Parents are applying earlier to private schools to secure places for their children.

Acting principal of Bermuda Institute Mrs. Sheila Holder yesterday told The Royal Gazette she had noticed a "significant increase'' in applications for students to enter the elementary and secondary levels of the Seventh Day Adventists-affiliated school.

"We usually get an increase in applications around this time of year,'' the former member of the school's admissions committee said. "But now we're getting them far earlier, like September and October for the next school year.'' So far, the school has received 35 applications for 10 available spaces at the first-year high school level.

And she said there were few spaces available at the school's primary level.

However, Mrs. Holder added, first preference for admission to the high school level was given to students already in the primary school.

"We are even telling people we will have to put them on a waiting list and they are choosing to wait,'' she said.

"I can only attribute this to hearsay but there has been lots of talk about the mega school and parents are concerned.'' Mrs. Holder noted that parents were looking at getting their children into the final elementary classes to ensure a place in the secondary school level later on.

But she said the school -- which recently received approval to build a new 600-seat auditorium, seven classrooms, and science labs, offices, and a lounge -- did not plan to create more classes.

The 9,750-square-foot addition to the school on Middle Road, Southampton, had been planned for years, Mrs. Holder said.

"But we don't want to jump into adding extra classes. We will watch and maybe hire an extra teacher. We will wait to see what happens before we make plans to take on an extra group (class).'' Principal at the Island's only single-sex school, Mr. Jack Wright said Bermuda High School for Girls had also been "swamped'' with applications.

But he also said there were no plans to add more classes.

"We have only 20 girls in a class, three classes at each level,'' he said.

And most of our girls stay with us throughout primary and secondary school.

"So it is almost impossible to take anyone (from outside the school) at the secondary school level.'' He noted that this was a sharp contrast from years ago when the school took "in quite a few girls'' in the secondary school level.

Mr. Wright attributed the popularity of the school with parents to the fact that BHS was the only single-sex school on the Island and had small classes.

"That's what people want,'' he said. "And it is working.'' Head teacher at Saltus -- a former all-boys private school -- Mr. Keith McPhee said while the school also continued to receive many applications, there were no plans to add on extra classes.

"Ever since we went co-ed (four years ago) our numbers have increased,'' Mr.

McPhee said, adding that the school changed from a two-form to three-form entry.

Rush to put kids in private schools However, he said the increase in applications was generally due to the school's reputation.

"Nothing succeeds like success,'' Mr. McPhee said. "We have always been successful.

"Clearly there is uncertainty about Government changes (to the public school system), but people are generally applying here because they want their children to attend Saltus.'' Mount St. Agnes principal Sister Judith Rollo said her co-ed private school had also received an abundance of applications.

She attributed this to "negative publicity'' about education reform.

"We have more applications for the primary level than we are able to accept,'' she said.

Sister Rollo noted that last summer the school received 61 applications for only two grade seven or first-year high school level places.

And she noted the school already had large classes, with an average of 35 students in primary level classes.

So far this year, she said, the school has filed 41 applications for grade seven. And due to this the school planned to add a second grade seven class.

"The elementary section has been one-form entry through grade eight,'' Sister Rollo said, "but if it works, we will have two-form entry from grade seven up.'' She explained that the Catholic school -- which is based on the North American school system -- will take in 25 local students for the second grade- seven class and reserve additional spaces for the children of new foreign residents, particularly those from North America who will no longer have access to classes on the US base.

Warwick Academy principal Mr. Bernard Beacroft could not be reached for comment yesterday.

But earlier this year he confirmed that the school had received applications from more students than it can accommodate.