St Edward's College, Malta is a Maltese private boys' independent school, located in Cottonera. The school's population is just under 700 students, aged between 5 and 18 years. It was founded in 1929 by the school benefactor Baroness Strickland, Countess della Catena, who gave a generous gift to establish the college. The college was built on the grounds of what was once a Knights of Malta fort and the rear end of the school is still today surrounded by the bastion walls of the fort. The school was modelled on the ideas and ideals of British public schools, initially to educate the boys of the Maltese aristocracy and the boys of the British military officers based in Malta.
Background history
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. 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 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 also ensured that the Junior School building now had their own drama and music hall as well as an IT room.
