Primary schools

Hello camonixo.

Welcome to Expat.com!

Hope you'll be helped by other members soon.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Hello ,
My son will start st claire public school in pembroke next week and they  (as far as i know) teach in english. I will let you know how i get on.
Giuseppina

thanks for your reply I will wait for your verdict,good luck

Had parent-teacher meeting in St claire pembroke kindergarten this morning. The head master gave a speech in english , even though she mentioned that that was supposed to be in maltese and was in English only because she could see that we were mixed foreigners and maltese. She talked a lot about all the little rules they have in school (one particulat that i like is that they follow the healthy eating way SO NO SUGAR ALLOWED YEHYYYY!!!!! meaning that every child is only allowed to sandwich fruit milk and water.
The school is brand new so lots of toys , playing area looked nice and clean .
When she introduced us to teachers they spoke mainly in maltese , they would only translate at the end of the sentence but that would be what is in your booklet so personal comments were in maltese.
When I asked her about the language she told me that she would mainly talk in english but that having a big number of maltese friends in the same class my son would pick up maltese through them anyway , that's fine with me.
The class has 14 children and two teachers which again is something that i like cause in some kindergarten I have heard that there are 20 children with one teacher (scary)
Monday will be theyr first day , first week will be an adjustment like usual , parents are allowed to come in the first day only and children will finish at 12 instead of 2.15.
My personal opinion is that for being a public school it's quite nice, I was brought up in public school and don't have nice memories of new clean places with nice toys and 2 teachers so let's hope for the best. I will keep you posted.

Ps: I discovered today that in the same (new) building there's a public creche too for age 3month till 3 years , I applied immediately for my 2 year old because again besides being probably free the premises looked really good to me so I will keep you all posted

Giuseppina

Hi Giuseppin!

Please inform us, how it's going.
My family will arrive in february and we have children with same age (4, 2 years old).

St. Claire is a public kindergarten / school and so its free?

Thanks,

Andras

yess andras it is, you only pay for uniform (i bought 2 for 3o euro) trainers which i got with sales for 17 euro and the pensils,glue , paper ecc you need for the year which amount is roughly around 30 euro. I still have to fill form for nursery which is public and in the same building so I don't know if it's free like kindergarten. Will keep you posted
Giuseppina

Do you live in Pembroke?
Just took a 3 hours walk from Sliema to Pembroke trough St Julians and Pacewill than back to Swieqi and to my hotel.

I can say I like Pembroke...

Thanks giusepinna,great reporting and fantastic news that the school looks nice,clean and well run,my boy is very shy and not a good mixer yet so this sound really exciting,keep it going ,regards,Adrian

camonixo wrote:

Hi all,My wife,4 year old son and myself as moving to Malta this year as I work for Arriva bus company here in London and they recently bought a share in the bus industry on the Island.

I see from your profile that you are a bus driver in London. Have you been given a transfer as a driver in Malta and do you speak Maltese?
I ask because my understanding is that Arriva drivers in Malta must speak Maltese, they did import some non Maltese drivers from other EU countries as a stop gap caused by a shortage of drivers but these have now been replaced by Maltese / English speaking drivers.
I would hate for you to get carried away on a dream that may not be practical.
Good luck!

Terry

Hi tearnet,thanks for your concern,yes last year some drivers left my garage when Arriva took over some bus routes in Malta and they came back with great revues of life working in Malta,now my boss has got promotion and is head of operations on the Island, I spoke to him at length before he moved about a transfer and I received very encouraging news but nowhere has he said I need to speak Maltese.On your advise I shall contact him again so as not to get carried away with my dream,Thanks again Terry,regards,Adrian

Wow you will be working for arrives? CAN WE MAKE SOME SUGGESTIONS PLEASE?? Definitely has been a major.. BUT MAJOR.. bone of contention here and the whole public transport this is a major issue even in the upcoming general election

Here is goes.

1. Who was the very brainy guy that imported extra big buses that cater for some of the tiny roads in the small villages? Very intelligent indeed!!!!

2. There are some circular routes that operate 3 times an hour with  hardly anyone ever on there.. talking about Mellieha.. Manikata.. Rabat areas. Buses pass 3 times an hour.. always empty, anytime of the year even summer months, let alone winter. They never existed before and there is certainly no need for them now. Why not reroute them to where buses are full 90% of the time - Sliema, St Pauls' Bay, Paceville on weekends? Also why have huge Bendy buses serving routes that are also always empty - nearly all the X routes?

3. Timing and scheduling? Non existent - we have been to big international cities like NYC, London and Rome - so how come you have tiny boards telling you exactly when the buses are coming and not far off schedule - and they don't work on a little rock 20 miles by 9? LOL! Even with massive traffic everywhere, how are they wrong 100% of the time.

Other than that, you will enjoy Malta

Sorry but this post is about schools!
Giuseppina

giusidda wrote:

Sorry but this post is about schools!
Giuseppina

Sorry Giuseppina, my fault I should have started a new thread.




Terry

giusidda wrote:

Sorry but this post is about schools!
Giuseppina

Aplogies Giuseppa.. the word 'Arriva' always stirs exciting sentiments around these parts!

hi all looking for same info on public schooling for my 7yr boy

Hello everybody, today was My son''s 4th day in the new kindergarten and soo far he likes it and goes happy.
When he comes back he tells me what they do during the morning which he didn't used to do when he woud come back from previous school.
He even told me that he likes when he has breakfast and the teacher gives him milk
(they ask you to bring a cup and the school provides fresh milk)
My son likes strikt routines so maybe that's why he likes it and follows whatever the teacher says ....so if you are going to join that school keep in mind that they have rules and you have tofollow them , no mather what ....parent and teacher meeting was all about that and the principal pointed out that they are educators not babysitters LOL
If you have questions about some stuff i havn't mentioned feel free to ask.
Did application for public nursery as well and if there's nobody leaving a free space my other son will be admitted in october. They havn't come back to me with a fee yet, she said it will depend on my husbands income and the number of children I have . I hope that helps
Giuseppina

giusidda wrote:

My son likes strikt routines so maybe that's why he likes it and follows whatever the teacher says ....so if you are going to join that school keep in mind that they have rules and you have tofollow them , no mather what ....parent and teacher meeting was all about that and the principal pointed out that they are educators not babysitters LOL


Giuseppina

Hey Giuseppina, found the above quote very interesting! Weren't you expecting schools to have rules that must be followed? Isn't going to school all about obeying rules and learning about routine and real life - ie you can't really do what you want, when you want and how you want while respecting others? Of course this is done is a fun way but naturally rules MUST be obeyed, especially in a school environment. No need to say this applies to parents as well.

Enjoy the Malta experience.

ok I will explain , My son was attending private kindergarten last year and they had few rules and nobody was really following them , for example you tell them you'll drop your child at 8.30 and then it's always 8.45 or 9 , or you agree to the fact that no chocolates are allowed and then sometimes you manage to snuggle a chocolate muffin in their bags that's what i mean with not following the rules and the school being very relaxed about it. Public kindergarten sticks to every single rule they tell u and I like it , it will just take time to adjust but I do believe that children need it.
Giuseppina

Hi Giuseppina,

can I ask you what the opening hours are? Is there any after school club? If both me and my husband work, we would then need our children to be at "school" till 5pm.

Thanks,
Jitka

Hi jitka, just found out that my son will have no school monday and tuesday due to carnival celebration so i will use the holiday/aftrschool club that is in the same school. they charge 1.20 per hour and are open till 6 i think . I will try it out and then come back to you. My son is in kindergarten from 8.30 till 2.15.
Giuseppina

Thank you, Giuseppina. A few more questions please.

How old are your children? My son is 19 months old, will they admit him?

How long did you wait to be admitted to this school?

Thanks a lot.

Jitka

giusidda wrote:

ok I will explain , My son was attending private kindergarten last year and they had few rules and nobody was really following them , for example you tell them you'll drop your child at 8.30 and then it's always 8.45 or 9 , or you agree to the fact that no chocolates are allowed and then sometimes you manage to snuggle a chocolate muffin in their bags that's what i mean with not following the rules and the school being very relaxed about it. Public kindergarten sticks to every single rule they tell u and I like it , it will just take time to adjust but I do believe that children need it.
Giuseppina

Hey thanks for  your clarification and was only just wondering - I would never send my own kids to a Kindergarten like you have described.. that says a lot about the management with no real consideration for real learning.

Hi,

could anybody advise what is the language spoken at St. Clare College in Gzira and St. Theresa College Msida. If you have any comments regarding these two schools, I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Jitka

Hi jitka what you need to do is apply for public nursery which you can find in this link : https://www.education.gov.mt/Page.aspx? … 2&pageid=8
This link provides you with a list of public nurseries/kindergarten close to you. You need to call the number , make appointment, meet them, fill out form plus give them all the docs they ask you and they they tell you how long it will approx take for your child to be admitted . In my case My nearly 2 year old son will go in in october if there's nobody leaving a space if you know what i mean cause in pembroke they take children on in february and october. After that he will then be admitted in kindergarten 1 , but for that he has to be 3 years old. I hope this is helpful.
Giuseppina

Giuseppina,

thanks a lot, your information is useful. I will give them a call and see if they can take at least my daughter.

Jitka

Ciao Giuseppina, I will be moving to Malta next year with my 5 year old son and my 1 year old daughter, is St Claire in Pembroke only a Kindergarten or also a primary school? If they teach also in English I would be very interested in enrolling both my children there, as your feedback on this school is very good. Thanks!

Hi Romina,
Yes my feedback is still good , i cant complaint at all. st claire is new and the principal is efficient.
The kids in damiano's class talk mixed in maltese and english but it really doesnt bother me that much cause he will eventually pick up the language and its best that at least the kids know it if you decide to live here for long time (it will help you in the future) and having said that teacher is teaching in english and sometimed to specify things to maltese students she uses maltese too.
The stuff they learn is in english and that would be the most important thing anyway.The school in Pembroke does from kinder to primary so you could enrol your kids no problem ones you live in the designated areas : swieqi , pembroke or tal ibragh . For more info is best to call them 27383502. Good luck
Giuseppina

Thanks for the information Giuseppina, I will give them a call or send them an email, I will be in Malta in June for a couple of weeks so we will go and see them for sure! My son will be 6 years and a half when we move to Malta, so we still have to make up our minds whether to send him to a private or public school...
By the way I can see that you are Italian but lived in Ireland, just like me...where did you live in Ireland? At least I know we come from similar backgrounds

Hi Romina,

Any update on the St Claire primary school at Pembroke teaching in English?

We are planning to move to Malta next year and my eldest son will also be about 6 1/2 by then.

Thanks!

Hi ukmac, apologies for replying only now but I haven't been on the
forum for a while...when we went to Malta in June we visited St.Claire school in Sliema, and I suppose what they told us is valid also for the school in Pembroke, since they are all part of the same institution.
The staff we talked to was very nice, they explained that most of the time teachers will speak English, but that gradually Maltese will be introduced and that after a while expat kids are able to understand and speak the foreign language.The only thing they really made clear is that you need your paperwork (the electronic ID card) sorted out before enrolling your child, but there are no waiting lists or things as such. Apart from that,they seemed pretty easy going, they are used to talking to families from other countries and they confirmed that children that do not speak Maltese never had any issue. What we will do next, apart from starting to look for a job next spring, is getting all the correct information to get the ID card and take it from there, at this stage we will probably be able to move only in January 2015...

Re: EU law, your children and their schooling in another EU country:

The children of EU citizens are entitled to attend school in any EU country under the same conditions as nationals of that country.

They have the right to be placed in a class with their own age group, at the equivalent level to their class in your country of origin – regardless of their language level.

'If you are an EU national migrating to another EU country for work, your children are entitled under EU law to receive free language tuition in your new home country to help them adapt to the school system there...................................................'

Source: http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/ed … dex_en.htm

In addition, concerning ‘…………The only thing they really made clear is that you need your paperwork (the electronic ID card) sorted out before enrolling your child,…………', please see:

The Malta Independent Daily: Solution for school enrolment of expatriates found - Wednesday, 4th September, 2013. 

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/ … 495610880/

Thanks this info is very useful

Thanks for your feedback Byron49!!

Hi Romina, thanks for your post. Mellieha primary school told me the same thing. I think the attitiude of these Maltese schools is great, but it's not really what I'm lokoing for. I'm still hoping to find somewhere that teaches all pupils in English -- I read somehwere the St. Pauls Bay does, so I think I'll give them a call.

Sorry to hear you've got to wait until 2015. We're still planning on getting over there sometime in spring 2014.

Thanks for your post and link, Byron -- very helpful information.

ukmac wrote:

Hi Romina, thanks for your post. Mellieha primary school told me the same thing. I think the attitiude of these Maltese schools is great, but it's not really what I'm lokoing for. I'm still hoping to find somewhere that teaches all pupils in English -- I read somehwere the St. Pauls Bay does, so I think I'll give them a call.

Sorry to hear you've got to wait until 2015. We're still planning on getting over there sometime in spring 2014.

Hi St. Paul's Bay school does not teach all subjects in English. Maltese, religion and social studies is taught in Maltese.

besides shoes, is there anything else that one can buy or all else has to be from uniform shop?

And does anyone knows prox. how much will I spend in that shop for a kid that starts school this year?

Duxx wrote:

besides shoes, is there anything else that one can buy or all else has to be from uniform shop?

And does anyone knows prox. how much will I spend in that shop for a kid that starts school this year?

Hi,

Yes, shoes and socks are about it, otherwisw, it's all from the shop, although, depending on the school, school skirt/trousers could be bought else where. St Paul's has a plain black skirt/trousers.

It will cost around 30/40 euro to buy, it will be a school polo shirt and for p.e. shorts and T-shirt for summer.

Summer uniform will change to winter, around the first week of December, so you might get away with sending them in winter?

This will cost more, as you have shirt, jumper and for P.e. you will have to get the shorts, T-sirt and tracksuit.

Hope this helps!

Caroline