St Aloysius' College (Malta)

St Aloysius College (SAC) is fee-charging Catholic college run by the Jesuits in Birkirkara, Malta. It was founded in 1907 to complement the seminaries and tertiary institutions already in existence on the island. Today it is a boys' primary and secondary school with a coeducational sixth form. The College compound also houses a parish church which is used by the school and opened to the public.

Saint Aloysius College
Address
Old Railway Station Street

Birkirkara

Malta
Coordinates35.895979°N 14.460183°E / 35.895979; 14.460183
Information
TypeCatholic college
MottoSerio et Constanter
(Seriously and Steadily)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1907 (1907)
OversightSociety of Jesus
RectorJimmy Bartolo
Staff~100
GenderBoys
Mixed Sixth Form
Age range5-18
Enrolment~1000
Houses3
Colour(s)Blue, Green and Red             
AlumniOld Aloysians
Websitewww.saintaloysius.edu.mt

History

On 8 October 1907 the Jesuits, at the request of Pope Pius X, founded the school with 139 boys.

The College served as a hospital for Allied soldiers during the Second World War.[1] The primary school was originally Stella Maris School, a separate school founded by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, and has been incorporated into the College: boys can now attend the school from kindergarten through to sixth form.[2]

Secondary School

The secondary school of St Aloysius College is a boys-only college located in Old Railway Road (Triq il-Ferrovija l-Qadima), Birkirkara. It is three storeys high with another storey underground, and incorporates a small inner ground and a large hall which serves as a theatre for cultural events held at the College. Such events include the Soirée, the Secondary School Concert, and the celebration of the Eucharist on feast days in the Jesuit calendar. The building was last renovated in the summer of 2006. The college celebrated its centenary in the scholastic year 2007/2008.

The school is known for its emphasis on discipline. Each form has its own prefect, to maintain respect and discipline. He is a member of the secondary school board. Each class has a Form Teacher who acts as a mentor for the class and represents the students before school authorities such as the Rector, Prefect of Discipline, and Prefect of Studies. Each class also has a captain and a vice-captain for control during changing of periods, and division captain and vice-division captain to assist them.

The sports ground

The college is equipped with science laboratories for physics, chemistry, and biology as well as two computer labs and four chapels. The chapels are dedicated to St. Francis Xavier, one of the three most important Jesuit saints, and La Storta Chapel, a unique chapel in itself. The college sports complex includes a gymnasium, a pavilion that serves as a basketball and handball court, courts for volleyball, badminton, and indoor 5-a-side football, a full-sized UEFA-compliant turf football pitch, a 400m athletics track, and two tennis courts. A swimming pool is in the making but requires more funds.

Classes

In scholastic year 2009/2010 a new system for classes was introduced. Instead of letters (1A, 1B, 1C,...) each class has been named for a Jesuit (Francis Xavier, Pierre Favre, Aloysius Gonzaga, Ignatius Loyola, Giuseppe Pignatelli, and so on).

Students' Council

The Secondary School has a Students' Council with members elected annually and all students eligible. It has ten members, two from each form. Its president spans fourth/fifth form. The Council is responsible for most school events, including the organisation of casual days and the Form 5 School Leaving Party, or "Social".

The Sixth Form
The Sixth Form Section

St Aloysius College Sixth Form has been in existence for the best part of 30 years. It offers four major courses – science, maths, commerce, and arts – each requiring about two years. There are two classes in each course, three for arts. The college annually accepts around 220 new students who have passed the core O Level subjects. Facilities include biology, chemistry, physics, and computer laboratories, a media room, library, and assembly hall.

Among the many annual events hosted by the Sixth Form, its Cultural Soiree in early February is most popular, with ticket sales for 2009 around 1,700. It includes dancing, acting, singing, and music and concludes with a 45-minute musical directed and choreographed by the students themselves. Each year the stage crew also presents a small act dubbed the "crew item".

The Sixth Form Students' Representative Council

The Sixth Form has its own Students' Council, with elections in late October and all students eligible. Since 2012 the Council includes four students from each of Lower and Upper Sixth Form, with the president from Upper. The Council is responsible for most school events including the organisation of "Unplugged" and "Christmas Dinner", and has an important say in the Soirée.

Saturday schooling

From its inception in 1907, St Aloysius College never held classes on Wednesday but instead on Saturday morning, making it the only school in Malta to do so. On October 13, 2006, a decision was made by Maltese Jesuit Provincial Fr. Paul Chetcuti and College Rector Fr. Patrick Magro to replace Saturdays with Wednesdays to conform to the practice of other schools. In the view of some, this deprived St. Aloysius' College of its uniqueness.[3] The change took effect in September 2007, with St Aloysius' Sixth Form also conforming to the practice of fellow Sixth Forms: De La Salle College (Malta), Junior College (Msida), Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School (Naxxar), and the new St. Martin's College Sixth Form (Swatar - Msida) which opened in September 2007.

Extra-curricular activities

All students are encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities, which include:

The college also has its own Scout group, one of the oldest established on the island, having formed in 1916.[6]

Notable alumni


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References
  1. Castillo, Dennis Angelo (2012). The Santa Marija Convoy: Faith and Endurance in Wartime Malta, 1940-1942. ISBN 9780739128954.
  2. "Jesuits in Malta :: Our History". Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  3. The Malta Independent Online Archived 2006-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
  4. President's Award Scheme (Malta) Archived 2010-09-03 at Archive.today
  5. Young Enterprise Malta
  6. "St Aloysius' College Scout Group marks centenary". Times of Malta. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  7. University of Malta Governance Archived 2011-08-23 at the Wayback Machine
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