Some students do drama or woodwork classes for their extracurricular activities but the Boys' Secondary School in Mtarfa is hoping to raise the bar offering 15 of its students a taste of what it takes to fly a plane.

The boys, aged between 12 and 16 years, will be taught aeronautics, meteorology, navigation and will get to fly in a two-seater plane, even though they will not be able to take the controls themselves.

The Aero Club, as it is known, is the brainchild of the Mtarfa school and Diamond Flight Training.

Zachary Tanti, 15, is one of the students who applied to join the club because he was already an avid aviation enthusiast, visiting the Malta Air Show every year and collecting models of fighter planes.

When he finishes secondary school, he plans to take up aircraft maintenance.

A colleague of his, 14-year-old Jean Claude Zahra, wants to become a chef and explained that while he was not into aeronautics he still decided to take part in the Aero Club because the activity was different and would be an interesting experience.

Speaking at the launch yesterday, headmaster Jean Pierre Micallef said he had received an enthusiastic reaction from his students when he announced the initiative, with dozens applying to join.

However, there was a limited number of places available. Yet, he said that if things went well, many more would be taking part.

Flight school director Marco Ciliberti said this was a historic day because it was the first time a state school was giving its students the opportunity to gain knowledge in aviation.

Youth Parliamentary Secretary Clyde Puli said the initiative was in line with the government's educational reforms because the school had taken an innovative approach to teaching its students.