The governors of a school which has been around for almost four centuries held their 400th meeting this week.

Board members at Warwick Academy celebrated the occasion on Tuesday evening with a toast to the school's longevity.

Although the school opened in 1662, it has only been holding board meetings since January 1923, after an Act of Parliament established the Warwick Academy Trust. The governors meet most months but not during the summer.

Principal Maggie McCorkell said the 400th meeting was a bit of a landmark for the school, believed to be the oldest in continuous operation in the Western hemisphere, since Bermuda is also celebrating its 400th anniversary this year.

"It's a pure coincidence but a nice coincidence," she said. "We just realised it and decided to celebrate."

Board chairman Vince Ingham, president and CEO of Belco, said members were taking the opportunity to focus on the future of Warwick Academy, including plans for a new block of classrooms and the expansion of the scholarship programme.

Jane Vickers, the private school's director of development, said: "It is very relevant as this is the 400th anniversary of Bermuda and I venture to say we would be hard pushed to find another company here in Bermuda that can say they have had 400 board meetings."