Somersfield Academy has become the first school in Bermuda to offer an International Baccalaureate certificate to Middle School aged children.

Just this month the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) recognised Somersfield Academy, along with 15 other schools around the world (ten in the US, three in Canada and one in Germany and Kazakhstan) on their website, www.ibo.bm.

"We are delighted to obtain authorisation from the IBO," Somersfield principal Margaret Hallett said this week. "It is a testament to the hard work of our staff, parents and students that we received the authorisation at our very first attempt."

Somersfield has been teaching 11- to 16-year-olds since 2001, she said.

"We have adopted the IB programme because it is a globally recognised certificate that signifies a rigorous and well rounded level of instruction," middle years programme (MYP) co-ordinator Jennifer Meachum added.

"With a large number of Bermudian families involved in international business, and occasionally facing the need to relocate to other countries, we needed an international course of study that was transferable virtually anywhere in the world."

The five-year programme provides a framework of academics and life skills as well as intercultural awareness.

Early teenagers are at a particularly critical phase of personal and intellectual development, the school said.

As the IB has high standards and heavy workloads, students learn discipline and time management and independence of thought.

"Somersfield Academy is proud to be the first MYP school in Bermuda," Ms Hallett said. "There are currently two schools in Bermuda authorised to offer the IB Diploma Programme for students 16 to 19 years old.

"The various IB programmes form a continuous sequence but each may be offered independently. Students satisfactorily completing the IB MYP at Somersfield Academy will be awarded the IB Certificate."