The East End public have been urged to attend public meetings to discuss proposed changes to the primary school system.

The Government said it wanted to canvas views in St George’s tomorrow and Thursday on controversial plans to reduce the number of primary schools from 18 to just ten.

It is proposed to have a primary in each of the nine parishes, except Pembroke, which would have two.

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Devonshire would get a new-build school.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education said the invitation to attend the meetings was open to all sectors of the public – not just parents of schoolchildren.

She added: “No matter what your background it takes a parish to ensure the success of all our young people.”

The spokeswoman said that the new schools would be “hubs” for their parish, “with parents, surrounding neighbourhoods, and community organisations rallying around schools, supporting educational programmes and initiatives, and creating strong authentic partnerships to help schools transform into places that are relevant to the needs of 21st century learners”.

She added that the idea of community schools was popular around the world and represented “a vehicle for aligning the assets of students, families, teachers, and the community around a common goal, which is to improve the success of our young people”.

She said: “Community schools purposefully integrate academic, health, and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement – drawing in school partners with resources to improve student and adult learning, strengthen families, and promote healthy communities.”

The spokeswoman added that an expected drop in the number of pupils, ageing buildings and “the need for equity across all primary schools” had driven the change of direction.

She said: “The ministry is inviting critical stakeholder and community participation to obtain as much community feedback and input as possible.”

Meetings for St. George’s Parish residents will be held on Tuesday and on Thursday, starting at 6pm.

Meetings for residents in Devonshire, Pembroke, Paget, Southampton and Sandys will start next week.

Meetings will be held virtually on the Zoom videoconference network and will be broadcast on the Government’s YouTube and Facebook Live channels as well as air on CITV.

To register for the parish meetings visit: http://parishschools.live/parish.

Registrations can also be made by e-mail to comms@moed.bm.

Attendees must register by 3pm on the day of the meeting they want to attend in line with stricter security arrangements.

Questions and comments about the plans can be e-mailed to consultation@moed.bm.

The deadline for all consultation submissions is March 12.