A former Warwick Academy student is to become the first Bermudian principal of CedarBridge Academy.

And Kalmar Richards plans to make the Island's newest school a centre for academic excellence.

Currently the school's deputy principal, Mrs. Richards will take over as school head at the beginning of the next academic year in September. She takes over from Ernest Payette who is returning to his native Canada in the summer.

Mrs. Richards, who is married with two young children of her own, attended Purvis Primary School and Warwick Academy before going to university in Canada. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree, an education degree and a Masters degree in management and human resource development.

She began her professional career as a teacher of English, French and civics at The Berkeley Institute, where she worked for seven years, before becoming a mentor teacher. She was appointed principal at Somerset Primary School in 1994 and then seconded to CedarBridge as deputy principal when the facility first opened in September, 1997.

Making the announcement yesterday, chairman of the school's Board of Governors Garry Madeiros said: "Mrs. Richards is presently in her second year as deputy principal at CedarBridge.

"She has been involved in the institution since its commencement. Throughout those 19 months Mrs. Richards has demonstrated that she's an excellent educator. Her leadership skills have been very evident in her management of instruction and creating a learning environment that promotes effective learning practices.

"She leads by example and is able to motivate staff and encourage professional growth.

"Kalmar has excellent organisational skills and a strong understanding of the requirements for the daily operations of the senior school, including discipline and maintaining a proper tone in the school.'' Mr. Madeiros went on to stress that Mrs. Richards would need the support of colleagues, parents and the whole community in order to succeed.

principal had been selected, the board had received a petition signed by more than 80 of the school's teachers giving their backing to the appointment.

Mrs. Richards said that the school had an excellent extra curricula programme but her focus would be on what goes on in the classroom.

And she vowed to tackle the school's disciplinary track record.

"I want CedarBridge to have a reputation for academic excellence -- that's where my focus will be,'' she said.

"It's our goal to move forward with the vision of CedarBridge becoming a school of excellence.''