The good old bad days of beautiful Bermuda were brought vividly alive on Sunday at the celebration marking the 77th anniversary of the official opening of Central School, now the Victor Scott School, renamed in honour of its late, long-serving second principal.

It all happened in a folksy sort of way, thanks to the initiatives of the current school head, Dr. Gina Tucker, and the Mosaic of Ruth Thomas and Company whose reminiscences evoked the spontaneous indulgence of the enthusiastic audience packing the school auditorium. It was part of the month-long Life in Old Bermuda features of the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs.

The Ruth Thomas quartet seemed to be at their superlative best, not surprisingly, given that three of the four members were former Central School scholars ¿ Ms Thomas, Gary Phillips and Leo Mills ¿ while Grace Rawlins, who now hails from St. David's, filtered in by way of Southampton Glebe School.

With much wit and humour and often speaking from first-hand, personal experiences, they recounted how Central, under its first principal C. Isaac Henry, then Victor F. Scott and his wife Edna, all Jamaican-born, along with dedicated Bermuda-born and bred colleagues with their teaching techniques and other standards in and out of the classroom made the school supreme over all others . . . academically, and in the field of sports, with its Girl Guide, Boy Scout, prize-winning school gardens, music and other programmes.

They said: "Those were the days when it produced scholars who became Premiers and Deputy Premiers of Bermuda, legal and judicial luminaries, trailblazers in the medical field, international labour leaders, educators, religious and political leaders, and all along the line ordinary and extraordinarily good productive citizens.

"Teachers always checked children for their personal cleanliness, personal hygiene with hair, teeth, ears, fingernails, faces and shoes inspected regularly.

"Children had to learn their 'tables' backwards and forwards, chanting them every day after lunch. They had elocution lessons and learned to recite long poems. Choral speaking was a must. Children were given instruction in good manners and deportment and were expected to be sedate. Each school day began with an assembly at which prayers were said, a hymn sung and allegiance to the flag was pledged. Children were sent home for lunch when the Hamilton city siren sounded, and were expected to return punctually within the hour.

"We were expected to speak properly; and we had good role models, teachers who spoke properly and whose English was impeccable."

BUT, and that is purposely a big 'but'. Its stellar record was achieved in spite of enormous obstacles. There was the attitude of the ruling 'gentry' towards education for black people, and poor whites as well. It dogged Central and other black schools' rigidly, racially segregated school system through the succeeding six decades.

Central's enrolment of more than 1,200 students resulted in classes exceeding 50 students at a time. Teachers were paid a pittance, on a quarterly basis. Parents and students, under pain of a penalty, were required to pay school fees weekly. Classes were not only hot and overcrowded, teaching tools were minimal. Sanitation was poor, with outdoor toilets or privies for boys, girls and staff. Water had to be dipped with buckets from nearby tanks.

Central had inordinately mixed fortunes from the beginning, stemming largely by the siting of the building next to the Pembroke Dump. It was affected by smoke and heat from fires at the Dump. To quote Gary Phillips, there were "flies galore, and a sickening, foul stench that seeped into your skin and stuck to your clothes for days".

The two-storey building was constructed after a miserly debate in the House of Assembly over the cost of the land. Contractors were Rufus Alexander Simmons, of Government Gate, and carpenter Adolphus Dillas. The building was completed by 1928 but its formal opening did not take place until May 18, 1931.

Instantly, it was the largest in Bermuda with an enrolment peaking beyond 1,200, flowing from the amalgamation of four elementary schools in the central Pembroke region. They were Rev. Rufus J. Stovell's two-room North Village School; Miss Mary Louise Williams' Pond Road School at Silk House, which was said to be in appalling condition; Miss Matilda Crawford's School at Till's Hill; and Miss Edith Crawford's School in Alaska Hall (now headquarters of the Progressive Labour Party).

The student population at Alaska Hall was so large that teaching had to take place in shifts, with the upper standards from 8.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and lower standards from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Mr. Mills, a barrister, said Bermuda had benefited tremendously from the influence and work of Central School students. He named a number as shining examples, including retired MP and international trade unionist Ottiwell Simmons; former Premier Sir John Swan; Roosevelt Brown (later Dr. Pauulu Kamarakafego) of international renown; Dr. Victor Walters; educators Dr. Marion Robinson, Dr. Joseph Christopher; former Chief Education Officer Sinclair Richards; Berkeley Institute principal Mrs. Michelle Simmons and her sister lawyer, Sonia Grant; businessman Charles Jeffers; Premier Ewart Brown; Dame Lois Browne Evans; author Florenz Maxwell; puisne judge Dr. Earl Seaton and his siblings; Lady Blackman, the former Senator Dr. Norma Astwood; pathologist Dr. Keith Cunningham; educators Elsie Patrick Brown and Martha Francis; former Postmaster General Clevelyn Crichlow; Dr. Fitzgerald Scott, son of Victor Scott; entrepreneur Arliss Francis; surgeon Dr. Clarence James, a former Finance Minister and Deputy Premier; barrister and ex-MP Julian Hall; Bermuda College lecturer Angelia Barry Gilks; Ruth Tuzo, the first Government school secretary; and Olympian Phyllis Edness. And, of course, there were Mr. Mills' fellow Mosaic presenters, Ms Thomas, a retired Director of Community and Cultural Affairs, and Mr. Phillips, ex-Postmaster General and former Director of Tourism.

The landmark Central School, or Victor Scott School, nestling at the foot of North Hill (top photo) was constructed in 1928 for black students living within walking distance of the building. At bottom are members of Ruth Thomas and Company engrossed in their lively, well-researched Mosaic of the school's history. From left are, Leo Mills, Grace Rawlins, Ruth Thomas and Gary Phillips. Many former Central teachers and students from the 1930s were in the audience packing the school's auditorium. Notable among them was Mrs. Doris Corbin, who joined the Central Staff in 1931, along with her now deceased sister Alice Cordice, and taught there for the next 41 years. Naturally in the spotlight was Central's current principal, Dr. Gina Tucker (middle top, right); also author Mrs. Florenz Maxwell (middle top, left), who at age 12 wrote the school's song; and former Assemblyman Austin Thomas with his wife (middle top, centre). Above are some of the closely connected former Central scholars and staff enjoying tea. The celebration on Sunday was concluded by Salvationist David Knight, who led the gathering in the singing of the school song, Song of Central, for which he wrote music to the words of Mrs. Maxwell. The song opens with the words: Every soul burst forth deal Central in a long poem of praise Till the walls vibrate from the tumult we raise." It concludes with Central's motto: LOOK UP, FIGHT ON AND WIN!"