The newly-built Pembroke primary school, a state-of-the-art complex that generates its own electricity and, as a result, does not pay energy bills, will be officially opened by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Education Minister Dolores Cristina on Wednesday.

The school, which forms part of St Clare College, opened its doors for its first academic year last September, accommodating 266 children aged between three and 11 in spacious and colourful classes.

College principal Maria Ciappara and school headmistress Cynthia Aquilina told The Malta Independent on Sunday that the school is the first Maltese public building to be completely self-sufficient in terms of energy.

Solar panels have been installed on the roof to generate the electricity needed. These

panels generate more electricity than the school needs, and the extra energy is passed on to other areas.

Added to this, the wide corridors and big windows allow for as little use of electricity as possible, and on bright sunny days there is a good chance that there will be no need to switch on the lights. Special sensors ensure that when there is enough natural light, no electricity is used, and the whole electricity system is shut down automatically at 5pm.

The school is intended to cater for the growing Pembroke community, and the number of classrooms can be increased, depending on demand. For example, a large room that is

currently being used as a play area can be divided into three classrooms, Ms Ciappara said.

All the classrooms are equipped with computers, and the type of desks that have been chosen as well as the large space in each classroom enables the teachers to group students depending on their abilities.

The school also has a library containing some 5,000 books and a puppet theatre for the younger ones, together with separate music, art and ICT rooms. Specialised teachers occupy these rooms on a roster basis and teachers hold meetings to discuss progress and ideas.

The school grounds boast three large play areas. Ms Aquilina said that, so far, the school facilities are not open after school hours, but it is not excluded that sports organisations could make use of them in the future.

Part of the complex will, as from next year, be used as a child day care centre for children under the age of three. This will enable parents of toddlers to drop their children off before they go to work, the idea being to encourage more women to continue working after having a baby.

The foundation stone of the school was laid in March last year, and 18 months later it was ready to receive its first students. Although finishing touches have continued to be made for the past three months, this did not disrupt the day-to-day running of the school.

After Wednesday’s opening, a Christmas

village will be held in the school

premises over the 12-13 December weekend.

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