B. Chaffee School in a ceremony at the US Naval Air Station yesterday.

Appropriately, Miss Douglas is a student at St. George's Secondary School.

While no final decision has been made, the Chaffee School is widely expected to replace St. George's Secondary as one of five Bermuda middle schools under the restructured system.

The ceremonial key -- crafted at the school from Bermuda cedar -- was handed to Miss Douglas by Miss Sarah Widdop, Student Government president.

Miss Douglas passed the key on to Management and Technology Minister the Hon.

Grant Gibbons, the main Cabinet Minister responsible for the Bases turnover.

The key was turned over near the end of a ceremony in the school's Herb Bennett Gym, at which a US Navy colour guard presented the Stars and Stripes and Union Jack and a school choir sang both the American national anthem and the Bermuda national song.

After more than 50 years in Bermuda, the Americans are pulling out as of September 1, and the last day of classes for the fewer than 200 remaining Chaffee students is June 14.

The school -- named after an astronaut killed in the Apollo space programme -- opened in 1956. Enrolment peaked in the 1960s at more than 1,400. Yesterday, about 200 students, teachers, and guests closed a final chapter when they gathered in the gym named after a former principal.

Acting Education Minister the Hon. Maxwell Burgess said the closing ceremony at the school marked "the end of a relationship that has been meaningful, I hope and honestly believe, for both parties.'' Mr. Burgess said he owed a personal debt of gratitude to the Base, having continued his education through its University of Maryland extension programme.

"I couldn't help but wonder if there was another way we could get the building without the Americans having to go,'' Mr. Burgess said. "We are grateful for what you have given us. We propose to take care of it.'' Chaffee's youngest student, five-year-old Matthew Obergfell, unveiled a school time capsule encased in the wall of the gym, which is to be opened in 2020.

Chaffee principal Mr. Michael Diekmann presented plaques and certificates to Bermuda residents who had contributed to the school's success.

Among officials in attendance were St. George's Mayor the Wor. Henry Hayward, Community and Culture Minister the Hon. Wayne Furbert, and Base Commander Capt. Tim Bryan.

END OF AN ERA -- Closing ceremonies for Roger B. Chaffee School were held at the Base yesterday. The school, which opened in 1958, is expected to replace St. George's Secondary School as one of five middle schools under Bermuda's restructured school system.