St. Edward's College, Malta

St Edward's College, Malta is a Maltese private boys' independent school, with optional boarding, in Cottonera. Its enrollment is just under 700 students of 5–18 years of age. It was founded in 1929 by Baroness Strickland, Countess della Catena, who gave a generous gift to establish it. It was built on the grounds of what was once a Knights of Malta fort; the rear end of the school is still surrounded by the fort's bastion walls. The school was modelled on the ideas and ideals of British public schools, initially to educate the boys of the Maltese aristocracy and the boys of Malta-based British military officers.[1]

St Edward's College, Malta
Location
Cottonera

Malta
Information
TypeIndependent private boarding school
MottoLatin: Virtus Et Honor
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1929 (1929)
FounderBaroness Strickland, Countess della Catena
HeadmasterMr Nollaig Mac an Bhaird
GenderBoys
Age4 to 18
Enrollmentc. 700
Houses3
PublicationThe Weekly Gazette
Websitestedwards.edu.mt

Background history
Cottonera Military Hospital in 1906

The Governor of Malta, Sir John Philip Du Cane, obtained the buildings of what was once the Cottonera Military Hospital in Vittoriosa, along with the parade ground adjoining to St. Clement's bastions built by the Knights of Malta. The hospital was where Florence Nightingale once worked and spent some time nursing the wounded soldiers from the Crimean War. The perimeter of the western side of the site formed part of the impressive Cottonera lines, a fortified wall built by the Knights of St John. The extensive grounds between the bastion walls and the old hospital buildings would serve as ideal recreational areas and would also give the college enough space for expansion when needed.[2]

Thus, with an ideal site secured and the necessary financial backing guaranteed, a small group of distinguished gentlemen, among them senior notable members of the Maltese nobility, gathered in the Governor's Palace in Valletta on 18 January 1929 to sign a Foundation Deed of Trust. The following October the school opened its gates to twenty-nine foundation pupils.

The numbers of pupils during the college's first years would remain considerably low due to the relatively high fees which were necessary to keep the college running. The British Council's timely financial backing made it possible for the college to lower fees for local pupils. As a result, the population grew steadily with an increasing number of Maltese gentry sending their boys to the school.

In the mid-1930s, an old ammunitions depot built by the Knights of St John was converted into the college's chapel. Physics and chemistry laboratories and additional dormitories were also developed at this time.

By the late 1930s, it became apparent that the buildings could not be altered or modified further and the construction of a new wing was proposed. However, with the advent of World War II, these plans had to be shelved since the college's perilously close proximity to Malta's main harbours necessitated a temporary relocation to the old seminary in Mdina for the duration of the war.

The building of the new classrooms (the Middle School block) occurred after the boys and college masters moved back to Cottonera in 1946. With the new classrooms completed, few other structural changes were made for nearly two decades, at which point the need for modern science facilities became a pressing issue. A successful fund-raising campaign resulted in the laying of the foundation stone of the new block in 1967 by Sir Maurice Dorman, the last British Governor-General of Malta. With a generous donation made by the Trustees of the British Boys Schools of Alexandria and the Victoria College, Alexandria Foundation, the much-needed Assembly Hall in the new block became a reality.

In the 1970s, the block that used to house the married teachers was converted into the Junior School, which also included an Infant's Section. Due to the college's growing popularity, the Junior School received a structural revamping and extension in 1994. Classrooms were enlarged and the designs (by Old Edwardian Richard England) also ensured that the Junior School building now had their own drama and music hall as well as an IT room.[3]

Houses

The school has three houses named after three Governors-General of Malta: Ducane House Sir John Du Cane (Green), Campbell House Sir David Campbell (Red) and Congreve House Sir Walter Congreve (Blue).

Alumni

Among the many famous alumni of the school is Cambridge University Professor Edward De Bono, known for his ideas on lateral thinking. He is an advisor to many governments and corporations. Other well known alumni include: Architect Richard England, Former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Baron Judge Igor Judge, Chief Justice Emeritus Giuseppe Mifsud Bonnici, Archbishop of Malta Charles Scicluna. Footballers Andrew Hogg and Matthew Guillaumier also attended the college as schoolboys

Since its foundation in 1929, the school had produced many who went on to serve in the British military and the Colonial Service in Egypt, Palestine and the Sudan. The school has an old-boys' association known as the Old Edwardian Association (OEA).

Past headmasters
  • 1929 – 1945 | The Most Reverend Monsignor F Kerr McClement
  • 1945 – 1952 | The Reverend Father H.B.L. Hughes (aka Fr Louis)
  • 1952 – 1955 | Mr Gerald Carey (Acting Headmaster)
  • 1955 – 1966 | The Reverend Dom Rudesind Brookes
  • 1966 – 1972 | The Reverend Father Bernard Rickett
  • 1972 – 1974 | The Reverend Father Alan Dukes
  • 1974 – 1976 | Mr Thomas Glass
  • 1976 – 1989 | Mr Antoine Cachia Caruana
  • 1989 – 1997 | Mr Gerald Briscoe
  • 1997 – 2002 | Mr William Dimech
  • 2002 – 2007 | Mr Anthony Saliba
  • 2007 – 2012 | Mr Michael Chittenden
  • 2012 – 2015 | Mr George Psaila
  • 2015 – Now | Mr Nollaig Mac an Bhaird

See also

References
  1. Cannadine, David. Aspects of Aristocracy: Grandeur and Decline in Modern Britain.
  2. Rossiter, Stuart. Malta – The Blue Guide.
  3. St. Edward's College Malta: Memoirs of the first seventy five years. Published By St. Edward's College Press 2004.

Further reading
  • David Cannadine (24 November 2011). Aspects of Aristocracy: Grandeur and Decline in Modern Britain. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300059816.
  • Stuart Rossiter (1968). Malta - The Blue guide. Benn Press. ISBN 0300059817.

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