Looking for international school...

Hi Lisu,

Your topic is now on the Malta anglophone forum for more visibility and interaction with the other members.

Thanks

Priscilla

Thanks a lot for your help ! Regards, Lisu.

Hi

You have not a lot of choices actually. There are only 2 IB schools in Malta:
stedwards.edu.mt/
verdala.org/

There are other private schools, but without IB

Hi I've just moved to Malta with my 7 year old son Ethan. We were also looking for an International school and liked Verdala the best. They are small but I liked the family atmosphere. They usually have long waiting lists but have another class opening in Spetember in Ethan's year so we were lucky! For the time being Ethan is starting QSI after Easter. QSI are international but follow the American Curriculum. Message me if you would like further details on what we looked at

Hi, I'm curious about QSi.
We are moving to Malta in January with 2 children 9 and 11 years old. We are italian and swedish and the children speak both languages. The old one speaks english , the youngest is learning. Can you recommend Qsi ? Are you still moving to Verdala and why? Which nationalities are in the school? we are even a little bit worried about the possibilities to make friends in the international school because they will left.
We need to know more about the schools. 

Hi Julia,

Good luck with all the planning for the move! Ethan enjoyed his term at QSI but it follows the American Curruculum and we wanted Ethan to follow the International Curriculum instead. He started at Verdala last week in 3rd grade and all is good, he is loving it so far.
QSI was a great choice. Lots of different nationalities of kids..English, Russian, Swedish, German, Libyan and American amongst others. The head teacher is lovely, very accommodating and informative about the school. Small class sizes are definitely a plus. It was however a little out of our price range but was great as a stop gap. Feel free to give me a shout if you need any extra info.
Jo

Hi,
Thanks for the information. Where do you live? Is it a long schoolbus way to Qsi if we live in Sliema?
The lessons end at 4pm, is this inclusive the extracurriculum activities or are just lessons?
We are in waiting lust for Verdala but they do not have availability for the oldest one. The youngest( 9 year) can have a place. It is difficult, i think , to have them in different schools. We do not know how to do. The youngest can have a place in Chiswick too and we have to come back with a answer. Maybe we can have Qsi just a period waiting to have a place in Verdala.
Have a nice day.

Hello,
What are the fees in QSI school malta 1 grade and 5th grade
Thank you

Total fees at QSI for all levels above the 3/4 year old classes are 18,400 US dollars this year.

Thank you for your answer. So in Verdala school much more. What about other schools f.ex. San Andrew (i have a fee info only from them) it looks like it is cheaper,but i cant visit them right now and difficult to understand what are they sbout and will it be for my kids to go there they said it is also a line for a place 4 kids for 1 grade and 9 kids for 5 grade

I don't think fees in Verdala are more than QSI. There is a one off 5,000 euro registration fee I think, but other fees are around 10,000 euro are year  (slightly higher for higher forms). The detail is on their website. But the school is oversubscribed, and it seems that places are only available when someone drops out... Some people at QSI are "waiting" for a place at Verdala, which some people describe as having more facilities than QSI.

San Andrea is not an international school, but follows the Maltese curriculum. It says it provides "a Catholic environment". Not sure what it means in practise...

Fees at "Maltese" independent schools vary, but are much lower than at the international schools.

The Maltese approach to education, if you are coming from a "progressive" country, will on the whole seem very traditional. I have heard expats describe  it as "backward". This is why many of those who can afford it are lining up to get their kids into the international schools. Many Maltese people would love to send their kids there too, but the fees are stratospheric by Maltese standards...

J Fade wrote:

San Andrea is not an international school, but follows the Maltese curriculum. It says it provides "a Catholic environment". Not sure what it means in practise...

Fees at "Maltese" independent schools vary, but are much lower than at the international schools.

The Maltese approach to education, if you are coming from a "progressive" country, will on the whole seem very traditional. I have heard expats describe  it as "backward". This is why many of those who can afford it are lining up to get their kids into the international schools. Many Maltese people would love to send their kids there too, but the fees are stratospheric by Maltese standards...

my kids are in public school and I wouldn't call it "backward"
interesting fact is that i know a lot of people who had kids in privates schools for 2-3 years and then dropped them out and enrolled in public ones (not because of fees )

Same here ... based on our experience of our eldest in a private Kindergarten, I wouldn't describe it as backward - they are in a new building which is very nice and has good facilities.

It's very common for locals to enroll their kids in a private school and then have a punt with the lottery system to get into a a state / church school - sometimes this may be due to finances, or because there is a decent church school walking distance from their house.

ncls8888 wrote:

Dear parents,
Anticipating a future relocation to Malta, I'm looking for an international school for my two kids (sons) of 9 and 11 years old. They are now following an IB curriculum in one of the leading international school of Shanghai. They are fluent in three languages (English, French & Chinese). They are now competing in swimming, football and basketball, also practicing rock climbing, gymnastic, snorkeling, surfing and... cooking ;-) Even if they are not following any religious education, they are open to any. Last but not least, they are happy to learn, we want them to keep their positive attitude towards life ! After reading at several - very interesting - exchanges within this - very nice - website, we are thinking about Saint Edward, San Anton or San Andrea. What do you think ? Any advice ! Thanks in advance for your help !
Regards, Lisu.

Which school was chosen last?   
I'm currently in Shanghai

Dear İncomer,
there is little choice in Malta. St Edwards is the oldest but suffers from bullying of children by others, usually Maltese.
St Martins is the option we used for our children and we were happy enough.
The long 3 month summer break is a nuisance but you can find summer schools events which will help break up the boredom ;-)
Good luck
Prof. Stephen J Avalyan Newton

Can you share how much does it cost per year? thanks

oh my god, thanks