page of this newspaper. The first ever prom for graduating students was at the Marriott Castle Harbour Hotel. A morning graduation ceremony took place in the new secondary school's gymnasium on Saturday with a college Dean as the guest speaker. That is all good news for the end of CedarBridge Academy's first year.

CedarBridge has had its ups and downs during its first year and there is clear evidence that elaborate buildings and first class facilities do not automatically erase problems within a school. However, as we see it, CedarBridge has not gone through the extreme problems many people predicted.

There are very healthy signs that CedarBridge can and will succeed.

Any large new institution takes time to settle, to sort out its own workings and to develop. Some of the events at CedarBridge which have been publicised have simply been "growing pains''. The best signs are that problems like truancy have been recognised and are being dealt with rather than tolerated.

Students with severe behavioural problems are being sent off to Warwick Camp for their own sake and for the sake of other students who want to get on with their education. Parents and guardians are being involved in the process.

The academic plan for CedarBridge required that it amalgamate in one student body students from an uneven array of secondary schools. The preparation of the students was not the same. The schools they had attended varied greatly in quality of education. Their discipline varied and the students were of very different academic ability. Those factors alone presented a great challenge for a new school.

The problem for the administration and teachers at CedarBridge was to mould a large group of young people into CedarBridge students. The events of last week indicate the success. Students were involved in planning their prom and their graduation ceremony. School choirs took part in the ceremony, That indicates that students are taking part and developing pride in their school.

Remember some of those arriving at the new school had been problem students in their old schools. There were also those with academic problems which had not been addressed in the schools Bermuda was closing. Unlike some other schools, CedarBridge could not pick and choose those who were going to attend.

The very intent of the school was to provide varied opportunities and to rescue those students who were in danger of what the politicians called "falling through the cracks''. CedarBridge was to offer choices and chances.

That is no small task for a new administration and a new teaching staff. They must have been very proud people on Saturday morning when they saw the first graduates. It has been a long and sometimes difficult school year but the effort has been very worthwhile.