CedarBridge Academy teachers have put their trust in the Ministry of Education and will turn up for school at the disused Berkeley Institute today, a source has told .

The teacher ? who asked not to be named ? said staff members were alarmed when they first saw the state of the old Berkeley building, which has not been used since June.

But she said they believed that Rosemary Tyrrell, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, was ?truly a woman of her word? and trusted her promise that the premises would be up to scratch in time for two days of orientation today and tomorrow and classes starting on Wednesday.

CedarBridge, the Island?s largest public school with more than 850 pupils and about 100 staff, closed suddenly on November 1 due to mould contamination which is now being removed.

Education Minister Randy Horton warned parents last week that it could remain shut until Christmas.

The teacher said last night that staff were disgusted after a site visit at the old Berkeley.

?Some of the rooms were just filthy. There were portables (mobile classrooms) outside and some teachers said they had a very strange smell like they had been used over the summer for something that was not so nice.?

She added: ?I think if the place is cleaned up and cleaned thoroughly to their satisfaction, then staff will go in.

?It?s been reported that teachers refused to go in the building. But the building was just not suitable at that time. You couldn?t have taught kids in there.

?Rosemary Tyrrell went in and said: ?It hasn?t been cleaned!?. I?m sure teachers will turn up in the morning.

?They feel with Ms Tyrrell that she truly is a woman of her word and she truly has their best interests at heart. I have heard that said more than once in the last several days.

?They have faith in her. In this situation, you have got to have faith in somebody.?

The teacher urged the Ministry to put in place contingency plans for all schools in the event of another crisis, to ensure students? education was not affected.

?There is nothing in place, as we have seen,? she said. ?Businesses that are forward thinking have contingency plans. There has to be some planning there.?

Meanwhile, the head of a children?s charity has also expressed concern about the impact of the mould crisis on pupils.

Sheelagh Cooper, chairman of the Coalition for the Protection of Children, said the disruption would undoubtedly have an adverse impact on learning.

?These children are falling behind; they to be,? she said. ?The school year is based on a certain number of teaching days. It?s quite carefully calculated based on those teaching days.

?The students at Berkeley are continuing marching forward while the students at CedarBridge have completely come to a halt to a certain extent.?

Ms Cooper praised the Government for its ?creative use? of the harbour islands for lessons earlier this month.

But she added: ?That?s not going to cut it. That is not educationally viable.?

She suggested that if the former Berkeley building could be not be cleaned satisfactorily, the new Berkeley Institute be used on a ?double shift? basis.

She said CedarBridge students could be taught there from 4 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. and that studies had shown teenagers worked better during those hours.

She added that the Ministry should also consider Internet lessons and using a local cable television channel to deliver lectures.

?The reason I?m making comment is because I?m concerned about the welfare of the children at CedarBridge and I want to make sure the building is properly cleaned,? added Ms Cooper.

?I?m concerned about the fact that it should have been cleaned over the summer and I think we need some answers about that.

?Moving forward, I think we have to take a problem-solving approach here and maybe get out of the box a bit and try and be creative about how we can continue the education of these young people without endangering their health.?

No one from the Bermuda Union of Teachers could be contacted for comment yesterday.

See Page 6 for details on transportation and other arrangements for CedarBridge students.

Are you a CedarBridge parent or teacher? Are you concerned about how students are being affected? Share your views by emailing sstrangeways@royalgazette.bm.