Government-run summer camps will be free for the first week of the school holiday next month, it has been confirmed.

Diallo Rabain, the Minister of Education, made the announcement in a statement yesterday.

Last week Mr Rabain said that public schools will be closing earlier than originally planned at the end of this term. The last day of school has been brought forward from Wednesday, June 29 to Friday, June 24 in order for teachers to attend training sessions.

As a result, summer camps run by the Department of Youth and sport will now start a week earlier than scheduled – on Monday, June 27 – and will be free for the first week.

Mr Rabain said: “To help parents and guardians manage this adjustment to the school year there is no charge for this first week of summer camp.”

Registration for camps will be online only starting from tomorrow. Parents are advised that spaces at the camps are limited. The camps provide about 360 spots for the island’s 4,200 public schoolchildren

Mr Rabain added: “Using the last working week of this school year to do intensive professional learning, with all teachers in the Bermuda public school system, will be significantly advantageous to our progress in reforming education.

“We are always guided by what is in the best interests of our students, determined to provide Bermuda’s children with the necessary tools for a successful future.

“This education reform journey has caused us to ask a lot of all stakeholders, and we want you to know that we see and appreciate the sacrifices you have made for the benefit of our students.

Mr Rabain insisted that the decision to scrap the last three days of the school term had been made by education transformation teams and was not the result of “pushback” from teachers who did not want to train during the vacation.

He added that there will be further training sessions during the summer for administrators and some teachers.

Mr Rabain said: “We discussed several options to get a jump start and this was deemed the best option.

“We recognise the difficulties that this has caused and thank parents and teachers for being with us on this journey.

“We will continue to work collaboratively to improve the quality of education for our students, and thank all of our parents and guardians for your continued support.”