A group of second year Sixth Formers from De La Salle College have been to Strasbourg for Euroscola, an activity organised by the European Parliament in which all EU states send delegations of approximately 25 youths.

The participants were selected in a competition organised by the EU office in Malta and open to all second year students of the college. The students were accompanied by headmaster John Portelli and history and systems of knowledge teacher Melanie Megawer. On their arrival at the European Parliament the delegations from all countries were shown to the Hemicycle, where they were welcomed and students from each delegation introduced their country.

The De La Salle Sixth Form was introduced by Cristina Cefai, Christine Marie Galea and Thomas Sammut who spoke about De La Salle College, highlighting the contribution of the De La Salle Brothers to Education in Malta and ending by describing Malta as the perfect tourist destination.

After being briefed about the EU and current issues and given time to ask questions, they were hosted to lunch during which they participated in the Euro Game in teams with students from different countries in order to qualify for the prize.

After lunch, all students were split into six groups, according to the themes which had previously been discussed at the various schools prior to the event. They had an hour and a half to discuss the topics which had been researched beforehand, and then to choose and present the best arguments to all those present in the Hemicycle. The teachers, on the other hand, held a meeting with their counterparts during which the benefits of such programmes for students were discussed.

At the end of each debate, all students voted, through an electronic voting system normally used by MEPs, to determine whether the policies brought forward by the various groups should be adopted.

The last activity was the final of the Eurogame, where four finalist teams, two of which included a Maltese member, Jessica Pavia and Cristina Cefai, competed to win. Jessica Pavia’s team won and she was awarded a medal.