A parent has accused a church school of unnecessarily upsetting children just hours before they were due to sit a test.

The mother hit out after a group of students were refused exam permits at Bermuda Institute Seventh Day Adventist School - on the grounds that their school fees were not up-to-date.

The mother, who did not wish to be named, said there had previously been only one month's fees outstanding for her child, but said it had been paid days before the test was due to be taken.

But she said on the morning of the day of the exam, her 13-year-old child called home almost in tears saying the school would not allow them to take the test because of unpaid fees.

The mother said she had to assure her child that all payments were up-to-date and then read the receipt number of the payment over before they would allow her child to take the test later that day. She said: "My main concern is that the children were involved in this, especially on a day when they were due to take a test. Children at fee-paying schools should not be involved in the financial process at all.

"This is a church school, it isn't right. In this case, the money had been paid, but the information had not trickled through from the accounts department. I appreciate that mistakes happen, and sometimes things are not communicated, but if only the school had called me instead of involving the children, the whole issue could have been resolved without their knowledge.

"My child was not the only one who was pulled out of class. There were about eight of them.

"Children get anxious at the best of times before exams. But being pulled out of class with a group of others and being told they could not have exam permits is the wrong way to go about it.

"Besides embarrassing the children, it got them unnecessarily upset."

Dr. Sydney Gibbons, educational superintendent for the Seventh Day Adventist Church, said parents knew the school's policy and if they had a problem with it they should get in touch with the school. He said: "There are details that need to be talked out between parents concerned and the administration. No one in this particular exam has been prevented from taking their exams. Everybody took the exam.

"In terms of the policy, it's very clear to students, and parents are aware and informed in writing, of our policy in respect to paying accounts and the taking of exams. There is also an open door policy that allows parents to contact us with any kind of concern they have and the school is certainly willing to deal with individual cases."

And he said if payments were late, the school always contacted the parents to inform them of the situation. However, he refused to comment on the fact that some parents had paid the fees in time for the exam, or the complaint about children having to call home themselves.He would not say whether everyone was ultimately able to take the test because all payments were in fact up to date.