Government school teachers and students braved Hurricane Nate?s winds and rain to start the new school year yesterday, with many saying they were looking forward to classes.

But some students at Berkeley Institute were quickly sent home for wearing the wrong shoes, in a repeat of episodes at the end of last year.

All but one Government school opened after Education Ministry officials determined the hurricane would not seriously affect the Island.

Paget Primary will open on Monday when renovations to the school?s electrical and IT systems are completed.

At Berkeley, about 20 students were seen leaving the school at about 10 a.m. for uniform infractions.

Antionay Tankard, a 16-year-old S3 student, said she was happy to be back at school and hoped to get high honours again this year, but was disappointed she had been sent home before she was given her schedule.

Sanjay DeSilva, another S3 student, said: ?I worked hard to earn money to buy these shoes, that?s an achievement and now they want me to buy new ones!?

When visited the school, Principal Michelle Gabisi was not available for an interview.

At CedarBridge, many students said they felt the school was getting a bad rap and they wanted to show that it had good students.

Student prefect Langre Edwards said: ?There are many role models at this school and we are all being judged because of a few bad apples.?

The 16-year-old S3 student also said she was looking forward to excelling academically and being a part of the school cheerleading team.

S4 student Mario Swainson agreed: ?You shouldn?t judge a book by its cover, don?t judge CedarBridge until you have come here and seen it and understand that we are good students.?

And another S4 student, Garry Pitt, was frustrated that some members of the public did not take CedarBridge Academy students seriously or respect them. The students said they wanted the public to realise that most of them were there to get an education and wanted people to support and encourage them.

School principal Kalmar Richards told that the school?s top priority this year would be aiming for more student achievements and a higher graduation rate. Last year, 49 percent of the 154 students who started the S4 year at CedarBridge graduated.

?We met with S4 students, who will be graduating in June, and shared with them our (academic) expectations,? Ms Richards said yesterday, adding she told them that ?from day one? they are expected to work hard and ensure they meet their graduation requirements.

Several of the students spoke with also said the school?s schedule had been revamped to allow more hours for classes over the year.

CedarBridge will also have a teacher in charge of each of the school?s four year groups. The year head will review each student?s academics, behaviour and involvement in the school. Any student who is not meeting expectations will be assisted by their year head.

One student who said she was determined to graduate was Jasmine Askia, who said she had returned for a fifth year to ensure she had all the credits necessary for graduation and college admission requirements. She said she was looking forward to school activities such as the prom.

And Sheldon McKenzie-Simons, a 17-year-old S3 student, was optimistic about the year: ?I?m looking forward to a good year here and I hope to be a role model for other students.?

At Paget Primary, principal Wendell Smith was feverishly making sure that everything at the school would be ready for its Monday opening after spending three hours on Wednesday night ? with the help of his wife and two parent volunteers ? calling every parent to tell them the school?s opening had been delayed.

Asked what he was most looking forward to during the upcoming school year Mr. Smith said he was excited about school?s technological upgrade.

Paget Primary underwent an extensive upgrade during the summer because its previous system was unable to cope with photocopiers, computers and other electronic devices. Mr. Smith was pleased that his students would now have greater access to IT.