March 13 was a red-letter day for St Margaret College. In front of hundreds of students, parents and teachers, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi officially inaugurated the college's new boys' school at Verdala, Cospicua.

The thousands of visitors who attended the open weekend on March 14 and 15 at the new Verdala school saw a wealth of displays and educational, cultural, sports and fun activities organised by all the schools within the college, with the voluntary work of many teachers, parents and students. The weekend was put together by the school head Stephen Cachia and his senior management team.

Opposition leader Joseph Muscat and Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Arnold Cassola also visited the open weekend at different times. A special guest was the renowned surgeon Prof. Victor Griffiths, now retired, who had been a pupil in the 1920s at the first school at the Verdala site.

This is the third, and the biggest of the new schools being built all over the island by Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools. The present administration is committed to opening a new school every year to cater for the educational revolution that is presently taking place throughout compulsory education in Malta. Soon, the Pembroke primary school will be inaugurated, followed by boys' secondary schools in Gozo and Mosta respectively.

Education Minister Dolores Cristina has just announced that after these, the next on the list is a new secondary school for girls within St Ignatius College.

The new boys' secondary school at Verdala incorporates the innovative features of the first two of the foundation's schools, and a few new ones of its own. Like the new boys' secondary schools of St Benedict's and St Ignatius colleges, it is built according to the latest environmental and energy-saving technologies.

All water needed for the school's second-class water requirements and its soft areas are provided by huge reservoirs constructed by the British in the 19th Century. The sun provides over 10 per cent of the school's energy needs. It has first-class sports facilities and laboratories. All classrooms are equipped within internet connections and for the future use of interactive whiteboards.

But the school has a charm all of its own. The foundation has gone for a design that has integrated all possible elements of the original military-style quadrangle and colonial architecture. Indeed, Verdala barracks have been used as a school of one sort or another for 80 years. The one building that has remained intact is the school gym-cum-hall, with its distinctive white cupola that can be seen from as far away as the Upper Barrakka in Valletta. The school, with its state-of-the-art facilities, wide open spaces and vistas, is a strong invitation to students to reach out for excellence, for the best in themselves.

Indeed, this distinctive com-bination of new and old is a metaphor for the new school, which is built on the proud achievements and legacy of the two schools it is replacing: Ġużeppi Despott Boys' Junior Lyceum that was sited in Verdala itself, and Lorenzo Gafà Boys' Secondary School, known popularly as Fortini.

It is emblematic that this year, the 25th anniversary of the opening of Ġużeppi Despott, we are celebrating the next step in the history of educational development in Malta.

This element of continuity was also present in the inauguration itself. The event began with an audio-visual presentation of the history of the Verdala site. An emotional highlight of the activity was the presentation of a memento to all the past heads of the two old schools that had been replaced.

This was followed by a play with the participation of secondary students from both these 'old' schools and the girls' school within the college, as well as a choir from Kalkara primary school.

The presence of students from different schools within the college was also symbolic. This event was of primary importance for the whole of St Margaret College.

Indeed, we view the new secondary school for boys as a living, concrete embodiment of the state's commitment to ensure that the communities within this college are given exactly the same educational opportunities as everyone else in Malta.

Mr Spiteri is principal, St Margaret College.