St. Edward's College, Malta

Cottonera Military Hospital in 1906

The Governor of Malta, Sir John Philip Du Cane, obtained the buildings of what was once the Cottonera Military Hospital in Vittoriosa, along with the parade ground adjoining to St. Clement's bastions built by the Knights of Malta. The hospital was where Florence Nightingale once worked and spent some time nursing the wounded soldiers from the Crimean War. The perimeter of the western side of the site formed part of the impressive Cottonera lines, a fortified wall built by the Knights of St John. The extensive grounds between the bastion walls and the old hospital buildings would serve as ideal recreational areas and would also give the college enough space for expansion when needed.[2]

Thus, with an ideal site secured and the necessary financial backing guaranteed, a small group of distinguished gentlemen, among them senior notable members of the Maltese nobility, gathered in the Governor's Palace in Valletta on 18 January 1929 to sign a Foundation Deed of Trust. The following October the school opened its gates to twenty-nine foundation pupils.

The numbers of pupils during the college's first years would remain considerably low due to the relatively high fees which were necessary to keep the college running. The British Council's timely financial backing made it possible for the college to lower fees for local pupils. As a result, the population grew steadily with an increasing number of Maltese gentry sending their boys to the school.

In the mid-1930s, an old ammunitions depot built by the Knights of St John was converted into the college's chapel. Physics and chemistry laboratories and additional dormitories were also developed at this time.

By the late 1930s, it became apparent that the buildings could not be altered or modified further and the construction of a new wing was proposed. However, with the advent of World War II, these plans had to be shelved since the college's perilously close proximity to Malta's main harbours necessitated a temporary relocation to the old seminary in Mdina for the duration of the war.

The building of the new classrooms (the Middle School block) occurred after the boys and college masters moved back to Cottonera in 1946. With the new classrooms completed, few other structural changes were made for nearly two decades, at which point the need for modern science facilities became a pressing issue. A successful fund-raising campaign resulted in the laying of the foundation stone of the new block in 1967 by Sir Maurice Dorman, the last British Governor-General of Malta. With a generous donation made by the Trustees of the British Boys Schools of Alexandria and the Victoria College, Alexandria Foundation, the much-needed Assembly Hall in the new block became a reality.

In the 1970s, the block that used to house the married teachers was converted into the Junior School, which also included an Infant's Section. Due to the college's growing popularity, the Junior School received a structural revamping and extension in 1994. Classrooms were enlarged and the designs (by Old Edwardian Richard England) also ensured that the Junior School building now had their own drama and music hall as well as an IT room.[3]

The school has three houses named after three Governors-General of Malta: Ducane House Sir John Du Cane (Green), Campbell House Sir David Campbell (Red) and Congreve House Sir Walter Congreve (Blue).

Among the many famous alumni of the school is Cambridge University Professor Edward De Bono, known for his ideas on lateral thinking. He is an advisor to many governments and corporations. Other well known alumni include: Architect Richard England, Former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Baron Judge Igor Judge, Chief Justice Emeritus Giuseppe Mifsud Bonnici, Archbishop of Malta Charles Scicluna. Footballers Andrew Hogg and Matthew Guillaumier also attended the college as schoolboys

Since its foundation in 1929, the school had produced many who went on to serve in the British military and the Colonial Service in Egypt, Palestine and the Sudan. The school has an old-boys' association known as the Old Edwardian Association (OEA).

• Education in Malta
• List of schools in Malta

• David Cannadine (24 November 2011). Aspects of Aristocracy: Grandeur and Decline in Modern Britain. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300059816.
• Stuart Rossiter (1968). Malta - The Blue guide. Benn Press. ISBN 0300059817.

• www.stedwards.edu.mt, the school's official website
• Anniversary of the end of the First World War in 1918: A history tour of St Edward’s College... by Anthony Zarb Dimech, Tuesday, 13 November 2018, The Malta Independent