Berkeley Institute principal Michelle Simmons is to retire at the close of the next school year.The school's board of governors made the announcement this afternoon, saying efforts are now underway to find a replacement.Mrs Simmons has served as principal of the Pembroke school nearly 20 years.Said board chairman Craig Bridgewater: “Under her leadership the school has undergone a huge transition as it evolved into a comprehensive learning institution and relocated to a new state-of-the-art facility. Mrs Simmons set international standards and challenged faculty and students to achieve academic excellence”.The board intends to consult with "parents, students, teachers, the Ministry, and the business community" as part of the recruitment process, Mr Bridgewater added.“These are our stakeholders and our aim with the stakeholder consultation phase of the process is to ensure that we have their input in refining the skills and knowledge criteria required by a new principal to ensure that we can achieve even greater student success in accordance with international standards in the future.”