A revised assessment determining which primary schools would close under education reforms has been made public, revealing a rethink that came after protests in some communities.

The unpopular closure of West End Primary School was dropped after the review, while the community hub of St David’s Primary School was also saved from the chop.

The information came in the Ministry of Education’s report detailing the work of its History and Legacy Committee, along with the overall rescoring exercise.

It shows that after rescoring, St George’s Preparatory School, which is to shut its doors under the Government’s reforms, ended up marginally behind St David’s Primary, which was saved.

Despite St George’s Prep scoring second highest in history and legacy with 51 points, second to St David’s Primary’s score of 57, its overall score taking in all factors saw it fall short minimally, scoring 362.5 compared with St David’s Primary’s 363.9.

The Parish Primary Rescoring Report was published on the ministry’s website last month.

A special note accompanied the selection of St David’s Primary, stating: “After the final rescoring process, there were additional discussions that emphasised the distinctive nature of the St David’s community compared with the rest of St George’s Parish.

“The final history and legacy score of St David’s Primary School at 57 reflected and underscored this area's unique character and rich history. Therefore, due to the unique characteristics and history of the St David’s community compared with the rest of St George’s Parish, it became clear that St David’s Primary was distinct, which deserved recognition.

The report said the school’s “impressive history and legacy score was a key indicator of its unique cultural and community significance”.

“Consequently, the minister decided to redevelop the St David’s Primary School site into a second parish primary school for St George’s Parish.”

A history and legacy component was introduced after education stakeholders complained of its absence from the original scoring of July 2021.

Diallo Rabain, the Minister of Education, announced in July 2023 that a rescoring would include history and legacy, as well as a revisit of the original study factors, with a special committee tasked with the exercise.

Included under the history and legacy rubric was the relationship between history and legacy, and the vision for parish primary schools under reforms.

Also considered were individuals who exemplified the school’s ethos and had a meaningful impact on the school community and Bermuda.

It considered community, national and international awards and recognition, as well as the contribution of history and legacy to the achievement of its students.

Mr Rabain determined the weighting of the history and legacy component at 15 per cent of the overall scoring.

To accommodate the new component, 10 per cent of weighting was shaved off the figure for safety and health, and 5 per cent from the score for existing building conditions.

Mr Rabain said in the opening letter of the report: “I want to thank the schools, community representatives and public officers who contributed to including history and legacy as a factor in this rescoring process.

“This work represents critical progress in the continuing effort to reform our public education system to help brighten the futures of our young people.”

St David’s Primary scored top in history and legacy at 57, followed by St George’s Prep at 51, then West End Primary at 46.5.

All three had been slated for closure, which got reversed for St David’s Primary and West End Primary.

It meant that Somerset Primary School, which would have remained open, got earmarked to close, having achieved a score of 43.

It also meant that St George’s would have two schools, which did not fit the one-school-per-parish model implemented by the Government.

Pembroke, which also keeps two, was previously had the sole exception.

Francis Patton Primary School, Harrington Sound Primary School, Elliot Primary School and Purvis Primary School were not included in the rescoring.

The revision of the remaining study factors also resulted in new scores. The report focused on the new scoring for Somerset Primary School and West End Primary School.

East End Primary School in St George’s scored the highest after consideration of history, legacy and all other study factors with an overall score of 392.3.

Next highest was Dalton E Tucker in Southampton with 391.5, then West End Primary with 389.3, Somerset Primary with 388.7, St David’s Primary with 363.9, St George’s Prep with 362.5, Victor Scott with 358.1, Paget Primary with 344.8, West Pembroke Primary with 317.8, Port Royal Primary with 307.1, Northlands Primary with 297.2, and Gilbert Institute with 257.78.

Based on these results, and considering that some schools were never subject to closure because they were the only schools in their parish, the final eight were selected as parish primary schools.

Those schools are East End Primary, Francis Patton Primary in Hamilton; Harrington Sound Primary in Smith’s; Elliot Primary in Devonshire; Victor Scott Primary School and West Pembroke Primary School in Pembroke; Paget Primary; Purvis Primary School in Warwick; Dalton E Tucker Primary; West End Primary and St David’s Primary.

The schools that were reassessed gave video presentations making the case for why they should remain open.

They are available, along with the full report, on the Ministry of Education’s website at www.moed.bm under the Education Reform tab at the top of the page.