The principal of a leading British performing arts academy said yesterday he believed his school’s success could be replicated in Bermuda.

Nick Williams, headteacher at the top-performing BRIT School, in Croydon, England, is visiting the Island until Sunday with his deputy principal Jacqui Pick to discuss plans to open an academy here.

The pair held meetings with potential supporters yesterday and declared themselves impressed with the excitement they encountered from Islanders about the proposal.

Mr. Williams, whose former pupils include music stars Amy Winehouse and Katie Melua, said: “We’re here to open the debate up. For us it’s important to hear what people have got to say.

“In order to give advice and support we need to sense what people’s excitement is and what people’s concerns might be.”

He added: “I think it can work here. In some ways Bermuda has advantages over Britain. In Britain we are trying to serve 65 million people but can only actually serve a corner of South London.

“This would serve an entire community. When you walk down the street here the level of connectivity is amazingly different to what you experience in London.”

He and Ms Pick have been brought to the Island by a group of philanthropists led by businessman Shawn Murphy, of portfolio management company PRP Performa Ltd, and the Emperial Group of Companies, whose director is Eugene Dean.

Mr. Murphy said he was moved to start looking for an alternative method of schooling for Bermuda because of his daughter and two nephews, who he felt could have excelled in a more creative, less academic, atmosphere.

“It’s basically about helping kids who are not academically talented but have other talents that get lost in an academically driven education system,” he said.

“I first visited Jacqui and Nick in 2005 and started to discuss the idea of taking the model that they have successfully developed in Britain and how we adapt that model to Bermuda.

“I wouldn’t have invested a year-and-a-half of my time and money as a professional investor in something I think couldn’t happen. The reason Nick and Jacqui are here is to take the information and help us to write a proposal, a plan that can go to (potential) donors.”

Mr. Dean said his organisation, which includes Spanish Town Entertainment and Star Turn Productions, was already working with young people to channel their creativity but that a formal school setting was needed.

“A lot of the time young people are in school and they are challenged to relate to what they are doing in a classroom with everyday life,” he said. “This is just an excellent opportunity to tackle that.

Ms Pick and Mr. Williams will give a presentation tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. Anyone interested in attending should call Mr. Dean on 292-4341.