The new principal of Whitney Institute has been announced as former teacher at the school Freddie Evans.

Mr. Evans will take over at the helm of the Government-aided middle school in September, after former head teacher Gail Graham retired in July. The school board said Mr. Evans was selected after a thorough search. He was a teacher at the school from 1993 to 1997, and then became deputy principal at CedarBridge Academy when it opened five years ago.

But in 2000, Mr. Evans travelled overseas for pastures new in Dallas, Texas, where he was assistant principal at Edison Titche Academy. After a year, he then went on to become assistant principal at Clark High School in Plano, Texas.

Bermudian Mr. Evans received a Bachelor of Arts in Education at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, and a Masters of Arts in Education at Governor's State University in University Park, Illinois. Outside of his teaching career, he is well known in Bermuda as a basketball coach and the founder of the Freddie Evans Basketball Camp that brought many NBA stars to the Island for summer camps between 1991 and 2000.

Mrs. Graham, who had worked at Whitney for 30 years, said: "I am sorry to leave because my association with Whitney actually goes back to the turn of the 20th century because my grandfather and mother were both students there.

"But I know I am leaving the school in good hands because I have every confidence in Freddie and the dedicated and excellent staff, who I have always maintained are among the best in Bermuda."

Mr. Evans said: "Gail was a mentor and the first administrator who helped me move into the administrative track. It is my sincere aspiration to pick up the reins she has left in good stead and continue to move forward.

"Whitney Institute is a very progressive middle school and is doing well on external exams, as well as having students who exemplify model behaviour. And I need to work on highlighting and magnifying both."

Board chairman Tom Davis thanked Mrs. Graham for her service at the school, and added: "We are confident that Freddie Evans will take Whitney on from the firm foundation established by Gail Graham, and his enthusiasm and leadership will enable Whitney students to fulfil their potential."