St Edward's sixth form to be phased out

The sixth form at St Edward's College is being phased out as from June 2006, a decision that has been in the pipeline for a while, a school circular has informed parents.

There will therefore be no student uptake in September for the first time in 30 years. There are currently 75 sixth formers.

Following a detailed analysis based on a consultation process, the college's board of governors has decided that the current Year 12 students are to complete their sixth form programme of studies until the end of the next scholastic year.

"The post-secondary sector has changed drastically in recent years. With the emergence of other post-secondary institutions, such as the Higher Secondary Giovanni Curmi in Naxxar and the Malta College for the Arts, Science and Technology, it has become very difficult to find parents prepared to pay a very high tuition fee for their child's sixth form education, when it is being offered gratis elsewhere," the circular said.

Other post-secondary education facilities are free, their standards are high and they are more attractive to teenagers even because students are not obliged to wear uniforms, David Darmanin, a college spokesman, said.

In making its decision, the board took into consideration the financial impact of sixth form on the overall performance of the non-profit-making college to ensure that St Edward's could "move more confidently towards its future".

The college sixth form was being subsidised by the other three schools - junior, middle and senior - and was always a question mark from the feasibility point of view.

"That it has been suffering a financial loss is no secret but it could never be any cheaper, given the subjects that were being taught," Mr Darmanin said.

Four teachers are retiring this year, so the board of governors thought the time was ideal to phase out the sixth form.

A redundancy plan is being implemented but the college does not intend to do away with staff "just like that" and would be taking "fairness" into account, Mr Darmanin said, adding that the teacher-to-student ratio is higher than one to 10.

He said the college was experiencing a boom in the demand for the junior school and that Year I was expected to double from next year.

St Edward's was working on its image and ensuring that its 75 years of existence did not allow the man in the street to think it was stuck in tradition, but, on the contrary, has built a modern model of education on its experience, Mr Darmanin continued.

"The college's future is secure and our decision should guarantee its financial standing," the circular said.