The Bermuda Bridge Federation wants to deal in CedarBridge Academy pupils as part of its youth programme.

The organisation, in partnership with the Bermuda Bridge Club, has introduced the game to students at Saltus, Berkeley Institute and the Bermuda High School over the past four years.

But now it plans to bring in students from CedarBridge Academy.

John Burville, president of the Bermuda Bridge Club, met pupils at the school to drum up interest in the programme and highlighted opportunities to represent Bermuda in international competitions.

Mr Burville said: “This year we sponsored 16 students to an event in Toronto, and prior to that have sponsored students to Chicago, and Italy. The Italy trip was the World Youth Team championships held during August 2016.

“We were there for 12 days playing bridge and meeting other country’s student bridge players. We will be sponsoring many more students for trips to play bridge and represent Bermuda.”

He said bridge was more than a simple card game and had been shown to improve academic results in most subjects, particularly maths and science.

Mr Burville added: “It’s an elegant game, full of strategy and tactics.

“It’s part science, part maths, part logic, part reason. But a huge component of bridge is also very human.

“This melding of the former with the latter is what sets bridge apart, not only from other card games, but also from board games like chess.”

He said: “While computers can now routinely beat all but a handful of chess grandmasters, they can’t come close to outplaying the world’s finest bridge players because computers can understand maths, but they can’t understand people.

“Bridge is also a partnership game. Above all else, a successful bridge player must be a great partner.

“Trust, communication and patience are the essential attributes of winning at bridge.

“For a student, the strategy part teaches them maths, logic, and interpretive skills. The partnership part teaches them to respect and trust their partner.”