By Elizabeth Harvey For a woman, having a child means her life will change absolutely, forever.

For a teenaged girl a baby means the end of her childhood and carefree days of dates, movies and late nights out.

Worst of all, it means her education is put on hold probably indefinitely because schools do not want to take responsibility for heavily pregnant teenagers. Usually when a pregnancy starts to show the girl is asked to leave.

The continuation school for pregnant and post-natal teens run by Teen Services at Teucer House is possibly a teenaged mother's only chance to attain at least some of her ambitions.

The school places up to 12 teenagers, some as young as 13, and has been in operation for 25 years, giving school-age mothers at least a running chance of catching up with their peers and returning to school.

Head teacher, Mrs. Sharon Wilkinson says the school is rife with success stories. Girls who were failing at school before their pregnancies often thrive under the one-on-one tutoring at the school and refocus on the importance of a good education.

"We have had a very high success rate of getting the girls through their secondary school certificate exams,'' said Mrs. Wilkinson. "Some want to go on to college but we stress they must get their certificate first so that they are in a better position to provide for their youngsters.'' English, math, sciences and some business training are taught at the school equipped with a computer and typewriters. The girls also receive pre-natal training and once a week attend a mother care clinic.

Two weeks after they deliver, they are expected to return to their studies bringing their infants with them.

Homework and course deadlines have to be adhered to but allowances are made for tired mothers who have spent sleepless nights with their children. A special rest room means they can take cat naps and a desk set up in the nursery allows them to work with their restless babies on their laps.

Two social workers are on hand to deal with the additional stresses of teenage motherhood. Mood swings, fatigue and a crying baby sometimes means the added burden of exam pressure becomes too much to handle.

"If we find they need time for a break -- we give them the time,'' said Mrs.

Wilkinson. "If we pinpoint a problem in the classroom, we refer the student to a social worker to talk it out.'' One of three teachers at the school, Mrs. Miranda Lister, said a supportive atmosphere means the level of motivation among the students is high.

"The main focus of the school is to get a good education -- to show them they can go on with their lives,'' she said. "That they can still have a career and that this is not the end of everything. It is exciting for them seeing their little accomplishments amid this big mistake. We are helping them to set a pattern which will determine whether they go on and achieve.

"One student asked me: `What do you think of us being here?' I said I realised they had made a mistake but I was helping them to do their best. I said I was not blaming them.'' The girls themselves are pragmatic about their pregnancies. While none of them planned to have babies so early on, all were adamantly anti-abortion and said they did not regret their decisions.

"I've accomplished a lot more here than I did at school,'' admitted a 17-year-old girl who wants to become a lawyer. "I was getting frustrated at school and it got worse when I got pregnant. I thought I'd never be able to do achieve anything.

"This place has given me motivation and confidence. It has made me realise just because I'm having a baby my life doesn't have to stop.'' But she admitted motherhood made the route much tougher.

"I don't suggest it for anyone who has long term goals. It's going to be harder and a lot longer than before I had the baby. If I could have held off longer I would have, but I don't regret it.

"I realised when I went to find a job at a hotel, you can't get anything without a decent education. They even wanted a certificate to wash the laundry,'' she said.

A 15-year-old girl cuddling her tiny son, admitted she would have dropped out altogether if not for the school.

"There wouldn't be anything else to do,'' she said. "I would have stayed at home.'' Most importantly, the girls provide a support system for each other, offering advice and sharing the babies when their mothers have had enough.

"You can communicate better with someone who knows what you're going through,'' said Theresa, 17 and heavily pregnant. "There are days when everything aggravates me.'' But the school last year suffered cutbacks in its budget from Social Services, forcing one teacher to work part time. The result is that students are lagging in certain subjects when they return to regular school.

"It is very frustrating,'' said Mrs. Patricia Finnerty who teaches maths and business related courses. "This year we didn't have any money for text books.

The girls were told to buy their own or borrow them from their old schools.

"The school provides an essential service because even if the girls do want to stay in school most of the time they don't want to because they are ridiculed in some cases. It can also be hazardous physically. So if we didn't exist, they would drop out altogether which would be a tragedy.

"A lot of girls here learn self-esteem because it is a very nurturing environment. In the end they amaze themselves at what they can achieve.''