. "I'm too big.'' Just some of the excuses Bermudian teenagers come up with for not wearing condoms.

And what about pressures on young people to have sex? "I want to know what it feels like'' . . . "I want to make my partner happy'' . . . "Peer pressure.'' Girls, in particular, get driven into sex through an over intense relationship, or fear angering their boyfriends.

The insight into Bermuda's young was revealed at an AIDS awareness meeting.

And it came from an authentic source -- the young themselves.

More than 100 youngsters, aged 14-19, crammed into the Bermuda Industrial Union hall on Monday.

They were from Berkeley Institute, the Adult Education School, and Mount St.

Agnes.

The forum was organised as part of World AIDS Day activities.

Present were Government health staff, Education Minister the Hon. Clarence Terceira, and Mrs. Debra Fraser-Howze, chairperson of New York Mayor's Council on AIDS.

Dr. Terceira appealed for young people to heed the dangers of AIDS.

"We don't want to lose any of you,'' he said.

Youngsters were told they were in the firing line of AIDS.

Those aged 14 to 19 were in one of the highest groups in Bermuda which catch sexually transmitted diseases (STD).

Government information officer Ms Tina Caines said last year there were over 200 STD cases.

"Everybody knows somebody who has caught something.'' The students were told AIDS could be transmitted through sex, pre-1985 blood transfusions, and from a mother to a child.

The children were shown a film, "No Rewind'', highlighting the trauma of teenage AIDS sufferers.

"When they told me, it was like the whole world stopped,'' said one gay boy in the film over his reaction to the news he was HIV positive.

After the showing Ms Caines -- in the style of TV star Oprah Winfrey -- quizzed the Bermudian teenagers on their attitudes to sex.

Both girls and boys admitted teenagers faced intense "peer pressure'' to have sex.

Boys, in particular, worried about losing face unless their peers believed they were with a girl. Often they just lied.

Sex was something which troubled them almost from birth.

The link between sex and drink also emerged. Said one boy: "Three guys go to the Clay House and get plastered. They see a sweet girl.

"They don't know the girl, but their thing is hard -- you know what I'm talking about.

"They will try to have sex, even if the girl is not beautiful.'' One girl commented: "Guys just want to take advantage of you. They do the first thing that comes into their mind.'' What questions should youngsters ask if they decide to have sex? Said one girl: "You would want to know who they have slept with before. If you sleep with them, you will be sleeping with everyone they have slept with.'' And why do teens ignore the AIDS peril? "Ignorance''..."The belief `it can't happen to me'.''