into the headlines. We had hoped that the secondary school was settling down out of the public eye and getting on with the objective of educating Bermuda's young people. The early troubles at CedarBridge were probably to be expected given the fact that it is a large new school and that all the young people who had problems in the Government system were being brought together in one school.

That is not to say that the problems at CedarBridge should be ignored or minimised. The great majority of the students in the magnificent new facility want to be educated and they must not be deprived of their education by an unruly few.

It is vital to remember that CedarBridge needs time and it needs quiet time to get going, to settle down and to organise itself. But the problems are not just going to disappear.

We had thought that the teachers who were carefully chosen for CedarBridge might well be able to achieve solutions. They were enthusiastic and happy with the new school. Thus it is disturbing to find that some teachers themselves are angry over violence in the school and want action. If it is true that teachers are worried about their own safety then there is a serious problem indeed.

The difficult decision is what action to take. We already have a proposal for an alternative school at Warwick Camp with some military discipline for problem students. CedarBridge also sends for parents to discuss their child's behaviour.

It is very important to understand that the problem students more often than not need help and guidance rather than punishment. Results will not be achieved in a great hurry. Problem students are a responsibility which Bermuda's parents and Bermuda's education system must accept because the majority arrived at CedarBridge from other Government schools where their problem behaviour and their learning problems had not been addressed.

By that token, the Education Ministry and the Bermuda Union of Teachers have to accept their share of the blame -- not all the blame -- but their share.

Administrators and members of the union passed these young people through the system without instilling in them discipline or learning. We include learning because of complaints from CedarBridge that some students are badly prepared and not up to the standards the new school had expected. Children who are being taught to read and who are being tutored in simple arithmetic at CedarBridge have been badly done by in their previous schools.

Bermuda must remember that not everyone wants CedarBridge to succeed. We have to be very careful to ensure that CedarBridge is not used as a political tool to score points against the Government which created the school. There has to be an understanding that some people will do almost anything to attract a few votes. Since Unions are highly political forces it is necessary to exercise care and caution when considering teacher complaints about the way CedarBridge is developing.

CedarBridge as a success is a huge plus for the UBP Government. It would also be a huge plus for many of the young people of Bermuda. CedarBridge as a failure would be a very valuable political weapon for the PLP but a tragedy for Bermuda. This school was created to deal with the very students who are said now to be the problem. They must be prevented from "falling through the cracks'' or else the school fails in its mission.