Summer chess camp at St Benedict's College

Over 50 students, boys and girls aged between seven and 14, enrolled in the first Summer Chess Camp, which St Benedict's College, Kirkop, in conjunction with the Malta Chess Federation, organised at the school.

The camp offered an exhilarating selection of chess puzzles, chess solutions and the exclusive chess equipment enabled the college students to combine fun with thinking enrichment in a chess-packed summer adventure.

The eight-week chess programme was designed to leave no one behind, whether it was discovering new young chess players or learning to mate in two moves. It consisted of two consecutive sessions of one and a half hours each on a weekly basis. One session was held from July 10 to September 11 and the other from July 12 to September 13.

College co-ordinator Marilyn Sciortino officially inaugurated the camp on July 10, and qualified trainers Ray Azzopardi and Alex Farrugia facilitated the sessions, which were held in a top quality dedicated chess class equipped with 20 chess sets, video projector and laptop with internationally acclaimed chess software. Maria Montebello, a teacher at the college, co-ordinated the camp with the help of Rita Cassar, a parent representative on the Chess Academy board.

St Benedict's College gives great importance to the national minimum curriculum objective of 'Education for Leisure'. The academy's objectives and activities are based on the curriculum's principles of providing a healthy education for leisure across all ages and providing quality investigative learning that puts fun in the process. The academy aims to promote the game of chess and make it accessible to everyone in a safe and healthy environment while providing 'expert' training to the intermediate and advanced player.

While the college respects everyone's right to free time, it recognises the importance of using it constructively. In line with the academy's vision, the camp offered its students a summer chess adventure like no other among the many possibilities available in the leisure industry.

All students attending Skola Sajf centres at St Benedict's College were also invited to visit the camp.