The switch away from smaller schools to large-scale campuses at CedarBridge and Berkeley is one of the root causes of violence that spreads through the younger community of Bermuda, and which ends up at its most brutal with a murder shooting.

As the Island reels from a Christmas break that saw one man shot dead and two others injured in firearms incidents, Bermudian Mark Anderson has called for politicians to reassess the impact of introducing larger schools to the Island.

He believes the larger schools, which force together children from widely different neighbourhoods, have ended up as the breeding ground for resentments and conflicts that eventually play out with tragic consequences on the streets.

"It has always been an East and West issue. You used to have Sandys Secondary, Warwick secondary, Whitney, St. George's Secondary, Berkeley and Saltus competing in sports and academics.

"It was a case of who has the best girls, the best bikes, who is best at sports — all those things you could talk about in a competitive way," said Mr. Anderson.

The smaller schools meant students were mainly drawn from the immediate parish and neighbourhoods and therefore grew up together, knew one another and were almost like "extended family".

But then came the introduction of the larger schools — CedarBridge and the Berkeley.

"It is a disaster. At the time, even when they talked about creating these mega-schools, there were people saying 'don't do it' because Bermuda has such a small community and you could see that even in the US these bigger schools weren't working."

Mr. Anderson, who is well-known in Bermuda in his guise as drag artist Sybil, believes if Bermuda is not careful it might end up with a school shooting incident like those that have taken place in the US.

Of this week's shootings, he said: "This is not drug-related or gang-related. It all comes from old school battles, name-calling, spit-balling. It could be something very trivial.

"I hear kids on the buses asking when is it going to end."

A decline in respect for schools and teachers, for school uniforms and the need no longer to reach a grade standard to win a place at a school have all played a part in promoting the emerging violence.

A lack of youth centres in each parish for youngsters to meet and learn competitive sports and alike is also a factor, as is the lack of any technical college system where Bermuda's young men in particular can learn trades, such as carpentry, painting, and vehicle mechanics to motivate them towards a successful life.

Mr. Anderson said it was time for Government to get serious about the education system.

"Our shady Government need to deal with the issues at hand. We talk about the education system but the Government is also to blame. For years it has never talked about the issues, they wanted to sweep it under the carpet when it is the education system that is at fault. We used to have a wonderful system," he said.

"The school system needs to go back to what it was. I would like to see Warwick Secondary and those other smaller schools come back and a new Bermuda Technical Institute where black kids can learn a trade and be successful. The old Berkeley should be reopened as a tech school. These are the things that need to be addressed when the House reopens. It starts with the Government."