Malta’s All-Boys Elite Schools Welcome Girls for First Time in 100-Year History

BREAKING TRADITION: St Edward’s & De La Salle Open Doors to GIRLS for the First Time Ever
By Hot Malta Staff

Cottonera’s historic bastions echoed with a new kind of playground chatter this morning as St Edward’s College and De La Salle College—two bastions of Maltese single-sex education since the 19th century—welcomed their first-ever co-educational Year 1 classes. Tiny girls in oversized blazers clutched Lego-coloured lunchboxes while their parents wiped away tears, witnessing a cultural shift that many thought would never come.

“For 95 years this gate said ‘boys only’,” laughed Edward Camilleri, whose seven-year-old daughter Maya became the first female pupil to walk through St Edward’s main arch. “My grandfather joked we’d need a papal dispensation. Turns out we just needed a forward-looking board of governors.”

The change did not happen overnight. Both colleges, founded by Catholic teaching orders, spent three years consulting alumni, parents, staff and the Archbishop’s Curia before voting to phase in co-education starting with the junior school. The move brings them in line with Malta’s state schools and the majority of Church secondary schools, leaving only a handful of all-boys institutions on the island.

A seismic shift in a nation where uniforms are heritage
Malta’s fascination with school crests and blazers runs deeper than mere fabric. Old Boys’ networks forged on rugby pitches and scout camps have long funnelled talent into law firms, banks and political parties. “These colleges are not just schools; they are identity factories,” says sociologist Dr Maria Grech Ganado. “Opening them to girls re-wires the island’s social circuitry.”

That circuitry has been crackling for decades. Girls have outperformed boys at MATSEC level since records began, yet until today could not access the networking oxygen enjoyed by their brothers. “We’re not dismantling tradition; we’re democratising it,” insists St Edward’s rector Fr Jimmy Bartolo. “The Lasallian charism is about the marginalised. In 2024, excluding 50% of the population is the real marginalisation.”

Parents vote with their car-pool queues
Demand was immediate. De La Salle received 112 applications for 48 available places; St Edward’s capped its first cohort at 24 girls to preserve teacher-pupil ratios. Some boys’ parents expressed nostalgia. “I worry the rugby team will lose its edge,” muttered one father in a 1985-old-tie. But others see opportunity. “My son will learn to collaborate with girls now, not at 25 in an open-plan office,” said Ramona Pace, dropping off twins.

The ripple effects are already visible. Stationers in Fgura reported a 30% spike in pink-rimmed backpacks; the traditional festa-style buntings hoisted for the first day featured both the St Edward’s red lion and a newly embroidered unicorn designed by last year’s Year 6 boys. Even the pastizzi van outside De La Salle rebranded: “Girls eat ricotta too—2 for 80c.”

Economists predict wider gains. “Every extra private school seat saves the state €6,000 a year,” notes banker-turned-parent Reuben Caruana. “Co-education keeps families from emigrating to EU boarding schools, retaining talent and spending power.”

What happens next?
Girls will progress year-by-year; full co-education across both secondary schools is pencilled for 2033. Scholarships are being re-balanced to ensure gender parity, and squash courts are being converted into netball facilities. Archbishop Charles Scicluna celebrated a inaugural mass thanking the colleges for “reading the signs of the times,” while Education Minister Clifton Grima hailed “a milestone for equality without eroding excellence.”

Back in the courtyard, seven-year-old Maya Camilleri was too busy to comment—she was trading Pokémon cards with her new classmate Matteo. “She already beat me at maths snap,” he shrugged. “I think I’m gonna like having girls here.”

As the noon sun glinted off limestone walls older than most republics, Malta took another quiet step towards a future where opportunity is defined not by gender, but by curiosity. The blazers may still be navy, but the island’s educational palette just got a whole lot brighter.