Bermuda’s oldest surviving school, Warwick Academy (117 Middle Rd., tel. 441/236-1917, fax 441/236-9995, www.warwickacad.bm [1]), west of Cobb’s Hill [2], was established in 1662 by early settlers on property designated as school lands from the colony’s earliest days. Bermuda’s 17th-century surveyor, Richard Norwood, was the first headmaster.
Once government-owned, it is now one of several private schools on the island, with a longstanding reputation for high academic standards and a racially mixed student body representative of Bermuda’s own diverse population. Indeed, Warwick [3] was the first of the white segregated institutions to admit blacks, in 1962.
The original two-room schoolhouse remains visible in the current building, laid out around a small, shady quadrangle of palms. While the cloakrooms, corridors, and curricula retain much of their British grammar school roots, Warwick Academy’s International Baccalaureate graduates today mostly go on to North American colleges and universities.
Warwick Academy is open 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday–Friday while in session September–June. The office is open 9 a.m.–2 p.m. during holidays, including the summer. Tours can be arranged by contacting Jane Vickers (jvickers [at] warwickacad [dot] bm) or Rochelle Lee (rlee [at] warwickacad [dot] bm).
Links:
[1] http://www.warwickacad.bm
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/bermuda/warwick-and-southampton-parishes/warwick-parish/sights/cobb-s-hill-methodist-church
[3] http://www.moon.com/destinations/bermuda/warwick-and-southampton-parishes