Montessori Academy's board of governors are considering setting up a school on the former baselands in St. David's.

Chairman William Wanklyn told The Royal Gazette the site, near the old McDonald's restaurant, was one of several options for expanding the private school.

The board launched a $10 million capital campaign earlier this year aimed at taking the school into the 21st Century.

They had hoped to raise $2 million before July 1 in order to break ground at Brighton Hill, Devonshire by the end of summer.

But after raising less than $500,000 and being unable to carry out a Traffic Impact Assessment Study as required by the Planning Department, the board decided not to go ahead with its original plans.

The plans included building a new school in Devonshire which would accommodate more than twice the number of current students.

Montessori -- which has outgrown the National Trust's Tivoli property in Warwick where it started seven years ago with 72 students -- now has some 130 students with a waiting list of at least 20.

By next year that number is expected to increase to 70.

The board wanted to have the new school in Devonshire -- which was to include 12 classrooms, a media centre, an art and music room, a gym and an administration centre -- open by September next year.

They also planned to expand the school, which currently takes in children from the age of three to 12, to a middle school for students up to 14 years old.

However, Mr. Wanklyn noted that approval of the building plans for the new school was a condition precedent to the purchase of the proposed Jackson property, nearly opposite Lindo's Supermarket in Devonshire.

The board could not afford the time and expense for the Traffic Impact Assessment Study which would not have been able to begin until September, close to the deadline for a decision to buy the land.

Mr. Wanklyn said: "One of the reasons we could not complete the terms of the agreement was because we could not come near the purchase price.

"However, we're still interested in expanding.

"We're looking on the baselands in St. David's.'' He added that plans to expand were still possible by the turn of the century, if they can find a place to move into immediately.

Montessori could also remain at Tivoli and set up campus sites throughout the Island, Mr. Wanklyn said.

He noted that the school has a ten-year lease with the National Trust for the Tivoli property, off Middle Road, Warwick. And he said the lease carries a further ten-year renewal option.