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St Ignatius College at tal-Ħandaq, Qormi
05 July 2023 07:00 PM
To participate in this year’s event, being held on the grounds of Liċeo Vassalli, tal-Handaq, one needs to place a booking by buying a ticket from this site. Do make sure to purchase your tickets in advance and by not later than Friday 30th June as no tickets shall be available at the gate.
The Liċeo Alumni are urged to spread the word as well as the URL to this site around to as many friends and ex-students as possible to make sure that this year’s event is as memorable as last year’s.
The Mikiel Anton Vassalli Junior Lyceum, also known as the Liċeo M.A. Vassalli was founded in 1981 in Qormi, Malta. It was located in the tal-Ħandaq area on the premises of the former Royal Naval School, which catered to the children of British servicemen from 1947 to 1978. Named after the patriot Mikiel Anton Vassalli, who was dedicated to the well-being of the Maltese people, the school provided secondary education to boys aged ten to sixteen.
The school complex had a unique layout, with Nissen huts and small blocks arranged in a random pattern along a main road. This design, resembling a traditional Maltese village, was originally intended to camouflage the military infrastructure during World War II. Facilities at the school included a multi-purpose hall, a gymnasium with parquet flooring, an athletics’ room, three courts for basketball, tennis, and volleyball, which could also be used as football pitches, a cinema room, a table-tennis room, a music room, an arts studio, and a pioneering computer room established in the 1980s.
One distinctive feature of the school was that each subject teacher had their own classroom, requiring students to move from one class to another at the end of each forty-five-minute lesson. Another notable aspect was the school’s later starting time of 08:45, the latest among secondary schools in Malta. Wednesdays were half-days, allowing students to enjoy sports and engage in extracurricular activities mid-week.
As per national educational protocols, students were required to wear a school uniform, with each school having its own colours for distinction. The winter uniform at the Junior Lyceum consisted of green trousers, a blazer, and a jersey, paired with a light beige shirt and a green tie featuring thin diagonal red and white lines. In summer, the blazer, jersey, shirt, and tie were replaced with a short-sleeved polo shirt in the same beige colour as the winter shirt, featuring the school’s emblem on the left chest pocket.
During the 1980s, the school gained immense popularity and became the benchmark for students in their final year of primary school. These students aimed to pass entrance examinations specifically designed for admission to the Junior Lyceums. Liċeo M.A. Vassalli set the highest educational standards in the public sector, inspiring even private secondary schools to improve. Mr. John Michael Testa, the dedicated headmaster and driving force behind the Ministry of Education’s Junior Lyceum plan, encouraged students to strive for excellence and participate in educational and sports competitions at the national and even international level. Mr. Testa’s unwavering commitment was infectious, setting a high bar for Liċeo M.A. Vassalli students and paving the way for their remarkable accomplishments in their future careers.
The alumni of Liċeo Mikiel Anton Vassalli, the former Junior Lyceum, still carry the spirit of their school within them. This is evident through the numerous reunions they organise and in their everyday interactions, where the question of whether someone attended tal-Ħandaq often arises early on.
This enduring sentiment has inspired the alumni to propose a long-term project—a Voluntary Organization (VO) in the form of a foundation. The foundation aims to achieve several objectives, with two primary goals set from the beginning. Firstly, it aims to instil and promote educational progress among the new generation of students. This will be accomplished through sponsorships of innovative programs that go beyond the national curriculum, providing additional resources and opportunities for students’ development. These initiatives may include sponsoring educational tools or facilities, organising seminars to introduce students to specific paths, and more. The intention is to continue and expand upon the advantages enjoyed by Liċeo Vassalli alumni during their time at the school, dating back to the Testa administration.
Secondly, the foundation aims to maintain the camaraderie among Liċeo Vassalli alumni through events that facilitate ongoing contact and fond reminiscence of past times and departed friends.
To accomplish these goals, better organisation and the registration of a foundation under the Voluntary Organisations Act 2007 (Chapter 492 of the Laws of Malta) are necessary. Initiatives to establish the foundation require support, specific tasks, and resources. The aim is to organise a maximum of two to three events per year, alternating between educational and social gatherings. The organisers understand the importance of balancing these commitments with personal and professional lives, acknowledging the challenges of managing multiple responsibilities.
As part of the application process for the VO, the assistance of a qualified Auditor and a Data Protection Officer (DPO) is required. The Auditor will help finalise the accounts for 2022, while the DPO will ensure proper management of information, mainly contact details, of the alumni and former teachers.
Those interested in supporting this initiative are encouraged to contact the organizers at [email protected] . Any form of assistance is highly appreciated and will contribute significantly to preserving the spirit of Liċeo Mikiel Anton Vassalli for future generations.
Join us on Tuesday the 5th July 2023 at 19:00 for a reunion intended to bring together Alumni of the Liċeo M.A. Vassalli from all years between 1981 and 2008, in order to celebrate 28 years of creative and thoughtful education. Reconnect with old friends, teachers and staff, feast together and let the old memories flow, and make sure to spread the word amongst your own contacts and connections of anyone who was in any way connected to the Liċeo M.A. Vassalli.
