A group of students with a passion for learning are heading to the United States this weekend to attend a prestigious summer programme.

Bermuda?s Center for Talented Youth (CTY), is sending 25 local students to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (JHUCTY) in Baltimore for three-week programmes aimed at challenging the students academically.

According to executive director of CTY, Riquette Bonne-Smith, the students will get their first opportunity to study college preparation courses, including subjects as varied as Science and Engineering, Shakespeare in Performance and International Politics.

?They are doing topics they would never do in their education experiences,? Mrs. Bonne-Smith said. ?They are widening their scope.?

To be eligible for the programmes offered at JHUCTY, students must pass a test and beat out their academic competition.

Among the students attending will be Sherrita Arorash, Aidan Burke, Sean Crockwell, Rajai Denbrook, Rajai Hagar, Chatoyer Haynes, Saminda Dharshan Kularatne, Blake Sonnenfeld, Isaac Amick, Cailidh Blood, Alexander Brown, Bianca Clay, Tabytha Hofheins, Emily Nagel, Liam Nash, Ivan Sanchez, Harry Secrett, Alexander Smatt, Courtney Smith, Sierra Yit, Carika Weldon, Brittany Walbaum, Azura Lalani and Matthew Thompson.

Courtney Smith, like several others attending the programme, is a veteran so-to-speak as she will be attending for the third time. ?CTY is a programme for the intellectually inclined but, in reality, is a programme for growth and development of young people, to mould their characters to be the best that they can be,? she said. ?It is not just a summer camp ? the Centre for Talented Youth is nothing less than a life changing experience.?

Miss Smith continued: ?Teenagers who attend CTY are sure to be good citizens in the future, successful students, appreciated members of the community, qualified teachers, respected politicians, wonderful parents and of course, the leaders of tomorrow.?

Thirteen-year-old Ivan Sanchez said he has enjoyed the CTY experience immensely in past years. ?I learned a lot from my course,? he said. ?I met a lot of different people and I had a fun experience.?

Rajai Denbrook, 15, said the programme has made him more patient and has taught him his limits within the classroom.

?Intellectually my mind is just blown away,? he said. ?I want to just keep picking up books and learning and learning.?