Poor school standards were last night blamed for failing young Police cadets who have been either dismissed or placed on probation because of low college grades.

Parents of some of the cadets said they and their children had been conned into believing they were brighter than they were after being given top marks in Government schools.

They urged the Education Ministry to improve standards in its schools and to make the curriculum more demanding to bring students up to par with other schools, colleges and jurisdictions.

And their comments were echoed by a senior educator, who said the present system disillusioned teenagers into thinking they were grade A students, when, in fact, they were actually grade C or D.

Two cadets have been dismissed from the Police training scheme because they received poor grades on their courses at Bermuda College. The six remaining cadets have been placed on academic probation because of low grades.

Ricky Tucker, whose 18-year-old daughter Rickeisha has been placed on probation, said something had to be amiss.

He said parents, the college and Police were working together to get to the bottom of the problem, and said the cadets should be treated sympathetically because it was not necessarily their fault.

He said: "When she left CedarBridge Academy she was pretty much a grade A student. She never had any problems, at all.

"I think it is possibly the school system that is holding these children back because it is not demanding enough.

"We need a public school system that demands the same of our children as other colleges and countries. We cannot point the finger at the children, or at the Police for being unhappy with the grades.

"The children are not being properly prepared and when they leave school they are failing.'' Students `conned into believing they are better than they are' And Brenda Fray, whose son Sidney has been dismissed from the cadets scheme, despite being `Mr. CedarBridge' in 1999, said she believed the school system had failed her son.

She said: "A boy does not change overnight. He was never academically brilliant, but he was a good boy and he worked hard. He was named the outstanding teen at school.

"We do believe that the school system is largely to blame. They are letting these kids graduate when they are really not where they should be in terms of standards elsewhere.

"Everyone knows there are problems with education here. If you don't have money for a private education, then your children do not get the education they should.

"Sidney is very disappointed at what's happened. He is going to stay on at school.'' Yesterday a senior educator, who did not wish to be named, said this problem arose regularly, where students purported to be Grade A could not meet the standards elsewhere.

The structure of Bermuda's education system, including the curriculum and final exams, needed to be overhauled to make them more demanding, she said.

"It is not the fault of the students,'' she said.

"The standards and expectations are far too low. The students are being given grade As for work that would only merit a grade C or D elsewhere.

"Parents and pupils are being disillusioned into thinking they are better than they are, but nobody actually knows what their potential is because they have never been pushed.

"It seems it is ok to be mediocre in Bermuda. That is all the school system asks of you.'' Former Vice President of Bermuda College Dr. Donald Peters rang the warning bell on public education last year when he told The Royal Gazette that 70 percent of teenagers who applied to attend the college failed the entrance exam.

And he said many 16 and 17-year-olds left school with an average ability of a 13-year-old.

Last night, Education Minister Milton Scott said Government was well aware the system the PLP inherited two years ago was below standard.

But he said steps had been taken to improve results and raise standards and said he hoped they would begin to pay dividends when pupils graduated in 2003.

He accepted that more still needed to be done, but said a new senior curriculum had been revised and introduced, with the first pupils to benefit graduating in 2003.

The Minister said: "I do not want to take away from the achievements of our students who graduate from our senior schools with flying colours.

"Parents can be rest assured that those students graduating with good grades do compete well in colleges here and abroad.

"But last year's TerraNova tests showed that we have more work to do to raise standards at every level throughout our schools system, and our senior school graduates are no exception.

"I know the Principals and teachers at our two senior schools are working hard to improve standards and they are to be commended for their continuing efforts.'' A spokeswoman for the Police said senior management had met with five sets of parents of the remaining six, and they had voiced their desire to stay on.

A meeting with the sixth cadet is scheduled for next week.

The two cadets who were asked to withdraw were yesterday informed of the recommendation that their contract as a cadet be terminated. They have seven days to submit reasons why that should not be the case.

She added: "The Bermuda Police Service is confident that the remaining students will be successful in improving their grades and remaining with the cadet scheme.''