Secondary School have been rejected by Dellwood parents, Education Minister the Hon. Clarence Terceira said yesterday.

And the alternatives proposed by his Ministry were generally less cost effective or had other disadvantages, Dr. Terceira said in the House of Assembly.

He was responding to Parliamentary Questions from Shadow Education Minister Ms Jennifer Smith .

As part of Government's school restructuring plan, it intends to make Dellwood a middle school and move its primary students to what was previously Northlands Secondary.

In response to Ms Smith, Dr. Terceira said five other options were considered.

They included: moving some Dellwood students to Northlands as a one-stream entry school and adding classrooms to Victor Scott School to accommodate the others; relocating all Dellwood students to Victor Scott, with space added; relocating Dellwood students to Victor Scott and West Pembroke schools, with space added at each; moving Dellwood students to Victor Scott and Prospect Primary schools, with space added at each; and retaining Dellwood as a primary school while constructing a new middle school elsewhere.

Dr. Terceira outlined the advantages and disadvantages of each option, adding that "the Dellwood committee rejected all alternatives''.

It was not clear whether he was including the last option, which he had earlier said "resolves parents' concerns''.

Dr. Terceira said Dellwood could not be left a primary school with a new middle school built elsewhere because it would cost more money, there was difficulty finding a suitable site, and it would be hard to complete construction by September, 1997.

Dr. Terceira said Dellwood would be converted to a middle school in two phases, with the first costing $7 million, and the second costing $1 million to $1.5 million. The oft-quoted figure of $11 million for renovations was wrong, he said.

Asked by Ms Smith if all the new middle schools would meet the design guidelines for middle schools outlined in a Ministry document, Dr. Terceira said they would all be "very, very suitable middle schools''.