Students, teachers and parents are “overwhelmingly” satisfied with the new co-education system despite the “teething problems” in certain schools, a study has found.

The comprehensive year-long study, conducted among some 2,000 students across 12 State schools, has found that more than four fifths of middle-schoolers were happy sitting in mixed-gender classrooms.

Form 1 co-education classes were rolled out in all State schools this scholastic year after a pilot project at St Clare’s secondary school, in Pembroke between 2013 and 2014.

The rapid introduction had raised eyebrows among educators who felt more time was needed to review the results of the pilot project. The study, however, found that the “vast majority” of teachers had given the new system straight As.

Educational psychologist Mark Borg, who conducted the study together with consultant Maria Ciappara, said he was surprised with the magnitude of the positive feedback.

Read more in the Times of Malta.