a parent whose daughter just found out that she would not graduate today.

The mother, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Royal Gazette that there were other angry parents and children in the same predicament.

She said the "make-up'' exam for a class her daughter failed during the first term of school had been cancelled, leaving her daughter unable to graduate.

And she said other children also had their "make-up'' exams cancelled.

But Mr. Payette said the late notification was unavoidable as the school had to wait for the Bermuda Secondary School Certificate (BSSC) committee's report before knowing who would graduate.

And he said the students were given advance notice regarding graduation criteria.

"The students were warned that if they did not complete graduation requirements they would not graduate. Most would have known in advance as the English and math results were listed last week.'' He said although the students had been warned, some still felt they would graduate simply because they were in year five.

He added there was only a small number of parents and students with complaints.

Mr. Payette also explained that some of the re-sit examinations were cancelled because students failed to register for them.

And he said there will be an opportunity for those who had failed to graduate to attend summer courses to make up for their lost credits.

"Right now I have over 200 certificates on my desk to be signed,'' Mr.

Payette said, "So I think that the majority did all right.''