Schools

Hi Groto,

there are many interesting comments and reports on the school thread. In particular Chiswick House gets some very negativ reports but judge for yourself.

Most other schools are covered too .

Cheers
Ricky

Thanks Ricky I will take a look.
Cheers

Hi Groto,

I had my placement at St Martins College and that is where the children go after Chiswick. I can't tell you anything about Chiswick but St. Martin College seemed like a really good school to me (from what i could see in 3 months). They had 2 social workers there, summer school, special assistance for children who needed it and worked with the whole family. Can't tell you about the teaching though. Oh, its really expensive!

Hi, my boys have gone to Mosta A and Mosta B Primary and Junior schools and my daughter goes to lily of the Valley in Mosta. Mosta A and B are overall good schools, there are some aspects that get lost in translation and it can be annoying when letters are sent home only in Maltese ( there goes half hour on google translate ), Lily of the Valley school I don't recommend, we were told good things about it when we moved here 3 years ago but they are so frustrating there. There is a clear divide between the maltese children and the british children. There is bullying that goes on but you will tend to get there anywhere you go, what is scary is the bullying can turn into a massive argument/fight between groups of Maltese and groups of other nationalities, and the teachers do nothing to prevent or deter. One teacher was also quoted as saying that it is the Maltese girls country so if the British girls don't like them, they should go home. Don't know if this helps

That is quite awful that anyone should behave in that way!  I am so unsure of what to do with my girls as they will only be in school for a short time and then it will be summer holidays. We probably won't get there until January. I was thinking that perhaps a public school so they can meet other local children. I think I could supplement their schooling at home when necessary. My Maltese cousins say they teach in English and the schooling is quite good.

They are supposed to teach in English, apart from History, Religion and Social Studies which are all taught in Maltese. The problem is, a lot of the times when a question is asked to the teacher, sometimes the teacher struggles with finding the word she wants so automatically resorts to Maltese, then a debate can start and suddenly, half hour has gone by in Maltese and all the British children don't know what was said. And in a lot of classes, there is the same amount of brits as there are Maltese so it isn't as though they are catering for the majority.

My children are learning some Maltese as I am 1/2 Maltese and their Nunnu is trying his best! I guess I will have to do some lessons at home then. I had thought of getting from here (Australia) a home schooling plan as a guideline. If we decide to stay I will have had time to investigate the different schools?

Hi,

I've posted about our experience of Chiswick before, please feel free to PM me.

Homeschooling is unfortunately illegal here, it was the option we wanted to take.

We ended up having to spend so much time un-doing some appalling teaching and homeschooled outside of school hours, at our son's request.

If we had to do it all again, I'd go for the school with the shortest day so my son had friends and fulfilled the legal obligation and then homeschooled after.

Most Maltese will tell you the level of education is high here. It's not.

According to EUROSTAT, the European Statistics Agency only 31.5% of the adult population completed at least Upper Secondary Education. That's the second worst in the whole European Union. Looking on the bright side though that's up from 18.1% in 2000!

There is, as has been stated, a huge bullying problem here. Being 1/2 Maltese hasn't stopped the children of good friends being bullied. Speaking Maltese has so get Nunnu on the lessons!

Mel

Evening, both my kids go to Newark and so far so good. Just finishing 1st school year. Kinder 1 and Junior 1. Totally agree that some homeschooling is needed after hours as they say. However kids love going to school, small classes and regular meetings with teachers etc. No negatives as yet about the school. No bullying either (as yet but aware it does happen - even in playground at weekends). Best of luck with everything. PM if I can help in anyway.

I am planning to move to Malta and my big concern at the moment is the school of my soon to be 3 year old boy. I would like to send him to a Catholic school since I am myself catholic.

My concerns are:

1. The fees - do you pay or are they free?

2. Do they teach in English and Maltese?

3. If I decide to go back to London, will they validate the years he spent in Malta?

4. Does anyone know a decent catholic school English (Maltese) teaching around Silema Gzira or nearby ?

Thank you in advance for your help.

@mcecaro - you have a similar post here

QSI school in Mosta is a small school following an American curriculum.
Positive: Classes are very small (10 students max.) and teachers can spend a lot of time with the kids. It is the closest you get to homeschooling (-: in a school. Is like a small family with a  clear goal: learning should be a positive experience. Students are  coming from very different backgrounds (there are Germans, Russians, South Koreans, Libyans...)
Negative: for some ages (teenagers) the classes are a bit to small. It is very expensive.

Hi Chussita,
Could you post cost for that school? Thx.

Thanks fOr the info on QSI. It sounds like the sort of school I would be looking for. I to would be interested on a rough estimate of fees.

I think fees are 13000 $ a year.
That is dollars, so the bigger the euro crisis the more money it is.
)-:
School is from 9 to 16
No uniform needed
Books included

Hi, I m considering to send my children to Chiswick or Verdala.
Here are my considerations:
Chiswick is good for integreting the children socialy .
Verdala smal classes but international student that may leave you after one or two years. We are planning to stay in Malta more than 5 years.
My son speaks english but not my daughter ( 9 years), she has just began with that.
But what are your thoughts about Chiswick?
My dotter is very sensitive and likes to have many friends.
Thanks in advance