parents after she gave them the run around in the rain yesterday.

Around 40 parents had gathered at the House of Assembly to present a petition with more than 800 names complaining about the decision to axe one of the school's two entry classes.

However the Premier, who speaks for Education in the House of Assembly, said she did not know about the issue in her constituency as she had been off the Island for the last seven days.

But angry parent Carla Jenkins said: "As a Premier she needs to stop lying -she just told lies up there, that she did not know anything about this and she knew.

"It's been on the front pages so how could she not know? This is our children, this is our future.

"If that school closes down where are we going to send 129 children of all races? Home school? Some parents can't afford that. We need answers right now.

"So Premier Jennifer Smith -- we need you to be honest with us. "It's ridiculous to be two minutes away from school and be sending them out of St.

George's and St. David's - a five-year-old should not be catching a bus by themselves until they are responsible. As parents we will be back.'' The parents were met yesterday morning at the Parliament Street entrance of the House of Assembly by Government Senator David Burch who chided them for not informing the Premier of the petition presentation.

"We heard it on the news this morning,'' he said.

He urged them to go round to the other House of Assembly entrance where the Premier would greet them in the public gallery.

But once round there a Policeman said there was too many parents to enter so Senator Kim Swan, who was with the petitioners, said he would ask the Premier to come round to the side so the group marched back to the side.

But having backtracked to the other side of the building a second Policeman asked them to come round to the front entrance where the Premier met them on the steps inside the building. One parent said: "She's giving us the run around.'' Once finally assembled Premier Smith told the group that she could only see them for a few minutes before the House of Assembly session began.

She said: "You don't have to petition this Government when you want something unless it's your final step.

"This is the first I have heard of your condition.

Parents angered over school decision "I will examine it, I will talk to the minister. We believe in dialogue and working with you to achieve your aims so you don't have to hit us over the head with a sledgehammer.

"This is the first I know of this, I came in yesterday but we will certainly be in discussion with you following my talk with the Minister.

"We will attend to your needs in the best way we can, recognising that our responsibility is the entire education system for the whole country.

"Give me at least a week and I don't say that our answer will be definitive but that will be our first response.

"In life we don't get all we want. I would think we would come to a compromise position. I've been away for exactly one week.'' But parent Cindy Esdaille said: "I think the statement was a little cold and callous.

"We had every right to ask the question but we were pushed off because we weren't allowed to ask the questions we needed -- she made a statement and it was either you accept it or you don't and we're going to do what we have to do to block you.

"When she leaves the island there are other people in charge of these things so why is it that they couldn't come out and answer? "If St. George's does close all those children will have to flock to East End or they would have to find places elsewhere. "What about parents who work? They don't have after school programmes in each school.'' The parents fear the school, which has high scores for literacy, could eventually close because funding is based on the numbers of pupils it has.

Angry mother Stacy Vanputten said: "I have a child at the school and I have a two and a half year old - she will get into the school but what kind of state will the school be in if they are cutting classes by 40 percent? "She said you don't have to beat them over the head with a mallet you can come to this Government but when we came they haven't opened the door.

"As the Premier of the country you should check the headlines if you are outside the country. On two days it was on the front page of The Royal Gazette . How could you not know about this issue? And mother Lorene Phillips said: "It's in her own backyard so maybe in her capacity as a resident of St. George's she ought to have heard something.

"She's been invited to the meetings at school.

"We want to know why this policy was put in place and how it is supposed to help parents?'' And demonstrator Kim Durham said: "I'm on the PTA -- and to my knowledge she has been invited and she has not attended. And she hasn't given a reason that we know of.'' Earlier parent Shawnette Swainson said: "My child has been told to go to Francis Patton which is about a half an hour bus ride, whereas St. George's Preparatory is a two-minute walk.

"But I can't put a five-year-old on the bus so that means a lot of added time for me -- she will have to be taken and then I will have to try and find after school care for her.'' Jennifer Smith