Education Minister Milton Scott last night said he wanted to set the record straight over claims that children in public schools were led to believe they were brighter than they were.

He said his Ministry had carried out an investigation into the school records and reports of Police Cadets who had either failed or received very poor marks at Bermuda College.

Parents told The Royal Gazette they had believed their children to be bright, hard-working students while at public schools.

One father, said his daughter had "pretty much been a grade A student'', while a mother said her son was never academically brilliant, but had been a good boy and had worked hard.

She said her son had even been named Mr. CedarBridge Academy in a competition, which she claimed he would not have got if he had wasted all of his school years.

Why these teenagers had suddenly done badly in Bermuda College, the parents said they did not know, but blamed the school system of building them up to something they were not.

And a senior educator, who did not wish to be named, said it was a common problem.

The educator said children were simply not prepared enough at public school.

But last night, Sen. Scott said his Ministry had investigated the matter and had found no evidence of any students failing the Police Cadet scheme after receiving top marks in a Government school.

He said: "I should explain that students graduating from senior school obtain their Bermuda Secondary School Certificate in the same way as students graduating from university obtain a Bachelor's degree.

"Some students may get A grades, while others get Cs.

"A C-grade student will still graduate from high school with a qualification, that does not mean that the student has been `conned' into believing they are an A-grade student.

"Following an investigation by my Ministry into the claims made in this article, I am not aware of any students being dismissed from the Police Cadet scheme after obtaining mainly As, or even mainly Bs, while at senior school.'' And he said the Mr. CedarBridge Academy competition was introduced to help develop and promote school spirit and pride. It is not based on academic achievement or ability.

The head of education added: "Students graduating from Government schools are not conned into believing they are brighter than they really are.

"We should not take away from the success of our students who do graduate as A-grade students and go on to succeed in institutions here and abroad.'' The Royal Gazette was unable to contact either of the parents at the centre of the story last night.

However, General Secretary of the BUT Mike Charles claimed a lot of children coming out of public schools had to play "catch up'' when they went to college, especially in maths and science.

And he said in those two subjects that was also true of some students who attended private schools. However, when put to private school heads, that was something that was vehemently denied.

He said: "We have some very bright children here in public schools, I do not argue with that, however through experience, knowledge, history and talking to parents, students have to work harder in their first year at college in order to make the grade. The transition is not easy.

"I am not talking about just public schools. I sometimes think students are given high grades because they have put the effort in, even when their achievement level may still be fairly average.

"If the overall achievement is low in a class, or a school, then just because a student does better than the rest, even if it is just by a few marks, does not mean they should automatically be given an A. That is my worry.

"Grades should be about achievement alone. Other merits and credits can be given for effort.''