is history, Education Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons announced yesterday.

In a statement to the House of Assembly, Mr. Simons said Government accepted an ad hoc committee's recommendations which suggested abolishing the 11-Plus transfer exam and allowing parents to choose to have their children attend a neighbourhood school or apply to Warwick Academy or Berkeley Institute.

He said as of next spring, the following procedure will apply to students transferring into secondary school: Parents may choose to have their children placed in a neighbourhood school or may apply to enter Berkeley or Warwick Academy; Students applying to Berkeley or Warwick would sit an admission examination which will be developed by education officers with input from the boards of governors of both schools; and Those students who have elected to be placed in a neighbourhood school and those who have not been placed at Berkeley or Warwick will be allocated to neighbourhood schools based on proximity of residence to schools.

"These (neighbourhood) schools will cater to students covering a wider range of interests and ability than is the case at present,'' Mr. Simons said.

"Over the next year the Department of Education will work to ensure that there is comparability of the programmes offered in these schools.'' The decision is an interim measure until major education reforms are implemented in 1995.

However, Mr. Simons later told The Royal Gazette : "I see this approach as reducing some of the tension and stress associated with the current exam.'' And he said having students attend neighbourhood schools also paves the way to education reforms.

The proposal was made by representatives of the Amalgamated Bermuda Union of Teachers, the Association of School Principals and the Education Department after parents slammed Government for not abolishing the exam, which many believe labels students at an early age, this year as planned.

But when contacted last night, neither the head of the ABUT nor the ASP were aware of Government's decision which Mr. Simons said "should have been faxed to all schools''.

"This is the first I've heard about this,'' said ASP president Mr. Leon James, adding that he also believed the three principals who sat on the committee were not aware of the decision.

Mr. James said he was therefore not in a position to comment.

ABUT president Ms Joann Davis said she too was also sure that none of the union's three representatives-- including organiser Mr. Milton Scott-- who sat on the committee were aware of the decision.

But she said: "We feel the enunciation of this policy is a positive step and it will facilitate a smoother transition from the current system into the restructured system, which includes middle schools.

"While we recognise this is not the ideal situation. The committee felt this was the most reasonable solution.''