secondary school will be given the time to prove itself and every chance to succeed.

This newspaper has been opposed to the concept of a large school from the very beginning however Cedarbridge is becoming a reality and for the sake of the young Bermudian students it will teach, we believe that it deserves public support. One of the fastest ways to be certain that the school will not succeed is to assume that it will fail.

The fact is that if Cedarbridge does not fulfil its mandate public secondary education in Bermuda will be set back by ten or more years. That is how long it will take to identify the problems, revise the system once again and put together a new administration.

The aims which led to Cedarbridge are good ones and Government's intent to prevent young men from "falling through the cracks'' is sensible and constructive.

It is important to Bermuda's future that the concept should succeed. It is a bold experiment in using education as a social engineering tool but it could be the salvation of any number of young men, largely young black men.

Wisely, Government has provided a board of trustees for Cedarbridge. Bermuda has a long history of schools vested in trustees and there can be little doubt that those schools turn out to be the better institutions. We hope that Government will extend the trustee arrangements to the new middle schools.

We think it is important for Government to let the trustees get on with the job with a bare minimum of interference. Set standards and goals for the head teacher and for the trustees and then leave them alone to do their job. It would be too bad if the Ministry of Education was allowed to tamper with the school and we think that would be a guaranteed formula for failure.

Building Cedarbridge blighted the careers of two Cabinet ministers but young Minister of Education Jerome Dill is not letting that slow him down. He is determined that Cedarbridge will work and he is anxious that it should be fully supported by the people of Bermuda. He is anxious for people to get behind the school and push for its success.

There is a problem with that. Given the unique and somewhat peculiar way Bermudians educate their children, the movers and the shakers will not be much concerned about Cedarbridge because their children are already outside the public system either here or abroad. That will make it difficult to guarantee the solid support Cedarbridge will need.