Half the children who sat for the 2012 End of Primary School Benchmark scored 74 marks or more in Maltese, 66 marks or more in English and 63 marks or more in Mathematics, the Education Ministry said.

Held between June 4 and 6, the 2012 End of Primary Benchmark included the participation of all the 62 primary state schools, 19 church schools and eight independent schools.

3,628 students – 1,677 boys and 1,951 girls, which amounted to 91.9 per cent of the whole cohort  of children in Year 6, sat for the benchmarch. This represented a slight increase of 0.3 per cent in the participation rate when compared to 2011. 

The ministry described the results as “very encouraging and should lead to a smooth transition from primary to secondary schooling”.

The students were assessed in Maltese, English and Mathematics. 

The results were sent to schools in the first week of July and  to all the candidates by July 9. They included the marks each candidate scored in the different components of the three subjects in the benchmark as well as the total national median to enable parents to compare their child’s performance in each subject with the national median.

The 2012 End of Primary Benchmark papers can be downloaded from http://www.curriculum.gov.mt/bm_papers_2012.htm .