The Ministry of Education tonight insisted it remained committed to taking public schools to a two-tier system, but presentations at parents’ meetings revealed that the Government plans to maintain middle school year groups at “lower secondary schools”.

Meetings at Francis Patton Primary School and Dellwood Middle School erupted in frustration and disbelief after parents were told by school staff that primary schools would be reverting to being years P1 to P6 schools, while middle schools would continue to teach years 7 to 9 [formerly M1 to M3], but would be renamed.

Under government reform plans, 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.

In addition, only one primary school per parish was to remain, except in Pembroke, and later St George’s, with the rest scheduled for closure. Now the remaining primary school closures have been put on hold.

The Royal Gazette put questions to the Ministry of Education yesterday following widespread speculation that Crystal Caesar, who was sworn in as education minister in February 2025, was planning to backtrack on the education reforms, which have been under way for more than five years, with overseas consultants being paid more than $8.4 million to guide the changes.

Ms Caesar insisted in a statement last night that the core reforms of scrapping middle schools and developing signature learning programmes 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.”

She said the changes were not “merely aspirational” but “an active commitment, with tangible actions already under way to move away from a three-tier to a two-tier school system”.

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

One parent at Francis Patton said during the meeting “this is chaos”, while another questioned how parents were supposed to trust the ministry with their children’s future.

The mother of a Dellwood Middle School pupil, who asked not to be named, said the process was “frustrating” and “had not been clear”.

“It felt like a lot of wasted time to parents,” she said. “For the kids, they're confused — they don't know what's happening, where they're going and how it's going to happen.”

Ms Caesar made the announcement following suggestions that she had considered an about-turn on the controversial reforms — retaining the island’s middle schools and keeping open primary schools that were slated for closure.

She confirmed that the government contract with the Australian-based consultants on reforms, Innovation Unit, recently renamed Third Story, gazetted last in April for a $2.5 million renewal that ran to December 31, 2025, had ended.

Ms Caesar added: “The Government now has the data, models and lessons needed to move forward independently. This is Bermudian ownership of the next phase.”

Her statement followed talk from public education sources that Kalmar Richards, the Commissioner of Education, held meetings with school staff yesterday morning to discuss a possible reversal — although there were mixed messages on the decision.

One public education source said plans were under review to end primary schools at the P6 level.

The source added: “The middle schools will not be called middle schools any more, but will be pre-high schools, so they will be like a satellite of a high school, which now makes it a two-tier system. The dog is now called a cat.”

Ms Caesar said decisions would be guided by “evidence, infrastructure needs and ongoing feedback”. She said resolutions would be made internally, but the public would be kept informed.

An educator within the ministry, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It is deeply troubling that teachers, the professionals most directly impacted, have not been consulted in this decision-making process.

“As educators on the front line every day, we are expected to implement policies and adapt to changes over which we have had no voice.

“This lack of engagement reflects a fundamental disregard for our professional expertise and the realities of our work in classrooms.

“Furthermore, millions of dollars were spent on consultants from Australia who operated within the system for over five years.

“They have since departed, leaving teachers to manage the disruption and repair the consequences of those decisions. We are now expected to clean up the mess without having been meaningfully involved in either the original changes or the proposed reversal.

“If teachers continue to be excluded from decisions that directly impact our roles and responsibilities, it sends a clear message that our voices, experience and commitment to student success are not valued.”

Another source working in the public education system, who also asked to remain unnamed, told Gazette: “They are pausing and renaming the middle school portion, and there will be no funds for any capital projects.”

Education reform was introduced under Diallo Rabain, then the education minister, who highlighted that student enrolment numbers were down and schools needed to close.

Mr Rabain emphasised the need to prepare students for the workplace of the future, and said a significant budget would be set aside to renovate the schools selected to remain open.

A Francis Patton parent said the ministry informed the school that planned building construction would not now take place.

In September 2025, Ms Caesar deferred certain aspects of the reforms, saying no further schools would be closed until infrastructure plans were completed.

The Government has celebrated progress in education reform including the introduction of parish primary schools, signature schools and the formation of community partnerships.

Aspects of the reforms, including the closure of certain schools, delays in school readiness and a lack of teaching staff to deliver programmes, have faced fierce public pushback.

Ms Caesar’s latest statement noted that four parish primary schools are now operational.

She also said signature learning programmes for trades and professions were continuing, and said work had begun on the “transformation team” for the Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy.

It is understood that staff at Francis Patton, one of the first two schools to be transformed into parish primaries, were told it will return to running from P1 to P6, losing years 7 and 8 that were added under the reform project.

A source said that the school was told the students now in P6 and readying for P7 would now be preparing for middle school instead.

Ms Caesar’s statement, however, repeatedly said progress would continue towards a “two-tier school system”.