The concept of the Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School in Naxxar started in the early 1990s. It was realised that many Fifth Form students were not continuing to post-secondary education either because they had very poor O-level results or because they were low achievers.

Technically, Fifth Form students in government schools are not usually allowed to repeat unless there are special circumstances, so many of these students were ending up not knowing what to do.

The idea was not only to welcome students who do not have the full requirements to enter a Sixth Form, but to go a step further. The Higher Secondary's mission statement is, in fact, to offer students another opportunity - a second chance to engage in further education and improve their qualifications.

Indeed, the school's mission is very much in line with the target set by Lisbon Agenda that each EU member country should have 85 per cent of its students in post-secondary education by this year.

When it was set up, the Higher Secondary formed part of what is now the Junior College in Msida, which at the time was called Gian Franġisk Abela Upper Secondary School and was still run by the Education Ministry. When the Junior College came under the auspices of the University in 1994, the Higher Secondary moved to its current premises in Naxxar, which used to be one of the best technical institutes on the island for vocational training and City and Guilds courses.

The school was refurbished and the workshops converted into chemistry, physics, biology and computer labs, and home economics rooms. However, up till around the year 2000, people still had the idea that it was a school for students who failed. They would say, "If you don't pass you will go to 'Higher'". Some of our students would come voluntarily; others only because their parents told them this was their last chance.

In a way, this stigma was unfair because the students might not have done as well as they could or wanted to either because of their intellectual ability, or because of social circumstances, or simply because they had a bad day in May/June when they were doing their O-level exams.

However, over the years the school's reputation for its teaching and for the welfare of its students has improved for two reasons. Firstly, the school actually did become better - it was developed further and even expanded.

Some five years ago the Foundation for Tomorrow's School allocated additional funds for the school to build a new four-storey block. It houses a large library, 20 to 22 lecture rooms, new chemistry and biology labs, computer rooms, and art rooms. More funds and staff resources were also allocated so the school could cater for more students.

Secondly, students started to graduate from the school and tell others how good the school really was - that the teachers really did take good care of their students, and taught them really well; what high standard of facilities it has.

So word of mouth spread and entered families' homes, and the numbers of students continued rising exponentially. Over the past 18 years, the school population has, in fact, increased from 400 to 1,900. And today, students from over 100 schools choose to come to the Higher Secondary.

The Higher Secondary now offers three courses: for students who already have at least five O-levels, which have to include Maltese, English, Maths and a science subject, it offers the Matriculation certificate for entry into University; for students who have four O-levels, it offers an Advanced Intermediate and O-level (AIO) course, which can enable students to go for further education, such as at Mcast or the Institute for Tourism Studies, study abroad or get a better job, or simply to upgrade their qualifications.

For students missing O-levels or who want to repeat their O-levels it also offers O-level revision courses. So students can pick and choose to study whatever they need in their circumstances. Even though the students may still be studying for their O-levels they are doing so in a Sixth form environment where they can meet other young people their age.

The school also caters for any students with disability who have a statement issued by the Education ministry, entitling them to the services of a facilitator, or as they are now called, a Learning Support Assistant (LSA). This permit is now being carried into Sixth Form, so we now have students with LSAs.

In fact, we were the first school to create this precedent and help students with disability to enter into post-secondary education, and we even have such students from our school going on to Mcast or University as well. Obviously, every student's case is looked into with their individual needs, and decisions are taken together with the family so that the student does not suffer but gains from being at the Higher Secondary. Other Sixth Forms have thankfully followed this example and have opened their doors to LSAs for students with disability.

The Higher Secondary's reputation of care is quite good considering that it now has a 1,900-strong student population. But could the school's growth ultimately undermine its success, in that smaller Sixth forms would be able to give even more personalised attention?

I am sure that in smaller Sixth Forms, students will be quite well-known to their teachers, especially those who would have continued from the same school's secondary sector. And I do fear that if we get too large we may lose our knack of being able to cater for the students personally.

However, as in all other government educational establishments over Form 3, classes at the Higher Secondary cannot have more than 25 students. This gives our teachers the opportunity to get to know their students, and to actually 'chase' them if they are slacking.

Also, because the school is under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, all our teachers must not only be qualified in the subject but also have a teacher's warrant.

There are five guidance teachers at the Higher Secondary's Career Guidance and Counselling office. They each have a half-load teaching and half a load of counselling, and I am a full-time counsellor. There is a ratio of how many counsellors a school should have in relation to its student population, and we should have two or three more people joining our office in the future.

Having said that, we are not mummies and daddies - no teacher is - but we do cater for young adults who might still need a lot of support. So far, thanks to the work of my colleagues in the guidance and counselling services and all members of staff, I feel the school is living up to its ethos to care for its students as well as educate and help them become qualified.

The size of the Higher Secondary actually gives it a certain advantage over smaller Sixth Forms in that the latter may not be able to offer all choices of subject combinations that the Matriculation Certificate could request, simply due to their limited numbers of students and staff resources.

In larger Sixth Forms such as the Higher Secondary, Sir Mikiel Anġ Refalo Centre for Further Studies in Victoria, and the Junior College, students can take all options. For example, they can do Geography with Chemistry at A-level, which is a very rare combination. Larger schools have room to manoeuvre in the timetable.

The school also has a lot of teachers who organise extra-curricular activities. It has introduced enrichment credit courses such as guitar-playing, communication skills, drama, photography, sports leagues, gym sessions, games, exchanges, Young Enterprise, regularly holds religious activities, Mass, seminars, personal and development, and offers a counselling service for students, staff and parents.

For further information on Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary school, view www.gchss.com.

Ms Zammit is head of the career guidance and counselling office at Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary, Naxxar.