The Berkeley Board of Governors expects to move students into the new senior school in September.

Re-elected chairman of the Berkeley board of governors Calvin White said yesterday that it would be impractical for the school to move from its current site in the middle of the school year after Government missed a promised deadline to hand over the keys to the school that would have enabled it to move in this month.

And he emphasised that the traditionally black school's first priority would always be education ? of all races.

"The board will begin the transition process in earnest when we receive the keys to a fully fitted out building," Mr. White said at a press conference concerning the over-budget and behind-schedule second senior school. "It is only after the fit-out has been completed that we, the Berkeley board of governors, have agreed to accept the keys from the Ministry of Education and Development and commence the school's transition."

Mr. White said on June 9, 2005, his Board signed a management agreement with Government where it agreed to maintain the new building but only after a fit-out ? expected to take 90 days to complete.

However, he also said the Board fully expected to move into the new building by a promised and passed January hand-over.

"It was further agreed that the Board would have a 90-day transition period from September (2005)," he said. "At that time we fully expected to be operational at the new site by January, 2006."

This meant Mr. White agreed with previous statements by Bermuda Union of Teachers General Secretary Michael Charles that it was impractical to move students in the middle of a school year.

"I think that September is a practical solution," he said. "We are just getting ready to begin the second semester and when you look at the fact that exams will be beginning in early May, the only real opportunity we would have had if you are looking at a full transition would have been in the Spring break. Quite frankly, we do not think that is the best time to be disrupting students and the school life for perhaps only two to three weeks of instruction at max before end of year examinations are started."

Mr. White also looked forward to being notified that the Ministry of Works and Engineering had handed the school over to the Ministry of Education and Development for fitting-out.

The Board was "anxious" and "eager" to move in, he said, however, he thanked both Ministries for their efforts.

"It is our intention to work diligently with the Government to effect the opening of the school in September 2006," he said. "Education is taking place ? albeit not under the best of circumstances."

The new building will allow new teaching opportunities, he said, with possible on-line courses and centralised science labs.

Berkeley principal Michele Gabisi said the breadth of its technical programme would expand considerably.

Art classes too will be expanded, Mrs. Gabisi said, with increased music, drama, visual art and dance.

"Those are some of the areas, in addition to finally having enough general classroom space for all of the core subjects," she said. "The piecemeal move is something we have considered. There are possibilities depending on when we get the new facility. Right now it is impossible to say with total definition which areas might move before others because we don't have those keys."

Improving both perceptions and reality of public education in Bermuda was a goal of the Berkeley Institute, Mr. White continued, but the reality was that almost 40 percent of school-age children attended private school.

"The choice to send a child to a private school should not be because public education is, or is perceived to be, doing a 'bad' job or less than adequate job," Mr. White said. "As a country we cannot afford for our public education system to be anything less than vibrant and healthy. Failure in this quest will only exacerbate the social problems we currently face."

The Board invited the public to become part of the solution by recommitting itself to education and taking a resolute and collective will to the task.

He said a building did not make a school and was secondary to teacher and programme excellence.

Austin Thomas, re-elected Chairman of the Berkeley Educational Society ? which is the parent body of the school and is higher than the Board, which is its executive arm ? said Berkeley Institute opened on Court Street on 1897 by its first Principal George DaCosta, with a mission to educate children of all races.