A plan to uproot all primary-level children in St George’s and temporarily move them to Whitney Institute Middle School has been ditched, The Royal Gazette has learnt.

Diallo Rabain, the Minister of Education, reportedly sent letters to the schools involved informing them that as a result of negative feedback, the controversial plan will not be going ahead.

The ministry faced a backlash last month when parents were told during a public meeting that the pupils of St George’s Preparatory School, East End Primary School and St David’s Primary School would be moved to Whitney while East End Primary was remade as a parish primary school.

Parents were also told that Whitney would close as a middle school in 2025.

According to sources who claim to have seen the letters, the ministry said feedback indicated that education stakeholders were overwhelmingly against having Whitney house the east end primary students and that as a result, other options were now being considered.

Stakeholders were informed that they would be called for further meetings, the sources said.

During the public meetings hosted by the ministry last month, many stakeholders questioned why the children, especially in light of the recent disruption to their education caused by Covid-19, could not remain in the St George’s community.

One parent received a standing ovation after telling officials: “We are telling you, we are not asking you – we are tired of asking you – we are telling you what we want to happen with our tax dollars. Our people in the east will have our children educated in the east.”

PTAs and other education stakeholders also hosted a meeting last Thursday where they voiced concerns about the Whitney plan as well as the education reform plan at large.

PTA comments were displayed on slides for the audience to see and the comment from St George’s Prep read: “There was no budget or timeline presented for preparing East End Primary for final location or the [temporary] location of Whitney to accommodate small children, and the Whitney board have not agreed.”

Last month, Whitney Institute officials also expressed “severe reservations” about the plan.

The school has not had primary-age children on campus since 1972 and has been fitted out for older children ever since.

Pastor Terence Stovell, the chairman of Whitney Institute’s board of trustees, wrote a letter on behalf of the trustees to the ministry.

He said the school would need “substantial renovations”, including plumbing repairs, to handle the influx of students.

The fate of Whitney’s staff, who are employed by the school but paid and given benefits by the Ministry of Education, stood out as the trustees’ main concern.

He wrote: “Treating them differently at this stage – when their employment conditions are changing due to decisions over which they have no control – would be unfair and would send a bad message to those aided schools which remain in the system.”

The trustees also sought details on the requirements and funding as the M2 and M3 years moved to signature schools after 2023-24 – with Whitney accommodating the final M1 year through M2 and students leaving in 2025.

The Government’s reform plan will result in one primary school in each parish, except for Pembroke, which will have two. The plans also include the phasing out of middle schools and the establishment of signature schools as well as schools for students with exceptionalities and alternative learning.

Mr Rabain has emphasised that the intention of the school reform process is to create an education system that is equitable and fit for 21st-century learning while reflecting the decline in public school enrolment and birthrates.

The ministry, along with the Department of Education and the Education Reform Unit, recently conducted a series of “engagement sessions” where information was shared and questions either answered or recorded to be answered at a later date.

Mr Rabain said in a pre-recorded video that by June 2027, all middle schools would be phased out and by September 2029, all ten parish primary schools will be fully operational, each with three preschool streams.

By September 2029, all four signature schools will be operational, each with five years of senior schooling, and the exceptionalities and alternative education signature schools will be open.

In response to questions from The Royal Gazette, Mr Stovell said: “The minister has communicated back to the Whitney board in response to our letter. Our board intends to meet next week to discuss the information in the letter. I can provide you with the information once that meeting has been held.”

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education said: “We are exploring alternatives as a result of the feedback from the engagement sessions that will enable our students to experience quality education while balancing the system's needs.“