A consultation period on the introduction of specialist signature schools was a success, the education ministry said yesterday.

A spokeswoman added officials were happy with the level of participation – but declined to say how many people had taken part.

She said: “While the engagement process to develop additional signature programmes was conducted in the midst of the current Covid outbreak, we are very pleased and encouraged by the amount of people who participated and engaged in the process.

She was speaking after the deadline to register public views on the change to the education system passed last Friday.

The spokeswoman said that a report on the survey will be published by the end of the month.

She added: “We held several engagement sessions with stakeholder groups and the general public, all of which were very well attended.

“Additionally, we also received numerous e-mailed responses, social media engagement via polls and messages, and direct messages sent via various means to our team.”

The spokeswoman said that the Learning First school system design team was now examining the results of the survey.

She added a report would be given to Diallo Rabain, the education minister, before the end of the month.

The Education Amendment Act 2021 cleared the way for the abolition of middle schools and the introduction of specialist high schools.

The new-style schools will have curricula based on tourism, finance, insurance and trades added to normal studies.

The first two signature schools will be the Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy, expected to be up and running by next September.

The consultation process also asked for public views on the introduction of more specialities in signature schools in the future.