A leading and respected ex-politician recently wrote an opinion piece asking why so many parents take on the "hefty burden in the form of private school fees". The article was very perceptive, although one could also argue that, at least in respect of San Anton School, it was not completely well-informed.

For example, it was glibly commented that "private schools operate for a profit", and that some schools take cuts on payments for "uniforms and other requirements". San Anton School, by statute and by fact, does not operate for a profit, and has, for some time now, replaced all previous agreements wherein suppliers of uniforms or books would pay a cut to the school - successive boards have argued that any discounts possible should be passed on to parents.

It was also commented that private schools obtain higher than average examination results because they pre-select the more gifted students. Once again, this is certainly not correct in respect of San Anton, because, from its very inception, San Anton has been, and continues to be, a truly mixed-ability school, without pre-selection or streaming.

The article, on the other hand, comments that private schools do not necessarily have better teachers, or better premises and facilities, when compared to the current generation of state schools. It acknowledges that the cliché of 'social snobbery' is also fallacious, since the social mix in the private school is quite strong.

More importantly, it acknowledges that although fee-paying parents get a modicum of tax-relief on school fees, this is still minimal compared to the outlay required of parents who choose to send their children to private schools, and that it requires a significant sacrifice by parents to continue to send their children to such schools.

The author finally acknowledges the right of every family to make a free choice of school for its children, although the article betrays an unfortunately widespread belief (widespread, that is, in the top levels of administrators of state education), that this free choice is intrinsically an aberration; and that the number of parents who would choose a private school for their children would diminish if "the rising quality of state schools" were sufficiently propagated.

This concluding paragraph characterises a rather patronising view of private schools. Yes, parents have the right to a free choice, but they are intrinsically wrong in so choosing!

I would argue that, on the contrary, if more parents could afford it, more would freely choose to send their children to private schools. I would argue that if our politicians truly believed in the right to free choice in education, as they profess for say, your doctor, your pharmacy, or your life insurance plan, they would make such a choice possible for more parents.

The truth is that, although the cost per student in a private school, which is the burden carried by our parents, is less than the cost per student in a state school, (a burden that is carried by all taxpayers, including our parents), by virtue of the efficiency by which these schools are run, parents who want to exercise this free choice are left to carry a double burden on their own.

This leads us to the yet un-answered question. Why do parents seek private schooling for their children, if they can afford it (and sometimes even if they cannot)?

San Anton School was not the first private school in Malta, and yet it was a pioneer that, established at a moment of a now-forgotten crisis in education, has completely changed the face of education in Malta.

It is easy to forget, today, that it was San Anton School that removed the traumatic 'entrance exam' between the junior and senior schools, that introduced real mixed-gender, and mixed ability schooling, that introduced direct parent participation in the decisions affecting their children (and not mere parent-teacher associations). These are all concepts that have now become mainstream educational philosophy, parts enshrined in the country's National Minimum Curriculum.

Even today, some more traditional schools insist on the educational advantages (understood in the sense of getting better examination results) of single- as opposed to mixed-gender schools - implicitly ignoring (if they were right, which they are not) - the more important fact that education is not about examinations, but about life. So, according to these exponents of single-gender schooling, it is fine to have mixed-gender kindergarten and primary school, and mixed-gender sixth form and university, but not mixed-gender secondary schooling!

The success of San Anton School can be explained by a number of fundamental factors. First of all, by the development of an innovative educational philosophy in 1988, and a continuous updating of the same philosophy, which always keeps the holistic development of our children in focus.

Secondly, the special commitment of San Anton teachers, who have responded to this educational philosophy and given of their best and more. Thirdly, the partnership between the school and the parents who send their children, and who effectively own and run the school.

As the school goes steadily past its 20th birthday, it is also particularly rewarding to see some of our earlier San Antonians come back to the school as teachers, and also to start to send their own children to San Anton. This is the development of the full cycle of a school in society.

This does not mean that running a school such as San Anton is not difficult. We have had ups and downs. All our ideas and plans are necessarily tempered by the fact that any initiatives have to be financed from parents' pockets. There are no other resources, no bequests, no grants, no subsidies, only parents' contributions and fees.

During my term as chairman of the school I came across a whole crop of parents who, believing in the ethos of the school, consistently commit their time, and contribute their comments, ideas, and talents to the school, be it on the school board, or in the focus groups, or in the committees that help the school administration in so many ways, including school fairs and pastoral care. And this crop of parents re-generates itself when old-timers, like myself, fade away, and others take their place with equal and more vigour and enthusiasm.

(This is an extract from Prof. Toriano's message in the San Anton School 2008/09 yearbook.)

Prof. Torpiano was chairman of San Anton School from 2000 to 2008.