Dear Sir,

It was a pleasure to see my alma mater, Harrington Sound Primary School, profiled in the May 17 supplement of the excellent Salute to Schools programme.

The listing of principals was particularly interesting. Two names that stood out were Kenneth Robinson, who went on to become Bermuda’s first black Chief Education Officer before his passing, and Albert Jackson, who also served in the Department of Education and was a distinguished President of the Senate, where he was renowned for his civility, fair-mindedness and courage.

Unfortunately, one name was inadvertently omitted from the principals’ list. Edna-Mae Scott was the principal when, in 1972, I and my schoolmates from the predominantly white Whitney Institute Junior School were amalgamated with Harrington Sound, which was then made up of predominantly black students.

This merger, which was fraught with risk given the mood of the time, was highly successful and Harrington Sound remains a well-integrated and academically successful school to this day. The success of amalgamation was due largely to the efforts of Mrs Scott, and I am sure other former students of that era will join me in praising her leadership and her strict but fair approach to education, a model that today’s principals would do well to emulate.

BILL ZUILL, Smith’s Parish