BERMUDA received high marks from a group of Rhode Islanders here for education, adventure and cultural studies.

The group of six spoke of their experience here in , a newspaper which serves their tiny island community, located 30 miles south of Newport, in Block Island Sound.

Unlike many visitors to Bermuda, this was a group sensitive to that role ? Block Island has long been called the Bermuda of the North, rated as a tourist attraction for its deserted sandy beaches, pristine waters and interesting species of fauna.

"Coming from Block Island and knowing how I personally feel about the tourists at times, I was very aware of the fact that I was now a tourist and was slightly uncomfortable at the prospect of having to ask for directions and do other annoying things that tourists tend to do," said Alison Warfel, one of the four Block Island School students who made the trip.

"However, the Bermudians didn't seem to have that attitude at all. The bus drivers were particularly patient with all the people who got on the bus with little or no knowledge of how the bus system worked or where they were going."

After speaking of the many different ancestries and heritages which exist, Miss Warfel concluded: "I have never encountered such an interesting, friendly, and diverse group of people in all my life and I'm sure that anyone who travels to Bermuda will be as intrigued and pleasantly surprised as I was."

The students ? two sophomores and two seniors ? were sponsored on the week-long excursion by the Block Island Maritime Institute. They expressed mainly positive views of the trip in speaking with the on their return home.

In addition to the friendliness of our residents, they expressed delight over the island's landscape, our "attractive" and "colourful" homes, our affordably-priced ferries and a wondrous visit to the Bermuda Biological Station for Research.

Still, trip supervisor Wendell Corey had a few noticeably harsher words to say on the state of our environment.

"I've been on many school trips with young people but I can say without a doubt that this was the most enjoyable one yet . . . Bermuda is an island of 20 square miles, twice the size of (Block Island), with 63,000 year-round residents. So even though we were there in the 'off' season, it seemed quite busy, with way too many mopeds.

"Bermuda is a very beautiful place . . . however, there is one thing that stands out like a sore thumb: trash. There is a lot of plastic on the beaches as well as bottles and cans on some of the rocky areas.

"This seems odd when you think that Bermuda is 600 miles off the North Carolina coast, and way off the shipping lanes. But when you stop to think about it, the Gulf Stream, with its warm-water currents, makes Bermuda the northernmost coral reef, but also brings all the trash.

"What would they do with the trash they collected if they had an Annual Beach Clean-up? They can't drive a truck loaded with trash on the ferry (as we do); there isn't one. Bermuda, Block Island of the South? I don't think so. When all is said and done, I'll take Block Island with all its cold weather and nor'easters any time."