Schools reform boss Philip Butterfield has rejected calls for his resignation and insisted: "There's no quit in me."

Mr. Butterfield said he would not walk away from his post as chairman of the interim education board until he is satisfied all students in Bermuda are achieving their full potential.

Last week, the Bank of Bermuda CEO had come under fire from Bermuda Union of Teachers, which declared its total lack of confidence in his ability to lead the reform of the Island's much-criticised education system.

Mr. Butterfield had courted controversy earlier in the week by publicly denouncing BUT leader Mike Charles as a gym teacher who has had his 15 minutes of fame, and saying he didn't "give a damn" that the unions are aggrieved.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette at the end of the week, Mr. Butterfield said he would not resign before fulfilling three goals:

• that every student in Bermuda achieves their full potential;

• that every professional teacher is sufficiently skilled to match teachers anywhere else in the world;

• that Bermuda is producing students that are both going on to good jobs and have the capability to go onto top-level education.

Mr. Butterfield added: "There's no quit in me. It doesn't exist." He declined to give any further comment about his remarks on Mr. Charles.

The Ministry of Education's consultant executive officer Henry Johnson has called for reform leaders to quit squabbling and focus on ensuring the Hopkins Report leads to huge improvements in the schools system.

Asked whether the unions and the interim board would be able to get on the same page, Mr. Butterfield replied: "I would hope so; we are going to get there."