A CANADIAN boarding school that educated scores of Bermudian girls over several decades was burned to the ground by arsonists last month.

Alma College was recognised as one of the top ten most endangered heritage buildings in Canada, noted for its impressive Victorian Gothic style. Two teenage boys were charged with setting fire to the southern Ontario landmark on May 28.

The news stunned former students who spoke of the influence the former girls' school had on their lives and its lasting impact on Bermuda society.

"It was probably my first real experience with multiculturalism and the willingness and ability to accept people from different backgrounds," said former Premier Pamela Gordon, a student in the 1970s.

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"We were able to ascertain how similar we were as opposed to how different we were and that was the underpinning for me, in being able to come back to Bermuda and recognise how as a country, we spend a lot of our time trying to find our differences. For me it showed this is a way we can embrace one another and so it was a very good basis to begin.

"It is such a sad day that Alma is completely no more. The actual school shut down a few years back and the fact that (the building) is now burned down is a shame. It was one of the stateliest looking facilities. As a student it gave you that certain sense of pride. When you have a student coming from very humble beginnings and going to a place like Alma, when they first come into that driveway and see this awesome facility, it automatically lifts you. You instantly recognise there is an expectation of you, that you must do good things."

Alma College for Ladies received its charter as a private boarding school for girls in 1877. Located in St. Thomas, Ontario, it was officially opened in 1881, eventually providing education to young women from around the world for more than 100 years. The school closed in the late 1980s following a teacher strike.

According to the London Free Press, "Alma burned just days after the Ontario Municipal Board issued a final order approving its demolition following years of emotional debate over the school's future. But a heritage campaign to save the college was well underway. And the fire broke out as a second round of petitions urging the provincial government to act, was being presented in the legislature."

One of the first to break the news to Bermudian alumni was Susan O'Hara. A student at Alma in the 1950s, she regularly travels to the island as a result of bonds formed then and was holidaying here last week.

"It's very sad news for all of us because while the school had not been in operation (for several years)," she told the Mid-Ocean News. "It played a very significant role in our lives. It was also one of the ten most endangered historic sites in Canada - a wonderful Gothic Victorian building with a huge centre staircase.

"About 140 girls went up and down that staircase, I believe, three times a day. The school played a wonderful role in my life. I have friends here in Bermuda that I met over 50 years ago and our friendships have continued through that time. And it's the same, I think, for everyone who went to Alma."

Carol Hill attended Alma in the 1940s. She credits the school for having exposed her to several teaching methods she later incorporated into Bermuda classrooms.

"Since it has been so long since I was at Alma, most of my friends have died," she said, "but one of my best friends still, is from Alma. She lives in Canada, in St. Catherine's. We have been friends now for over 60 years."

Mrs. Hill said that when she returned to Bermuda from Alma, education opportunities here were limited. Many stayed in primary school until age 13, when they left to work. She resolved to extend their time in school, luring students at the Girls' Institute of Arts and Crafts with the promise of a graduation ceremony - then a new initiative for the island.

"Miss May Frances asked me to come to help out - not with any pay or anything like that, just to help out. She asked if I would be in charge of the prize giving and I was reminded of what we did at Alma. We (organised) student councils, the girls learned to conduct meetings and then we had graduation exercises. They had to stay in school if they wanted to graduate.

"This was something that was completely new to Bermuda. We had the English version of graduation - just a plain prize giving when you walked up to get a certificate. The girls at the Girls' Institute made their own white dresses, which became eventually a cap and gown, and people from all over the island flocked to see something that was never here before. So that was one of the things that I am very proud of - how we kept our girls in school."

Similar strides were made in theatre, where the girls were introduced to Shakespeare.

"Even when I went to the Berkeley, they didn't have anything like theatre," Mrs. Hill recalled. "We were doing, for instance, a Shakespearean production. We brought in all the costumes from Malabar's (the leading costume house in) Canada. We had girls of all abilities wanting to do Shakespeare. Even today, they quote Shakespeare when they see me. And so, so much that was done at the Girls' Institute and then at Prospect Secondary School for Girls, so much of it came from what I had at Alma College. And in fact, some of my students went to Alma College later - I think I talked about it so much."

Ms O'Hara said several of her Alma classmates recalled studying under Mrs. Hill while in Bermuda. And she credited the school for the unity it fostered amongst various ethnicities.

"Alma's been a major part of all our lives and in their minds, (she) was the example," she said. "I visit Bermuda as often as I can, at least once a year, and absolutely love it. But my introduction to Bermuda and the friendships that I have came through that longstanding Alma connection. And you could trace that all over the world. When I went to Alma we had girls from Africa, from Japan, from Europe, from South and Central America and Bermudians. There was openness, a range of people in every respect - economically, because the school provided assistance for many students, and certainly ethnically at a time when many Canadian schools, for example, would not admit Jewish students. It was wonderful preparation for the 21st century.

"I think everyone I know from Alma has a similar sense of the value of not only of our education in the fullest sense but of having had the opportunity of living together in a community, which has been valuable. It's there and it's something to celebrate and it's the same across the generations." Dame Pamela agreed: "Alma is very definitely a part of my life, something that you just never, ever forget. It brought about very definitive decisions and decision-making. As a student you don't really appreciate how much the school actually means because it's (as it is) with any other child in school, you're in it and you want to get out of it. It's only years later you appreciate what you learned was so beneficial that it'll carry you through the rest of your life."

A school reunion is planned in Bermuda next year, which Ms O'Hara hopes will be well attended.

"Alma International Alumni are planning a reunion here in Bermuda at Grotto Bay in the last week of April 2009. So it'll be an opportunity for Bermudian Alma-philians and Alma girls from Canada and the US and elsewhere, to meet together again, here."

Added Dame Pamela: "In my year, when I went there, there were I believe, seven Bermudians at that time. And I believe the year I went, maybe three or four Bermudians had just finished. So in the course of just a two-year cycle, you had a dozen Bermudians. There were certain things that were expected of you. I'm a believer that whatever we learned help to shape what we chose to do in life and I think it carried with all of us no matter what vocation we chose - that's one of the benefits of having attended Alma College.

"Many have gone on to many wonderful things but all have gone on to carry Alma in their hearts and with, I believe, a confidence and a presence that one could only have achieved having had that experience. As I said, what was really phenomenal for me was the multicultural attitude. You had to learn to live with people who were different and, coming from Bermuda, in many instances (these were) ethnicities that you'd never seen before, that you'd never experienced. So to be thrown and thrust with these young people, who became your family, made it so much easier to accept people for being people. And that is one of the biggest lessons that I learned, that I have carried through my life."