Bermuda High School (BHS) for more than 70 years. A few male students went to BHS in 1895. And the numbers grew in the 1900s with the ratio of boys to girls becoming fairly even. But by 1970, there were only two boys in the first level of kindergarten -- one boy in each class. Mid Ocean Trust's vice president of personal trust Mr. John Ross, an old boy of the Bermuda High School, has vivid memories of his first year. "My father drove us (my four sisters and me) into the school grounds that first school day in January 1956,'' he remembered. "I was worried but my sister Margaret said that she would take me to the classroom and that everything would be alright. I remember her taking me by the hand and delivering me to Miss Beattie's classroom ... and everything was alright.'' Recalling his art class in Year one, Mr. Ross said: "Finger paint -- I just loved the feel of it. I remember purple finger-paint the best and being immensely proud of my artwork. And I vaguely remember potatoes being involved with paint.'' Other kindergarten memories include being given a star for good work. "Miss Beattie had a box with stars in it and we were rewarded with one for various tasks well done. The red stars were especially beautiful.

We were doing numbers and Lynn Sherwood seemed very proficient as always with her sums. She finished quickly and was rewarded with a yellow star. "I confess, I cheated and copied from her exercise book so that I would receive a yellow star (which I did) -- the misdeed remains on my conscience,'' he said.

Students were not required to wear uniforms in kindergarten back then. Noted Mr. Ross: "The girls in the big school wore bloomers -- amazing articles of clothing which satisfactorily eliminated all traces of femininity. They were navy blue .. . In our kindergarten class I remember that Jimmy Butterfield, even then, looked better in gym shorts than the rest of us. And, whilst on the subject of clothing and flesh, we as kindergarten students did not have a uniform ...'' Why did BHS once accept boys? Nobody really seems to know but Saltus didn't have a kindergarten level at the time, said Mr. Ross. And most of the boys who attended BHS went on to Saltus. Although boys are no longer accepted at the Bermuda High School, they were very much a part of kindergarten in days gone by. Mr. Ross -- for one -- was certainly impressed with his years at the school. "That first year in Miss Beattie's class was definitely the happiest one in my school life. "I think there was a symbiosis, empathy, camaraderie amongst us all which made it a special time,'' he said, adding that he continues to socialise with some of his former classmates. PHOTO BOYS IN KINDERGARTEN -- The kindergarten class of 1956 at The Bermuda High School included many boys. Boys attended kindergarten at BHS until 1970.

ANNUAL EVENT -- The Torch Ceremony at The Bermuda High School for Girls in 1965.

OLD LOCALE -- BHS was first located in this three-storey building on Reid Street (on right side of picture).