.

Crystal Caesar, the minister, said in a statement on Wednesday that the scrapping of middle schools and developing signature learning programmes — core elements of the reform — were continuing as part of “one of the most ambitious efforts in our history to reimagine public education”.

“Engagement with internal stakeholders will continue as we progress towards a two-tier school system,” she said.

“Education transformation is not a single event; it is a journey that requires honesty, flexibility and a clear focus on what matters most — student success, family stability and confidence in our educators.”

However, presentations to parents suggested that the existing three-tier system would continue for the foreseeable future, sparking confusion at the public meetings.

Last night, the Bermuda Union of Teachers said significant unnecessary disruption across the public school system has been caused by a “deeply troubling sequence of communications” from the ministry.

Jonathan Tankard, the BUT president, added then: “What we have seen over the past 24 hours is not leadership through clarity, it is confusion caused by rushed decisions and poor communication.

“Teachers and principals were placed in impossible positions, and parents were left anxious because information was shared without honesty or proper process.”

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