Principal Bernie Mizzi talks to Gillian Bartolo on the occasion of Chiswick House School's centenary
Chiswick House School was founded in 1905 and opened its doors in 1906 as ‘an establishment for Protestant young ladies’, under the joint headship of Miss Ethel Yabsley, also chief of the Girl Guides in Malta, and Miss Madeleine Sceberras, who came from a distinguished Maltese family. She was related to Herbert Ganado who in his Rajt Malta Tinbidel admits that this unconventional woman, Miss Shebby, as she came to be known, caused much consternation in her family when she converted to Protestantism. Until the 50s, the majority of the school’s pupils were the offspring of high-ranking naval officers – girls, and then, little boys – but already by 1910 a smattering of children from Maltese families had started being taken in, amongst them the sister of Sir Temi Zammit, the distinguished doctor and archaeologist.
Miss Yabsley died during World War II, and was succeeded by Miss Fosse, an Oxford graduate and then by Mrs Alice Galea, a Maltese Canadian Oxford graduate.
In the late 50s, an enthusiastic young mother, Mrs Yvonne Mangion, applied to teach there, but was rejected because she wasn’t British. Her son, Stephen Mangion was already a pupil there. Ironically, a few years later, in 1962, Mrs Mangion’s husband, an architect, was approached by the very same institution to buy the school. With his wife’s consent a deal was struck, and suddenly headship was thrust upon Mrs Yvonne Mangion. She was at the time, a fully trained Maltese teacher who had taught at government primary and secondary schools and at St Dorothy’s Convent, where her subjects were English and History. Never one to do things by half measures, Mrs Mangion threw herself heart and soul into the project, spending many nights at the school. Her daughter Mrs Bernie Mizzi, who now runs the school, vividly remembers being taken there with her brother and sleeping on an old sofa bed.
Under Mrs Yvonne Mangion the school became less elitist, the ranks of Maltese children swelled and a Catholic Religion class took its place in the school programme for these pupils. Apart from religious teaching, little changed in the curriculum. It remained just as British – lots of English, little Maltese, British History and Geography – as indeed were the curricula in most schools in Malta, by and large. What is amazing about Chiswick House School at the time, however, is how it managed to provide a broad education, at a high standard, in such straitened circumstances. It had been one of the first independent schools in Malta, but by 1982 when Mrs Mizzi joined, the Junior School was still not at full complement. As for the Senior School classes, these were even smaller with bigger gaps, despite reaching a teaching standard high enough to convince the likes of eminent historian Prof Luttrell to send his children there.
Starting out briefly, in a small house in Rudolph Street, Sliema, the tiny school was soon moved to a town house in Windsor Terrace, Sliema, where it stayed till 1991. A second town house was also purchased in the 1980s. Despite this, the restricted space didn’t allow for more classes, though in many ways such a small staff-pupil ratio must have upped its effectiveness considerably. Think of our sprawling schools today, and the anonymity they bring. Ms Bernie remembers when she was a schoolgirl at Chiswick House School in the 60s, eating was a homely affair, there was no canteen or refectory, but the, by then, 100 odd pupils were taken for lunch in shifts, every day, to a house next door, where they were given a warm plate of tarja. There was obviously no space for sports in the little school, so Chiswick House School rented the Salesian grounds round the corner. Incidentally, the connection with the Salesians has lasted and today the school’s chaplain is Father Alfred Sacco SDB.
How was Chiswick House School otherwise special? A lot of importance was given to the acquisition of foreign languages, partly because of its international student population. Thanks to the highly cultured and creative
Mrs Mangion, drama, reading, poetry, art and music also featured prominently, a characteristic Chiswick House School and its secondary school, St Martin’s College today have held on to, despite the pressures of a densely packed national curriculum. This was complemented by the excellent administrative and organizational skills of her daughter-in-law, Mrs Marguerite Mangion who joined the school in the early seventies. It was also thanks to her that the small school expanded so rapidly as to fill not one, but two very large architecturally splendid buildings, designed by her husband, Mr Stephen Mangion. Unfortunately Mrs Marguerite Mangion passed away five years ago and is sadly missed.
When Mrs Bernie Mizzi joined the school with a degree in education in 1982, she took over the academic sector and made some important changes to the curriculum. The whole curriculum underwent strict review. Continuity, validity and effective teaching became very important aspects. She also decided to temporarily discontinue the senior school classes in order to consolidate the primary school. The decision proved sensible, as Chiswick House School became a highly successful preparatory school – a feeder for Church Schools, Independent Colleges and the Junior Lyceums which required their primary school pupils to sit an arduous entrance exam.
By the eighties, Church Schools had reached saturation point. In 1988 they became free of charge and Independent Schools stepped in to meet an explosive demand. It was time for Chiswick House School to find larger premises and to eventually build a senior school. In 1991, Chiswick House School moved to a purposely built school in Kappara. By 1994 it had opened a senior school, St Martin’s College, which moved to its new premises at Swatar in 1997. Today Chiswick House School accommodates 1458 students, 660 of them at St Martin’s College, with an average of 5 classes at every level.
Special features.
Ms Bernie describes what she sees as her school’s special features “It is child-centred and not selective. The School’s vision is based on the belief that a child can realize his/her full potential within a challenging, well-ordered and well-balanced educational setting. We strongly believe in the benefits of diversity and inclusion. We have an Alternative Learning Programme (ALP) which ensures that both very gifted children and those with learning difficulties are given extra support by specialized teachers according to individualized educational programmes. A few children with difficulties are assisted by a facilitator. Chiswick House School in fact, was one of the first schools to work closely with Eden Foundation.”
The schools ensure that all Heads receive specialized training with the London Centre for School Leadership.
Ms Bernie is convinced that co-education is the best option for her school. “But we realise that though there are many advantages to this, there are some issues that need to be addressed. One example is the challenge teachers are faced with when dealing with gender difference in the teaching of Mathematics. Work is underway to devise some innovative practice. She continues, “Generally speaking, teachers take part in continuous professional development. Teachers are beginning to cater for different ways of learning – auditory, visual, kinesthetic, gender related. School improvement practices have helped to ameliorate academic results. In fact, last year’s fifth formers recorded very good results at SEC level. The bench-marking exercise which takes place every year, compares our students’ results against the Maltese National Average. This educational tool has also assisted parents, students teachers and administrators – it identifies strengths and weaknesses. Some of the SEC 2004 results speak for themselves:
91% passes in English Language
92% in English Literature
84% in Mathematics
64% in Maltese
89% in Physics
86% in Chemistry
92% in Biology
82% in Computer Studies
The school continues to provide drama, art and sports all the way up and is proud of its St Martin’s College Drama Troupe which has put up a number of successful productions.
One initiative Ms Bernie is proud of is the school’s Bi-cultural and Bi-lingual programme, set up two years ago for the children of Italian nationals in Malta. Italian students are given some classes in Italian and join their Maltese peers for the rest of the programme. She said the experiment is working very well and has also increased the popularity of the Italian language amongst her Maltese pupils.
Parents are involved in some decisions through the Parents’ Participation Programme. This year the school has launched a pastoral care programme to help children in collaboration with parents and professionals.
“We have just launched the programme of events to celebrate Chiswick House School’s 100th Anniversary. We are delighted that at the Educational Conference in March 2006, Prof. Andy Hargreaves, Thomas More Brennan Chair in Education (Boston), has agreed to be keynote speaker. Prof. David Halpin, Head of the School of Curriculum at the Institute of Education (London) and
Dr Jeni Riley, Head of the School of Early Childhood and Primary Education (London) as well as prominent Maltese educators will be delivering interesting papers centered around the theme Tradition, Growth and Innovation.”
All schools today have to deal with a fast changing world where new technology and reforms are both exciting and stressful. Challenges abound! Another problem being faced by schools in general is the drop in the national birth rate which might eventually translate into smaller classes which of course will in turn have repercussions on the financial situation. There will be tough decisions to be taken so that schools can keep up their high standards with the least expense to parents. Chiswick House School has always faced up to change and challenge, as its history amply demonstrates.