Bermuda

by Paul Bacsich for Re.ViCa. Minor update by James Kay of Sero for VISCED

For entities in Bermuda see Category:Bermuda

Bermuda, officially, the Bermuda Islands or the Somers Isles, is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi) northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1,350 kilometres (840 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 kilometres (640 mi) west-northwest.

Despite it being some distance from the Caribbean, due to its cultural and political links with Caribbean entities (especially CARICOM) we regard it as in Category:Caribbean.

The population is around 67,000.

The capital (and largest city) is Hamilton.

Bermuda is the oldest and most populous remaining British overseas territory, settled by England a century before the Acts of Union created the Kingdom of Great Britain. Bermuda's first capital, St George's, was settled in 1612 and is the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the Americas.

Although usually referred to in the singular, the territory consists of approximately 138 islands, with a total area of 53.3 square kilometres (20.6 sq mi). The largest island, Main Island, is sometimes itself called Bermuda. Compiling a list of the islands is often complicated, as many have more than one name (as does the entire archipelago, which has also been known historically as La Garza, Virgineola, and the Isle of Devils). Despite its small land mass, there has been a tendency for place names to be repeated; there are, for example, two islands named Long Island, and St George's Town is located on St George's Island within St George's Parish (each known as St George's).

Bermuda has a very affluent economy, with finance as its largest sector followed by tourism, giving it the world's highest GDP per capita in 2005. It has a subtropical climate.

Since switching from the Bermudian pound in 1970, Bermuda's currency has been the Bermudian dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar. US notes and coins are used interchangeably with Bermudian notes and coins within the islands for most practical purposes; however, banks levy a small exchange rate for the purchase of US dollars with Bermudian dollars.

Bermudian notes carry the image of HM Queen Elizabeth II. The Bermuda Monetary Authority is the issuing authority for all banknotes and coins, as well as being responsible for the regulation of financial institutions.

Bermuda's per capita income is approximately 50% higher than that of the United States; according to the Bermuda Government's Economic Statistics Division, Bermuda's GDP was $5.85 billion in 2007, or $91,477 per-capita, giving Bermuda the highest GDP per capita in the world.

Schools in Bermuda

The Bermuda Education Act 1996 requires that only three categories of schools can operate in the Bermuda Education system:

1. aided school, has all or a part of its property vested in a body of trustees or board of governors and is partially maintained by public funding or, since 1965 and the desegregation of schools, has received a grant-in-aid out of public funds
2. maintained school, has the whole of its property belonging to the Government and is fully maintained by public funds
3. private school, not maintained by public funds and has not, since 1965 and the desegregation of schools, received any capital grant-in-aid out of public funds.

At present there are 26 schools in the Bermuda Public School System, eighteen of which are primary schools, five are middle schools, two senior schools and one special school. There is also an Alternative Programme provided for students with behavioural challenges who cannot function in the public mainstream. There are two aided primary schools, two aided middle schools and one aided senior school.

Private schools

The private school sector consists of 6 traditional private schools, two of which are religious schools, and the remaining four are secular with one of these being a single gender school and another a Montessori school.

The only boys’ school opened its doors to girls in the 1990s and in 1996, one of the maintained public schools became a private school.

Homeschooling

Within the private sector there are a number of home schools. These must be registered with the government but undergo minimal government regulation.

Higher Education

There are no universities or full university-level institutions on Bermuda. There is a two-year community college and an arrangement with the University of the West Indies.

Bermuda College

Bermuda College is a community college in Paget Parish, Bermuda. It is the only post-secondary educational institution in Bermuda. The college was created in 1974, when the Bermuda College Act merged three educational institutions: Bermuda Technical Institute, Bermuda Hotel and Catering College, and the Academic Sixth Form Centre. It offers a variety of academic, technical and professional courses in the Divisions of Applied Science & Technology, Business Administration & Hospitality, Liberal Arts, and the Centre for Professional and Career Education. Programmes lead to associate's degrees, certificate or diploma credentials, and there are a number of professional designation and non-credit offerings for life-long learners.

Bermuda College has approximately 1370 students with an average class size of 15 as of fall 2008. In 2004/2005 the College had 517 applicants of which 467 actually enrolled. This count consisted of 287 traditional and 230 non-traditional applicants. There are 52 full-time faculty and 53 adjunct lecturers.

Its web site is at http://www.bercol.bm

Bermuda College also offers distance online and blended online courses, for students that are not able to take full advantage of face-to-face courses. Students are required to meet on campus at least 3 times during the semester for orientation, tests, and the final examination. For further details see http://www.bercol.bm/programmes/distEd

It is a member of WCET.

Virtual initiatives

University of the West Indies

In May 2009, Bermudian Government's application was approved to become a contributory member of the University of the West Indies (UWI). Bermuda's membership is slated to allow Bermudian students to enter the University at an agreed upon subsidized rate possibly as early as the 2009/2010 school year. UWI also agrees that their Open Campus (online degree courses) would become open to Bermudian students in future with Bermuda becoming the 13th country to have access to the Open Campus.

STEP

STEP Bermuda is committed to maintaining a high educational standard within the Trust Industry locally. Through STEP’s worldwide educational programme, STEP Bermuda offers an set of courses taught by Central Law and Training (CLT). The Certificate and Diploma programme is the most popular route to qualify as a Trust and Estate Practioner and is a distance-learning based method that sees over 20 students a year enrolled from Bermuda. http://www.stepbermuda.org/education/

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For OER policies and projects in Bermuda see Bermuda/OER

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