Montessori Academy will move to Devonshire next year if all goes as planned.

Chairman of the school's board Margie Gordyk and principal Dennis Smith this week confirmed that the private school had submitted an application to the Planning Department to construct a spacious facility on Brighton Hill, nearly opposite Lindo's supermarket.

"The goal is to open up a year from this September at that location,'' Mr.

Smith told The Royal Gazette .

The new school -- which will include a library, administration centre, music, art and teaching classrooms -- is expected to be able to accommodate more than twice the number of current students when fully completed.

Mrs. Gordyk explained Montessori's current facility on the National Trust's Tivoli property, off Middle Road in Warwick, was not big enough to meet the demand for spaces.

"We are moving because the Trust won't let us add on where we are,'' she said. "We are constantly getting requests from parents to enrol their children here.'' The school has some 130 students and a waiting list with close to that number.

"We will be able to expand our enrolment (at the new property) by expanding the size of the rooms,'' Mr. Smith added.

But Montessori -- which allows children to learn by themselves under a teacher's guidance rather than by the traditional method -- will maintain the current student-teacher ratio of 12 to one.

There are also plans to expand Montessori, which currently takes in children between the ages of three and 12, to a middle school for students up to 14 years.

Mrs. Gordyk said preliminary drawings for the new facility had been completed and the board planned to reveal further details about the move next month when Montessori's capital fund raising campaign is expected to swing into full gear.

Meanwhile, Trust director Amanda Outerbridge said the environmental watchdog group was well aware of Montessori's plans.

"We knew that they wanted to expand, but we knew that was not possible,'' she said, adding that it would mean changing an agreement made with the Planning Department to protect the property under section 34 of the Development Act.

"We're not about to set that precedent,'' she said.

However, Ms Outerbridge said Montessori have been good tenants.

They had even talked about working on a project with Warwick Pond, she said.

Ms Outerbridge pointed out that Montessori's lease did not expire until 2001 and they only needed to give the Trust six months notice if they did not plan to renew.

"If they decide not to renew, we would advertise the property,'' she said.

"We do think a school is a good community facility for the property.'' PLANNING PLN