than it is in "good and happy stories''. However that should never distract us from recognising Bermuda's solid achievements.

We were reminded yesterday that Bermuda College is one of Bermuda's greatest successes. In some 20 years Bermuda College has gone from a dream, which many thought would end in failure, to a highly successful reality. But there is something else here.

Even those people who thought in the early days that Bermuda College would succeed had no expectation that it would achieve the standards of academic excellence which it has today. In a suggestion to amend the Bermuda College Act 1974 the Board of Governors has said the amendments would reflect "the college's growing maturity and reputation, both locally and internationally''.

That is not hyperbole. The college's Governors, past and present, are allowed to take pride in a remarkable achievement. Government should receive credit for the huge amounts of cash it was willing to spend on a dream even if the cash was sometimes a little slow in coming.

Today Bermuda College is in a position where it is working towards adding certain degree programmes, sensibly in areas which would serve local needs such as hospitality and insurance. It is also looking at building a Bermuda College residence and at attracting overseas students. That is a remarkable achievement in 20 years.

Much of the credit for this early success of Bermuda College is attributable to Dr. Archibald Hollis Hallett who left a distinguished career in education in Canada to come home to Bermuda and lead Bermuda College.

A good deal of the success of the College has been due to the high standards insisted upon by Dr. Hollis Hallett. Without those standards the College would have become just another small "local school''. Its standards are what gave Bermuda College its good reputation locally and internationally and recognition of its standards is what allows College students to transfer their credits and gain acceptance at good colleges overseas.

People who complain that some Bermudians cannot gain admission to the College overlook the fact that no college is for everyone and that without high standards Bermudians would not want to go to Bermuda College in any case.

There is another factor. Too often talented Bermudians spend a great deal of their time and someone's money attending minor schools overseas when they would receive a better education at Bermuda College. The overseas schools may contribute something to a student's development in the sense of living overseas but too often they fail to provide an education and lead to terrible disappointment when the graduate is ill prepared to get a good job.