Education Minister: Bermuda's public education system is thriving

THURSDAY, NOV. 29: Young Bermudian students are just about at the same level as students around the world sitting exams in the Cambridge Curriculum.

Exams start as early as Primary 6 in order to groom students to be successful in college or university.

And senior school students are required to take a minimum of three exams, Math, English and Science along with electives.

Education Minister Dame Jennifer Smith is pleased with the results and said: “Bermuda’s public education system is a comprehensive system.

“This means that we teach to all student abilities and levels.

“We do not have, nor should we have, the discretion of selecting students, or only putting forward certain students.

“The decision to implement the Cambridge Curriculum was to provide an international benchmark to compare our students to their counterparts in other jurisdictions.”

She continued: “The Bermuda public education system is thriving – all you have to do to see examples of the good work our students are doing is read the weekly Young Observer Page, Thursdays in the Royal Gazette - we have made material and tangible progress and the momentum is strong.

“Sustaining and building that momentum will require motivated, engaged and supportive parents and community members.

“On the evidence shown today, our children, all of our children, are making positive strides in our system.

“Yes, we do have work to do, but let’s also celebrate these positive outcomes.”

The Minister said in order for students to graduate for Bermuda’s public school, they must maintain a GPA of 2.0, or a C average.

This year, 95 per cent of senior students graduated.

She also said 1,212 external examinations were sat by 709 senior school students in English, Mathematics, Science, Foreign languages, Business Studies, Information & Communication Technology, Physical Education, Family Studies and The Arts.

“It is of particular note that the number of students sitting external examinations in 2012 doubled over the previous year as a result of all S2 students sitting the Cambridge International Examinations in English, Mathematics and Science.

“Two years earlier than they have in the past.

“An overall pass rate of 89 per cent was achieved, with 28 per cent attaining a grade of C or higher.

“In addition to the Cambridge examinations, senior students also had the opportunity to sit external examinations from Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA); and Edexcel.”

Dame Jennifer said Primary 6 and middle school students participated in the Cambridge Primary and the Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint examinations.

Both examinations are diagnostic and provide feedback on individual strengths and weaknesses in the curriculum areas of English, Mathematics and Science. 

“You should note that primary students are performing just one level below the worldwide Cambridge International average in both English and Science,” she added.

The Minister said there is work to do at the middle school level to raise the numbers.

In the senior school level, 38 per cent of students got a grade C or better in English, eight per cent in mathematics and 25 per cent in science.

The pass rates were 92 per cent, 74 per cent and 95 per cent.