Former Premier Jennifer Smith is urging Education Minister Terry Lister not to go ahead with plans to close down one of St. George's Prep School's primary one classes.

At a packed meeting at the school last night, attended by school officials, politicians and Ministry officials, parents were dissatisfied with the Ministry's rationale for the decision which was left to Chief Education Officer Dr. Joseph Christopher to explain.

Controversy erupted last month when parents were informed the second stream will be eliminated by September, and a second stream added to East End Primary school.

The Minister is concerned that maintaining two streams at St. George's Prep will eventually lead to difficulties accommodating students at the upper levels in the long term.

The three East End schools were oversubscribed by 18 children who have been offered places in schools in other parts of the Island. St. Georges Prep accounted for 11 of those children.

But the Ministry's solution - to add a second entry class to East End Primary School, and take away St. George's Prep's second stream - would leave a shortfall of 12 children who would have to go to a school in another part of the Island.

Principal Mary Lodge explained that the large over-subscription at her school was partly due to the fact that12 of 18 applicants for one of the primary level classes were siblings and had to kept together as a matter of government policy.

Parents were adamant that they had a right by law to choose the school their child attended and that it had to be where they lived.

Chairman of St. George's Prep's board of trustees Garth Rothwell said that the trustees backed an alternative plan presented by parent Nick Duffy which would have his school and East End Primary have two entry classe.

This would ensure that all the children would be accommodated at one of the three East End Schools.

The animated meeting heard parents criticising Government for poor long term planning and announcing its decision at the very last minute.

Dr. Christopher assured them that there concerns were being noted and will be relayed to the Minister at a meeting on Friday.

But many parents wanted to know why Mr. Lister did not attend. And parents declared that they would not be sending their five-year-old children on a bus to school.

But the biggest applause came at the end of the meeting with Ms Smith's speech supporting the parents. She told the gathering that she and area MP Dean Foggo, had already recommended to the Minister that he allow two streams at both schools.

“We did tell the Minister we support two streams of entry for both Prep and East End,” she said.

Parents were supported by the law, the former Premier and Education Minister said.