|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our School History
| Origins |
St.Theresa College is an
institution that features prominently in the history of education in Malta. Its
origins can be traced to the turn of the 20th century, when the
Central School, the first government school to provide post-primary education
for girls on the island, was established in Valletta. It occupied the imposing
baroque building next to St John’s Co-Cathedral. In the following years, the
school was relocated in various villages due to lack of space and facilities
until it was established at Tarxien. In the early 1950s, to cope with the ever-increasing large number of girls who wanted to continue with their secondary education, the Central School was replaced by three Grammar Schools: St Mary (later Maria Regina) at Valletta, St Louis at Sliema and St Theresa, the former Central School, which remained at Tarxien. |
| At Mdina |
In October 1953, St Theresa Grammar School was moved from Tarxien to the
historic old capital city, Mdina. Two separate baroque buildings on Villegaigon
Street served as the new premises: Palazzo Costanzo housed Forms 1 and 2, while
Forms 3, 4 and 5 where housed in the Banca Giuratale. The number of new entrants was limited to 50 students per year. The entrance examination was highly selective and thus the school population was kept stable at 250 students, with two classes or fifty students per form. Once again, due to lack of space, the students had to go to Maria Assumpta Secondary Technical School at Ħamrun for their science practical sessions. Physical Education classes were held in the square in front of the magnificent cathedral of the silent city! |
| At l-Imrieħel |
The Mdina premises could never meet the vast and increasing needs of students and in 1966 the Commonwealth Foundation decided to fund the construction of a new school and all the related equipment necessary. The chosen site, a vast area compromising 14,613 square metres, was at l-Imrieħel, limits of B’Kara. No expense was spared to create this new model institution which was to meet the highest of the then current European standards. Large classes, spacious staircases, well-equipped science labs, state-of-the-art gyms, a modern Home Economics block, a large assembly hall, a central orchard and surrounding gardens were to be the hallmark of the new St Theresa Grammar School. In October 1969, the school moved for the last time in its history. The assembly hall, gymnasium and the Home Economics block were still under construction. They were completed in 1973.
A new block of classes, the Wignacourt Block, was finished in 1974 to house the ever increasing number of students that started to attend the school after various reforms were introduced in Malta’s Educational System in the last thirty years of the 20th century. The school population now stands at around 1000, with classes from Form 1 to Form 5.
|