Students, their parents and teachers at St Augustine College plan to hold a protest on Thursday against the planning authority’s decision to turn down an application to build a primary school, rector Alan Scerri said.

The peaceful protest will be held “to show our disapproval” unless some form of solution is reached by Wednesday, he said.

The protest will take the form of a walk that starts from the War Memorial in Floriana and ends at the Office of the Prime Minister, since the planning authority falls under its remit.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will then be presented with a petition signed by parents showing their disappointment to last week’s planning decision.

The primary school at the Pietà college was to have been part of an ambitious €20 million Church project to expand five of its schools.

The vote at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority went four in favour and five against after the planning officer on the case said the design and height of the proposed buildingwere unacceptable.

St Augustine’s College needs to add another 350 primary school students

St Augustine’s College was once a primary school, which now functions as a secondary school with 450 students. It now needs to reintroduce a primary school, adding another 350 pupils, as the national education reform emphasises a smooth transition between primary and secondary schooling.

Parents have already started submitting applications for the 1,792 vacancies in Church schools for the next scholastic year. However, as a result of the authority’s decision, only 974 places for boys will be available instead of 1,124.