When you’ve been raised on Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers and, later, Harry Potter, your idea of boarding schools tends to be an almost whimsical one; something that deep down you secretly yearned for with each book you read.
Over the last few years all over Europe, boarder schools have gained popularity again – something that is being touted as the “Harry Potter phenomenon”. In Malta too: St Edward’s College in Vittoriosa is opening its boarding doors once more having closed them down two decades ago.
Two former boarding school pupils at St Edward’s, John Portelli and Adrian Strickland, confirm that life at boarding school was indeed fantastic. This despite the cold showers, the early Mass, the obligatory gym sessions and the spoonful of cod liver oil every morning.
“Our days used to be full of activities from morning till late evening. It was a shock for me when I left college and I had to start bussing it everywhere,” says Prof. Portelli, chairman of the board of governors at St Edward’s. Although, he jokes, in those 10 years he “had enough sport to last me all my life”.He joined the boarding school in the 1950s, when he was but seven years old, and remained there right till his early teens.
Back then St Edward’s only admitted full-time boarders: “We’d only go home during the term holidays and occasionally we were allowed a ‘visiting Sunday’ – if it was our birthday or something, parents could come over with a cake,” says Mr Strickland, a member of the board of governors.
It sounds shockingly old-fashioned for us in the noughties but these two gentlemen have very fond memories of their boarding time and after almost half a century they still hold their old school close to heart.
The concept of boarding schools is now totally different. Gone are the days of vast dormitories housing 40 or 50 students; this time round the 20 or so boarders to be admitted this October will be sharing three-bedded rooms in what is termed as a “home away from home”.
Boarding is open to all pupils aged 12 upwards and, for the first time, girls – at Sixth Form level – will also be admitted as boarders, should they so wish: “Of course there’ll be a firewall between the boys’ and girls’ quarters,” jokes Mr Strickland.
Short-term boarders are also accepted: “The world has become a village and it’s not the first time that parents have to travel for long spells. Instead of staying with the grandparents and having them ferry the kids to and fro, our students are more than welcome to stay at the school,” explains Prof. Portelli.
Restructuring of the old 19th century enormous halls into modern, state-of-the-art, comfortable facilities has been no mean feat. The building dates from 1873 and originally housed the Cottonera Military Hospital. Legend has it that Florence Nightingale herself approved the plans for the hospital and, according to historians, it was considered to be one of the best hospitals in southern Europe.
The hospital ceased to function in 1920 and nine years later was offered on lease by the War Office to house St Edward’s College, a Catholic school for boys founded by Baroness Margaret Strickland, wife of Gerald, the governor and politician.
The college, which architecturally forms part of the Cottonera lines, was set up on British public school ideals and still has lots of British influence. The impressive vast grounds of the school see the boys play the two most popular of British sports: football and cricket.
The three school “houses” are all named after former British governors of Malta: Campbell, Congreve and Ducane. It’s a family affair – if your father was a Ducane, then, upon enrollment you’re placed in the Ducane “house” too. At one point, the school board tried to change the “house” names to national forts but the whole school staged a strong protest and the idea was swiftly abandoned.
The “houses” might have stayed the same but the school has moved with the times: major restructuring took place in 2005 when the old Sixth Form was phased out. A huge investment was made in the library and the science and IT laboratories and, last scholastic year, St Edward’s started offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) at Sixth Form level.
The IB diploma is recognised worldwide as a university entry qualification. “IB offers a high quality international education that prepares students to face the rigours of university in a way no other system can match. The focus is on ‘how to learn’ rather than ‘what to learn’,” says Prof. Portelli. “There’s no spoon-feeding. It’s the knowledge not their memory or speed that is tested,” he says.
The school’s main aim for opening up to boarders is to attract foreigners: “We really believe that for students, getting to know other cultures is vitally important,” says Prof. Portelli. Intercultural exchanges are deemed crucial at St Edward’s and, in fact, college students each year take part in the European Mini Assembly held in Strasbourg, participate in exchange visits with French students every summer and annually join the Young Enterprise international programme.
Moreover, the college hosts a number of “live-ins” and summer camps for its students and also foreign ones: “We believe in educational tourism and the location of our college is ideal. It’s a camp away from Paceville. And parents can rest assured that we stick to the lights out system,” notes Prof. Portelli.
It all sounds very much like Harry Potter’s Hogwarts.