Middle schools that separated Form 1 and 2 students from other secondary school pupils were an “added benefit” to the educational structure and school principals and heads want them, an Education Ministry spokesman said.

He reiterated that the ministry was confident State colleges were ready to introduce co-education and set up middle schools from the next scholastic year, as announced last week.

Before introducing co-education in Pembroke’s St Clare College through a pilot project started last September, the ministry worked with the Malta Union of Teachers, principals, heads, assistant heads, parents and students, he said. This collaboration started in June.

The MUT last week criticised the government for launching co-ed and middle schools across all State schools before the pilot project was completed.

It said teachers should have been consulted before the decision was made final, adding that teachers were concerned about how middle school would affect them.

Issue of mixed ability and differentiated teaching is education’s biggest challenge

Teachers and parents told Times of Malta that while they agreed with co-ed and middle schools in principle, they were concerned about how they would work out.

The ministry spokesman, however, insisted that State schools were ready.

“The experience in this school [St Clare] was a very positive one and principals and heads of all the other colleges have expressed their wish for the concept to be introduced in their colleges.

“What was done between June 2013 and September 2013 at St Clare College can be mirrored in all the other colleges for September 2014,” the spokesman said.

He said that, over the next few months, the ministry would be holding teachers’ seminars and the co-ed concept would be high on the agenda.

Setting up middle schools was communicated through circulars and could also be found on the ministry’s website.

“The biggest challenge before the educational sector is the issue of mixed ability and differentiated teaching that the previous government introduced without serious plans. The ministry started addressing the issue through alternative learning programmes. However, there is much ground to make up for and more work needs to be done to help teachers connect with students of mixed ability through improved pedagogy and syllabi,” he said.

Where to go?

Some colleges will have the middle school on their premises. While decisions are not necessarily final in all cases, other middle schools will operate from other locations:

Source: education.gov.mt