State Schools????

Hi Marcella,

Check out the discussion ' Schooling' from 1 st March . There is info about public and private schools there.

I hope someone with school kids responds to your post.

Regards

Ricky

Hi Ricky
        Thanks for your reply. Have looked at your recomemded thread..... very helpfull!
Can you tell me if you hold any expat meetings? we are coming over on the 25th July for a week to do some more research and would love to meet up with some people, so we can get a true picture of life in malta!
      Thanks again
      Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

Yes, there are several Expat groups around St.Julians/Sliema that I know of.
There is a group called 246events expats that usually meet Fridays at hotel bars for drinks and partying.
They post their meeting on this forum.
I'm just setting up a new group of slightly older expats ,some with school kids , but still young enough to have fun.We plan to meet at regular places probably on Wednesdays.
Send me your e-mail as a private message and I will get back to you.By the 25 th we will have decided when and where and you can come along.

Look forward to seeing  you.

Ricky

Info on public schools

(Ages are approximate)
Kinder 1 and 2 (3-5 years) - mixed
Primary (5-11 years Years 1-6) - mixed
Secondary (11-16 years Form 1-5) girls only/boys only
Post Secondary (16-18 years) - mixed, not compulsory
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All students from Kinder to Secondary have to go to school in uniform. 
For Primary and Secondary
Summer/winter uniforms and sports track suit
For Kinder
winter sports track suit, summer shorts/t shirt
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Scholastic year
School starts usually third week of September and ends last week of June. Holidays are
2 weeks (approx) - Christmas
1 week (approx) - Easter
2 Mid term holidays: 1 in November 2-3 days, 1 in February 2-3 days (Carnival holidays)
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Books are free.  Some subjects/schools would require purchase of certain books, but the bulk is offered by the school.  At the end of the year, books are collected.  Next scholastic year, students are given the books for that year.
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Primary
Each village has a primary school.  Some villages have big school population, others are smaller.  By law From Year 1 to Year 6 MAXIMUM number of pupils in a class is 30.
Main academic subjects are:
Malti
English
Maths
Religjon (Roman Catholic)
Other subjects taught: Social Studies, IT, PE, Science, Drama etc
Full syllabi for primary schools are here:
http://curriculum.gov.mt/primary_syllabi.htm

School hours:
Winter: 08.30-14.30
Summer: 08:15-12.00
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Secondary
Secondary schools are not found in every village, but are in specific locations and then the schools welcome students from the catchment area. There are girls' schools and boys' schools.

School hours varies a lot at this level due to transport.  Some schools may open from 08.00-14.00 or from 08.15-14.30 or from 08.30-15.00. Transport is free of charge in the same catchment area.

Class sizes: Form 1 and Form 2 have a MAXIMUM of 30 by law, Forms 3,4,5 have a MAXIMUM of 25.  Some subjects will require classes of 15 for laboratory practicals.

Subjects taught at this level vary a lot.  At the end of the five years, students should sit for the SEC examinations (similar to O levels) by MATSEC Board of the University of Malta. 
Syllabi for subjects at Secondary levels are here: http://curriculum.gov.mt/secondary_syllabi.htm
Syllabi for SEC exams are here:
http://www.um.edu.mt/matsec/

Past exam papers for Primary and Secondary here: http://curriculum.gov.mt/exam_papers.htm
On the website you will find Junior Lyceums and Secondary Schools.  They are both at secondary levels.
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Transition from Primary to Secondary
This is more complicated to explain since Maltese schooling is undergoing a change where a college system is adopted.  In brief, children from a primary school will move to the secondary school in the same college.  A list of colleges is here: http://skola.edu.mt/college-and-school-websites/
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Hope this helps...

Hi Marcella,
My name is Michela and we just moved to Malta from the US, but we are Italian. I have a 13 years old girl and a 5 years old boy. During the past few months I have been collecting info from this forum and from other sources and everybody has been really nice.
Christine's message is very complete. For future reference, here is a very useful phone number: Ms. Mariella Hili, secretary of the Head Principle; # 21443749. She assured me that foreign children do not have any problem in Maltese schools, but I can only tell after school begins.  Once you are ready to enroll your children contact her to do a tour of the school your children are supposed to attend. I believe if you are a EU citizen it is a lot easier and of course free of charge. You will need:
Previous school report cards; Copy of your and your husband's passports; both children birth certificates; a letter from you requesting to enroll your child to a particular school (I believe you can do it at Ms. Hili's office); medical certificates from Qormi's polyclinic. I went there two days ago, and since we are Italian they did not need to check the children, just a couple of questions. They also informed me that from 7 years old there is summer camp available offered by the ministry, so free of charge (I think I will look into it for my daughter, who is a little bored). Other than that, I can tell you that it was a little discouraging for me once I got here, after living in a country where the roads a very large. After the first day I realized how much I missed the "oldness" and craziness of the "old world". Maltese people are REALLY nice, and I have to say the same for most of the expats in this forum. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like (I did and they were never tired of answering, especially Tim). Good luck with everything.
bye
Michela

Thank you Christine and Michela!
      All your info is so helpful. We are now thinking of waiting till next summer to allow our 15 year old to finish secondary school. She has worked so hard and we don't wont to risk throwing it all away.
We are coming over at the end of the month Im feeling very positive and excited about our future! Just need a little more info on college courses, although there does seem alot more info avaliable.
    Many many thanks
             Cheryl

Info on public post secondary
This is not compulsory but there are three schools in Malta which offer courses for 16+ students.  Schools are mixed and students do not need uniforms.  Some people will call it 6th form since secondary schools end at Form 5 and then they can proceed to 6th form, but the general term is Post Sec or higher education.
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1. The University Junior College in Msida
2. Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School in Naxxar
3. MCAST - Malta College of Art, Science and Technology in different locations in Malta and Gozo.
4. Sir Mikelang Refalo in Rabat, Gozo
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1. JC (Junior College) offers courses in Advanced and Intermediate levels in preparation for University courses.
http://www.jc.um.edu.mt/

2. Giovani Curmi HSS offers like JC courses in preparation for University. It also offers courses in Revision O levels or courses for students who do not wish to continue to study at University but want to get an A level certificate.
http://www.gchss.com/

3. MCAST offers so many different courses of different duration and different levels (full time and part time). It also offers short courses for adults.
General site: http://www.mcast.edu.mt/
Short courses site: http://www.mcastshortcourses.gov.mt/

4. Apart from the Gozo branch of MCAST, there is also one Post Secondary in Gozo. Sir Mikelang Refalo which offers courses like GCHSS
http://schoolnet.gov.mt/smarc/
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Dear Christine
     Thank you so much, all this info is so valuable! I can't thank you enough!
    What a fantastic crowd of people on this forum! Just can't wait to get to malta now!!
How long have you been over there? How old are your children?
 
Many thanks
     Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

I am Maltese.  Been living abroad for three years but then came back to Malta.  I found this forum a few months before coming back to MT.  I did receive help from locals when abroad, so it's only fair for me to try to help people who want to come to Malta! 

Hi Christine
   You have been so helpful! Thankyou Christine we are so gratful. 
   Cheryl

Please help me understand what ( grade ) would my 11year old going on 12 in October,  be in next Fall if he is finishing his 5th grade here in the United States?
Thank you, Robyn

Can you recommend any schools on Gozo or Malta?