for its efforts to change the school system.

She spoke out after the unveiling of plans for a $55 million senior secondary school at Prospect.

Education Minister the Hon. Clarence Terceira says the school is slated to open in 1997.

Ms Smith said Government had unveiled a building while Bermudians were still in the dark about the curriculum.

"How can you design a building to teach students when the subjects that you will be teaching have not yet been decided?'' She said Government should place more importance on good teachers, quality teaching materials and programmes to help students overcome learning problems caused by home life or disabilities.

Former Education Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons had referred to a draft curriculum, she said.

"So where now is the final document called Bermuda's Senior School Curriculum?'' Ms Smith also questioned plans to teach cosmetics at the new school, when local beauty shops already had a good training scheme.

Teaching butchers' skills would be a better task for the new school, she said, since there were few -- if any -- Bermudian butchers.

She wanted to know how the curriculum would fit in with existing Bermuda College courses.

And she was concerned about whether business people in the proposed subject areas had been consulted.

She also criticised Government for hiring Toronto architects to design the school.

"Bermuda's own architectural community is eminently capable of designing a school to fit out own needs. "If we truly want our children to believe that they can be anything they want to be, we have to show them that by supporting those who are already here within our own country.''