School

Hello Amy,
we are in the same situation as you, moving to Malta from Finland in August. We have never even been to Malta before and I have been wondering about same things. School, after school activities, best place to live etc...
Our children are a bit older than yours: 8,11 and 13. A school ( hopefully the same school at least for the younger ones) that would be supportive in the beginning and teach mostly in English. I understood that some of the education is in Maltese in every communal school, but I think that's okay. The atmosphere is the most important thing. Is there some schools that other expats feel are better than others in these matters? I also understood that any school in EU is open for kids from another EU country without questions, but please correct me if I'm wrong. Is there a school fee?
Good luck to you with everything, I hope to meet you in Malta

Thank you!
I hope we will find our answers soon 
From what I understood, there are no fees on public school but since we both looking for English speaking schools I think they only option is private's school.
Verdala International School is quite expensive you can check on there website verdala.org
the fee for your kids age.
the rest are less expensive I did get the idea that uniform are very expensive....
Good Luck!

Thanks, I'll check out the private schools also. I am hoping To take some time off from work and therefore I have to be carefull with the expenses. I am a vet and I suppose it is possible to find job quite easily, but on the other hand it is tempting to take it easy after 15 years of busy life! Good luck to you, too! Love, Outi

Plenty of information in this section....
https://www.expat.com/forum/341-6-study-in-malta.html

English and Maltese are the two official languages.

It will depend on where you live and/ or  your husband works (commuting can be bad) as to what school your children attend.

Malta is very small  and very crowded so be prepared for a culture shock!

Terry

Thanks Terry! Do you know a public school where the main teaching language is English and  that has a lot of expat children? We are going to arrive in the beginning of August and have few weeks to settle before school starts, but the problem is that we won't be able to visit school before if begins in August... Therefore the decision has to be made leaning on other expats opinions. Our children are all quite flexible and I don't think it is going to be a problem. We would like to find a nice little place with a little garden ( we have two dogs), preferably near a school and the Sea ( rent hopefully not much over 1000€/month). My husband is a lawyer and is going to work in Finland and travel back and forth in the beginning. Are the areas in north of the island nice? Any special school there that is nice? Anyway, I'm sure it is going to be a wonderful experience and I'm really looking forward to it! Love, Outi

I believe that St Paul's Bay primary school has the most foreign students and the language of instruction is English.  It's in the north of Malta which is where you wish to live.

Thanks alot!

Hi,

The state schools in sliema/ St julians all have many expats and teach in English apart from religion, maltese, and social studies (and history in secondary). My youngest is in pembroke primary, English is very widely spoken there, in fact the teacher even mentioned to me that even most of the maltese kids that attend, tend to fabour English  over maltese, my middle is in pembroke secondary and its pretty similar there.
Thre will always be some classes in Maltese but there are language support classes for non maltese speakers and these help hugely.

my son is in state school in gzira, also most of the stuff in in english apart from 2-3 subjects

he takes extra lesson in maltese with other expat kids from his class (during school hours ) and according to his teacher he already understands alot, but not speaking too much for now

but for a 7 yo, who's been on island only 17 months I think it's excellent

you just need to stick to areas where there is lot of expats and you'll be safe (in terms that schooling will be mostly in english)

Great!  Thank You for your kind answers and advise

Hi there,

We are pretty much in the same situation. We are hoping to arrive in Malta, from Ireland, in July/August. My husband will also be working away and coming back and forth for the first few months. I have 3 girls who i am trying to arrange schooling for. Ages, 5, 13 & 15. We are looking at central areas such as Balzan/Attard/Mosta but am open to any suggestions of other areas.

Kelley

Hi

When is your 15 year old 16 as if she falls 16 before dec 31st this year she has already left secondary school here.
I don't know much about the central areas but I chose the area around sliema so my kids could attend st Clare's as I wanted a state school that taught predominantly in English ( although all the state schools are meant to many tend to slip back into maltese during lessons )

Hi all fresh movers!

We moved here 4 years ago so I can help a little. 

Kindergarten is for kids between 3-5 years of age. School starts at 5.

There are church, government and private schools in Malta. Teaching language is English (Ch. S.), Maltese (Gov. S.) and English (Priv. S.).
Getting in a Church Schools is like winning on lottery. As far as I know parents can apply around February and there are pulls between April and May. The school is free.
Getting in a Private School is almost the same. Long waiting list almost everywhere. Parents register their kids 3-4 years before. (At San Anton School parents register their kids after birth!) School fee starts from 900 Euros/term.
There is a government school is every city. I was told the Sliema, Pembroke, St. Paul's Bay and Mellieha schools teach in English since there is a lot of expat. But you can register your kids to that government school where you live.

Kids wear uniform, every school has their own uniform.

She will be 15 in June,  so she would still have one year of school there?