that poor levels of literacy will create a long term decline for Bermuda.

As the world's economies increasingly depend on access to information in order to be competitive, so literacy and having a well educated and motivated workforce will be key elements in ensuring that Bermuda remains prosperous.

For that reason alone, the fact that just seven out of 126 students were reading at their age level at one middle school should send tremors through the community.

The statistic does not mean that the students cannot read or write at all. But it does mean that they are lagging behind their age group and are likely to drop even further back as they move through the school system.

Bermuda became aware a year ago that students at CedarBridge Academy were having problems with literacy. That did not happen on the day they arrived at CedarBridge and it should therefore come as no surprise that the middle schools are suffering from the same problems.

Poor achievement rates in the secondary schools, contrasted with solid performances by the primary schools, were the cause of the restructuring of the Island's education system by the former Government.

Middle schools and the development of the senior secondary school concept were aimed at reversing the trend by eliminating the 11-plus exam, which marked students for failure, by reducing class sizes and by separating children entering adolescence from those about to leave schools.

At the same time, CedarBridge, with a wider range of classes and facilities was supposed to suit all students' needs as it became clear where their strengths lay.

That concept has changed, at least for now as CedarBridge administrators discovered that the bulk of their students were completely ill-equipped for the courses they had selected. Instead, rightly, the school went back to basics.

Premier Jennifer Smith, who has expressed deep concern about literacy, has stated that the Ministry of Education has developed a programme which will begin when the schools re-open.

It is to be hoped that the programme will work. But new Bermuda Union of Teachers president Anthony Wolffe has the right idea when he says the whole community needs to get involved.

Churches, community groups, sports and social clubs and businesses should all get involved. All of them, and businesses in particular, have a powerful vested interest in ensuring that the workforce of tomorrow is well-educated, well-read and numerate.