Bermuda’s public school graduation rate appears to have leapt by an astonishing 34 percent this year — and could rise even higher once summer school is out.

The vast increase in the number of students graduating from the Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy was attributed by a Ministry of Education spokeswoman yesterday to cleverer students in the class of 2007.

She insisted that the overall graduation rate of almost 82 percent — based on statistics provided by the two senior schools last week — was comparable to last year’s pass rate of 48 percent as results should have been calculated in the same way.

The pass rate for 2005 was 43 percent and in 2004 it was 38 percent, according to figures issued by Government in January.

This year, there were 173 graduates out of 212 senior four students.

In 2006, 148 gained a Bermuda School Certificate out of 309 S4 students.

This year’s graduation rate is likely to get much higher once students needing extra credits complete summer school.

Berkeley principal Michelle Simmons told The Royal Gazette last week that the school’s final pass rate was likely to be a near-perfect 98 percent.

The 2007 results seem to fly in the face of widespread public concern about the state of Government-run schools on the Island.

Premier Ewart Brown said last December that he was “deeply and seriously” concerned about public education, admitting: “Education is in a serious situation.”

An independent review of the system commissioned by Education Minister Randy Horton earlier this year and conducted by UK professor David Hopkins and a team of experts concluded that it was “on the brink of meltdown”.

The damning Hopkins report said one of the two senior schools was failing, with half of its lessons inadequate. But this year’s figures seem to belie that.

So far, Berkeley appears to have a pass rate of more than 85 percent, with 66 students out of a possible 77 graduating, and CedarBridge a pass rate of just under 80 percent, with 107 students out of a possible 135 graduating.

The Ministry of Education spokeswoman said Mr. Horton would make a statement on the improvement “in due course”.

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said: “If that improvement is real and it continues, then I think that’s fantastic. It’s a remarkable change from a year ago.

“I’m very pleased at the improvement in graduation rates from both CedarBridge and Berkeley. You have got to be pleased for the parents and the students.”

He added: “It does beg the question: what is so different in this last year than in the previous five years before that? I think everybody would like to know what was it that made the difference. It also begs the question that if something was being done differently why wasn’t it being done before?”

He said the questions were valid in light of the Hopkins Report and that he hoped the schools or the Ministry of Education could provide answers.

The Hopkins Report gives a different graduation rate for last year than the figure put out by the Government in January. It says 52 percent of eligible students passed, compared to the 48 percent figure quoted to the media.

The figures given by Government in January also seem to contradict information given by one of the schools. Berkeley Institute reported last August that 63 of its 91 students graduated, giving a pass rate of just under 70 percent. But the Ministry later said its graduation rate was just 46 percent.

The Ministry of Education did not answer the following emailed questions yesterday:

* What was done right in 2006 to account for the dramatic improvement?

* How can this success be repeated?

* Why were there were many fewer students in S4 this year than last year?

* Is it certain that the graduation figures have been calculated the same way this year as last year?

* Were the requirements to pass the BSC this year the same as last year and previous years?

* Was disruption to studies due to industrial action by teachers or the CedarBridge mould crisis taken into account at all this year when deciding on the pass rate?

Professor Hopkins’ team criticised the information given to the public on graduation rates, saying: “Graduation rates are calculated and reported inconsistently. Current statistics are confusing. Few stakeholders know how graduation rates are calculated and there is little confidence in the capacity of data analysis officials to do so.

“Statisticians must ensure that graduation rate calculations of Bermuda students can be measured accurately and against those for other countries.”

Neither school principal wished to comment on the pass rate yesterday.