Expat insights: kids moving schools
Written by Angela May
Kids' schooling is at the centre of any expat family's decision to move to Malta
If you are planning to move to Malta and uproot with your family, it’s a life changing event, not only for you but for your young budding Einsteins. You may be able to take it in your stride, but your kids – if they’re over the age of five – will probably have an opinion about your plans and so may not be in agreement with them.
I remember so clearly the day we all sat around the kitchen table in the UK to discuss our move to Malta. The news was met with, “Where’s Malta?” and then floods of tears. Our eldest child aged 10 at that time found the news the most devastating having had a best friend from day one reception with whom he was inseparable.
English and Friendly
The first visit to a new school can be pretty daunting for any child, but for those that are on the shy side it can be more difficult. As English is the language of choice in the playground, and of teaching in most of Malta’s private sector schools, it makes it much easier for an English-speaking child to settle.
On the first day of school the Maltese children were particularly welcoming, all saying “Hello” without being prompted by the teacher and appearing genuinely interested and pleased to meet a new member of the class. The Maltese children, as well as being friendly, appear to have a strong sense of self worth and are particularly confident, a real positive attribute that I have begun to notice in my children.
How does the curriculum compare?
Our concerns about the quality of the curriculum in comparison to the UK were settled quite quickly as our eldest child was using exactly the same text books in maths and it seemed very similar in other subjects. The examination process at IGCSE levels also appears comparable to the UK, which is great if you are only here for a few years and your child is at that important age.
Homework
The homework workload during term time is particularly high. The senior school children have between one to two hours of homework every evening, this does take sometime to get used to, however, on the flip side 12 weeks holiday in the summer goes some way to compensate for it. Homework is taken extremely seriously at school and therefore is always completed in our home!
Maltese and Religion
Maltese and religion are not compulsory subjects for non-nationals, and you can decide whether you would like your child to participate. If not, then there’s some time to study or read in the library for the senior school and, in our case, a course of media studies for younger children.
Life now they’ve settled in
We have now been in Malta for 18 months and have all settled down to Maltese life. Although I know my children would never have chosen to come to live in Malta, I feel that they have grown through the experience. They have both Maltese and expat friends and have formed some strong friendships. They have friends for tea and sleepovers as we did in the past and masses of affordable after-school activities. I am sure they will find it more difficult, than they expect, when the time comes for us to return to the UK.
Photo: Leslie Vella
Thank you for the article! We might be moving to Malta soon as well, with 2 kids (5 & 7 years old). My biggest concern on the move is how the children will handle it, so it is good to hear that it worked out well for your family.
I will hopefully be moving to Malta soon with my husband and 12-year old son who is due to start high school in August. What is the best way to go about choosing a school for him?
@WeeSmiler12, I need to email you directly on the ‘choice of school’ as it can be as easy or complicated as you want. There’s the language issue and the private vs state school issue, and a host of other issues such as where you will be located. I am in France on a short break but back on 16th July. I’ll contact you then with some more thoughts on this and some links to other articles on this site that will help you.
We are thinking of moving to Malta from australia. I have 2 school age children 11 and 12.. My father was born inmate so have plenty of family there. We only speak English so my children will need a school only in English. They are girls. Where do I start to look for a school for them?
Paula,
Your simply query about where to find school that teach in English has a simple answer and a more complicated one. Fact 1: it’s easy to find schools teaching English – nearly half Malta’s schools teach in English – all the private ones. The state schools teach in Maltese. So this narrows your choice, but so long as you expect to pay for schooling (fees way, way below most private schools in the UK by the way), then that’s solved.
However, now comes the legal bit: Fact 2: according to the law, children, whether Maltese nationals or non-nationals, Maltese mother tongue or not, have to sit the Maltese school leaving exam in Maltese – at what they call ‘Matsec’ (UK O Levels age) if they have been educated in Malta for four consecutive years prior to the Matsecs ie. age 12 onwards. Maltese is also a prerequisite for getting in to Malta University. This is something I find ridiculous given that the system allows around half Malta’s schools to teach in English which would require children to have a high level of English knowledge (Language 1 – mother tongue – or at least near native). The new National Curriculum Framework currently being discussed and closing debate on 14 October, explicitly says that it considers Maltese L1 – mother tongue – and English L2 – a foreign language or not mother tongue standard at least. L2s also include French, Italian etc.
What does this mean? In reality, it depends private school to private school. The school my son is at (he’s a dual national but mother tongue English with little Maltese), seems to turn a blind eye to some foreign nationals pulling their children out of Maltese lessons despite the legal obligation; perhaps they just hope foreigners will go away, not be in Malta come Matsec etc etc. Others like my son are given a different story and told that they have to remain in Maltese lessons even though they struggle. If Maltese were taught as a foreign language, he would cope. As it is, he is slipping ever further behind and will no doubt fail the compulsory Matsec in Maltese. I see this time and effort as a waste given the lack of language support he receives. The law is an ass, the system flawed and even though some high ranking politicians know the system is failing children, it is being perpetuated in the new curriculum. Note also, that some state school pupils have very poor English!
Some non native Maltese children will be motivated to learn Maltese perhaps, pick it up by osmosis, or have schools that deliver tailored programmes to their needs. My son fits none of these categories. So, in brief, armed with this knowledge you need to know:
a) if you intend to be in Malta when Matsec comes along
b) ask probing questions of any private school you approach to see if they fudge the legal obligation
c) in theory, break the legal reqs and just pull your kids out of Maltese post age 12.
d) there is one school that is truly international, teaches in English and offer the international Bacc. at age 16 and 18 so is outside the legal obligations re Maltese curriculum. See Verdala School. It charges commensurately higher fees. I think two others offer Bacc to A level age – 18 – but not 16 – something to do with Catholic teaching not being part of the Bacc and Article 2 of the Constitution obliges schools to follow Catholic religious teaching. If you aren’t Catholic, that might be another issue to consider. See this for more on that: http://aei.pitt.edu/6034/1/27.pdf
I hope this has helped a bit. Since your children are just in senior school these issues need careful consideration. That said, there are always workarounds and it seems most children in private schools do come out with a good education. And at senior school level, most subject books are in English, which means that you find state school teachers inevitably using English in class to convey the subject. It’s a bit hit and miss though. See also our post on Adult expats learning Maltese here: http://www.maltainsideout.com/19825/do-expats-learn-maltese/
Great article and good comments section.
My daughter and 2 granddaughters came to live in Malta last May and the oldest granddaughter who is 6 now attends Naxxar Primary which we are very happy with. We all have dual nationality and a large Maltese extended family but are struggling to help her with learning Maltese. We are seriously looking for private Maltese tuition and have come up with nothing so far. I believe that learning Maltese will greatly help her when she grows older but the starting process is very hard. I should add that I never managed to pick up Maltese and neither did my daughter so we are unable to help at grass root level.
If you have a contact that I may approach with regard to Maltese tuition it would be so helpful at this time.
Thanks again
@Fred: a difficult one this to answer. I have a dual national son, aged 9, who struggles in Maltese at his private school which teaches in English. We did think about extra lessons, and his current Maltese teacher said she might be able to give an hour a week after school extra. I suggest you start by asking the school, check the local newsagents and post offices as I find cards are often stuck up on the counter re teachers giving extra lessons – though whether they can help younger ones rather than at Matsec level, I’ve no idea. Asking in local shops seems a good route to most info of this type! So ask around her locality in Naxxar. See this article too, which while about adult learners, does have some indication of how to think through the extra lesson issues – see the bottom of the post as it has links to other articles on the education system and its approach. http://www.maltainsideout.com/19825/do-expats-learn-maltese/ Check also the small classified ads in the Times. And post on our Facebook wall a query and someone might pop up to help!
http://www.facebook.com/MaltaInsideOut
Elizabeth, thank you so much for your quick detailed response and I shall certainly move on it. Looks to be a major problem here but let’s see what transpires..
Salve,
mi chiamo Rosella,avrei bisogno di aiuto in quanto sto cercando una scuola per l’estate.
Vorrei trascorrere circa 4/5 settimane a Malta, mi farebbe piacere che i miei 3 figli di 6/8/10 anni avessero l’occasione di imparare l’inglese, ma ho difficoltà nel trovare una scuola per tutti e tre.
Grazie
Rosella