Parents battling to save public schools from closure under education reform plans turned up to protest at Crow Lane roundabout this morning.

People concerned about Gilbert Institute, which is due to close in June, were joined by the families of pupils at Somerset Primary School, which is facing closure despite originally being chosen as the site for a parish primary school.

It followed a similar demonstration by parents of Gilbert Institute students outside Modern Mart supermarket in Paget on February 3.

A spokeswoman for Gilbert Institute parents said they had requested a meeting with the Ministry of Education to discuss concerns about a lack of available places elsewhere for their children once the school closes.

However, she said that the ministry was only communicating with the parents through the school’s principal.

The spokeswoman said: “We sent them a letter. They said they would get back to us, but they got back to the principal.

“They asked us to send our questions through her and we said, ‘No, you need to go through us’. They are not.”

She said Scott Pearman, who was the MP for Paget East (Constituency 22) before the dissolution of the legislature, attended the latest protest.

The spokeswoman said she supported the One Bermuda Alliance’s plan to put a pause on education reform and conduct an audit.

She added: “I don’t think the OBA plan is worrying, you have schools operating well. I know that Gilbert is operating well.

“We had loads of support this morning, there were so many people honking their horns, maybe 80 per cent of the cars that drove past were honking their horns.”

Parents and children held up signs with messages that included: “Education reform? Not at our expense”, “We support teachers, not education reform”, “Fix what’s broken, don’t break what works”, and “Save our school”.

The Ministry of Education has been asked for comment.