Government will not waver in its plan to send Dellwood Primary children to Northlands Secondary School, Education Minister the Hon. Clarence Terceira said yesterday.

And he promised a renovated Northlands would be made safe for children.

As part of a revamp of Bermuda's education system, Government wants to make Dellwood a middle school and change Northlands into a primary school.

But the Bermuda Union of Teachers has criticised the plan, and the Dellwood Primary Parent Teacher Association is reportedly unhappy.

Sen. Milton Scott, the BUT's general secretary, said children at Northlands would have to cross the road to reach the playing field. Further, the school had open steps outside the building and lacked ground-floor washrooms, he said. And of the two Pembroke schools, Dellwood on North Street was more spacious than Northlands on Berkeley Road.

Dr. Terceira said Dellwood students had enjoyed a very spacious school for some time, and it was understandable that parents would be concerned about the change.

"It's natural that they should be interested in the welfare of their children -- I would be disappointed if they weren't,'' he said.

However, Government was committed to "making Northlands School as eminently suitable as a primary school as we possibly can.'' Either pedestrian lights or a crossing guard would be provided for children crossing the road to reach the Northlands playing field, he said. "We're going to make sure it's safe.'' Northlands would get new landscaping, and the play area that was on the school site would be expanded by cutting into the hill area. The field across the street would also be enlarged.

Railings would be made higher so that outdoor staircases were safe for children, and more ground-floor washrooms would be built, Dr. Terceira said.

Dr. Terceira said ministry technical officers would meet tomorrow with Dellwood parents to discuss the switch.

About $500,000 in renovations is planned to Northlands in 1996. The same year, Government expects to spend $7 to $8 million to make Dellwood a middle school.

The switch is to take effect in September of 1997. Most Dellwood teachers would move with the students, Dr. Terceira said.

Mr. Dale Butler, a former Dellwood primary teacher and principal of St.

George's Secondary School, is to be the principal once the primary school moves to Northlands.

Sen. Scott, who is Opposition Leader in the Senate, said Dellwood should be renovated but remain a primary school. A new site should be found for the proposed middle school, he said.

"That's not on,'' Dr. Terceira said. "Dellwood will be a middle school and Northlands will be a suitable primary school.'' Another site would be too expensive, even if one was available, he said. The only possibility was the former Technical Institute on Roberts Avenue, and that had been turned over to the Ministry of Youth and Sport.

Under the revised education system, the primary school at Northlands would handle only children from Primary 1 to Primary 6, one less class than Dellwood has today. So enrolment would drop to about 300, from 350 at Dellwood.

Only 12 basic classrooms would be needed, he said. Northlands had 17 classrooms, plus a music room.

Presently, about 300 Senior 1-5 students attend Northlands, but they must travel to Dellwood to use technology and domestic science buildings that remain from the days when Dellwood was an all-age school.

With 20 classrooms aside from the technology and domestic science buildings, it was true that Dellwood had more classrooms than the 18 at Northlands, said Education Ministry facilities manager Mr. John Morbey. But it was not generally true that the Dellwood classrooms were more spacious.

Northlands had two 800-square-foot classrooms, one that was 650 square feet, eight that were 600 square feet, and six that were 490 square feet, he said.

There was also a 540-square-foot music room and a 1,768-square-foot gymnasium.

Dellwood had two 700-square-foot classrooms, four that were 625 square feet, four that were 510 square feet, four that were between 500 and 570 square feet, and six that were 490 square feet, Mr. Morbey said. It also had a 1,768-square-foot gymnasium.