State schools may be producing better writers than their private and Church-run counterparts, a new report on English proficiency suggests.

A detailed review of local students’ English language abilities conducted by Cambridge University found that those attending State schools were likely to score higher marks when it came to writing tasks.

The review, commissioned by the Education Ministry, tested a sample of nine- and 14-year-old students across four strands of language proficiency: listening, speaking, reading and writing, using the same benchmarks applied to those learning English as a foreign language.

When it came to writing, State school students were more likely to score levels which showed they had the capacity to “achieve most goals and express [themselves] on a range of topics”.

Independent school students were not far behind, however they were less likely to score even higher marks and, as a result, scored lower grades overall. Church schools fared the worst.

Ian Mifsud from the Directorate for Quality and Standards said the findings were “unexpected”.

“This study has confirmed a lot of preconceptions about our schooling system. But this [finding on writing abilities] was a bit of a surprise. I think it shows that the focus on writing being made in State schools is having a positive impact,” he said.

Mr Mifsud said the findings could also show that while independent and Church school students might often choose English over Maltese when it came to speaking, this fluency was not necessarily being translated into written work.

The study, which included lengthy questionnaires, quotes several educators and parents on the matter.

One secondary school teacher said: “Some learners want to distance themselves from their Maltese heritage in an effort to appear more forward thinking, others insist on their heritage and resist English influence on their lives.”

It was later added that this phenomenon depended heavily on the parents’ outlook and how English was treated at home.

Another teacher said some of her students’ parents helped and encouraged their children to use English. “Others just don’t care or aren’t able to do so, due to social and educational issues.”

Looking at how the different schools fared on the whole, the report was adamant that “variations were noted across all different school sectors and no one school type was observed as having performed better across the board”.

Overall, Maltese students performed well, and not just those studying English as a foreign language. Malta ranked second out of eight countries in which English was recognised as an official language.

“With results like these we don’t want to rest on our laurels. And, while there is room for improvement, we don’t want to say we’ve done terribly either,” Mr Mifsud said.

Yesterday the Times of Malta reported that the same study had recommended minor changes to the education system which could see the adoption of methods used in schools teaching English as a foreign language. Mr Mifsud had said the Education Ministry was considering adopting some of the assessment and teaching methods used in EFL teaching to get a better understanding of students’ abilities.

Industry sources raised several concerns yesterday, however, chiefly that the use of EFL assessment methods could lead to lower standards. “While we are open to new approaches, we cannot tolerate any lowering of standards, as this would be catastrophic,” said one senior educator, who asked not to be named.

‘Tension between educators’

The teachers’ union ordered teachers at Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School yesterday not to attend an open day organised by the headmaster.

In a statement, the Malta Union of Teachers said a similar activity last year had created tension and unrest between educators.

The event, the union said, had become a form of “academic competition” between different departments, rather than a showcase of the work the school and its educators were doing.

The school’s headmaster had ignored appeals to discuss the matter with staff, the MUT added.

The union called on the Education Ministry to investigate the way the head was running the school.