Top UK educationalist Mr. James Stevenson said yesterday Bermuda's private sector schools produce better-behaved children than is average in Britain.

Educational psychologist and careers counsellor Mr. Stevenson said: "Bermudian children seem to be in many ways more carefully brought up than the general run of British children these days.

"It's very obvious that Bermudian parents do a lot more to organise a huge variety of activities like sport, music and cultural activities than British parents.

"And, on the whole, they seem to be rather stricter than parents in Britain.'' Mr. Stevenson is on a 12-day visit to the Island to offer independent advice to parents on how to choose the best independent school in the UK for their children.

And he has had more than 18 years experience in the education field and a wide knowledge of UK schools and educational establishments to back up his advice.

He uses a battery of tests, including intelligence and wider personality and aptitude tests.

Mr. Stevenson said: "I use these tests all the time. The skill is largely a matter of how these results are interpreted.

"There is far more to it that just a measured IQ. Attitude, morale and a willingness to work and whether the student is academically interested or not all play a part.

"Support from home and whether or not the student reads books are also very important factors.

"The tests would apply equally for families considering education in America or Canada because they are international.'' Mr. Stevenson's methods can also pick up learning difficulties at an early stage and he is well-qualified to advise on remedial help.

After taking an M.A. and M.Sc. at Cambridge University, he worked with children suffering from the reading disorder dyslexia as part of a team at London's National Hospital for Nervous Diseases under Dr. Macdonald Critchley, an international expert in the field.

He stressed he did not represent any particular school or further education institution, so he could offer impartial advice in the best interests of parents and their children.

Mr. Stevenson said education abroad was a popular choice for many Bermudian parents and pupils, some of whom he had seen at his London-based practice.

He said: "There is a potential lack of a future in Bermuda because of its size, particularly for those parents who are not on Bermudian passports. At the end of the day, these parents and their children may have no long-term future in Bermuda.

"The Island is also very small and broader experience of the world is valuable -- provided the school is well-chosen.'' He has already addressed a public meeting of parents at Bermuda High School for Girls and is available up to November 7 for private interviews.

Appointments can be made by contacting Wendy Kyle at 295-3787.