school students in subjects required for admission to the Bermuda College.

Acting Education Minister the Hon. Leonard Gibbons, in a statement released this week, said workshops, including instructional strategies for mathematics and foreign languages, had been held earlier this month.

This occurred after staff from the Education Department and Bermuda College analysed the extent to which secondary school leavers met admission requirements, based on the Bermuda Secondary School Certificate.

"The college wished to see what steps it might take to increase access while maintaining academic standards,'' Mr. Gibbons said. "The Department wished to see that secondary schools offered students the appropriate courses to enable them to pursue college degree programmes.'' This year the Bermuda College processed 569 applications. Of that number it offered 414 admissions. A total of 343 accepted.

"In making its offer, the college exercised a flexible approach similar to that used by colleges in other countries,'' Mr. Gibbons said. "That is, some students had to meet additional requirements.'' Of the 164 students who enrolled in the college's associate degree programmes, 120 were from Government schools, he added.

More than 60 percent of secondary school leavers have entered further education programmes at the college or abroad, for several years, Mr. Gibbons noted.

"In 1992, the percentage was 73 percent,'' he said. "Of that number 48 percent enrolled in programmes at Bermuda College and 25 percent enrolled in institutions outside of Bermuda.''