Spanish Ambassador Jose Pons and Carmel Vassallo, head of Spanish and Latin American studies at the University, visited Chiswick House School and St Martin’s College to mark the first anniversary of the introduction of Spanish last October as an option in Form 1.

The two schools have about 1,400 students between the ages of two and 18, of which 25 per cent hail from 39 different countries.

Vassallo said there are more native speakers of Spanish in the world than of any other language apart from Chinese, and the ability to communicate in a language on the rise was increasingly in demand. “I appreciate the forward-looking nature of the independent school sector, particularly as regards foreign languages,” he said. “The sector caters for only about 10 per cent of Malta’s school population but sends nearly the totality of its students on to further and higher education.”

During the visit, Pons and Vassallo were shown around the school and watched a students’ theatre performance in Spanish.

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