The Liceo M.A. Vassalli is situated in

Tal-Ħandaq Tal-Ħandaq is an area in Qormi, Malta. It is a low hill, situated on the left side of Mdina Road in Qormi. Etymology Tal Handak is the British spelling of the town of Tal-Ħandaq. History In the old days it was a rural area, with a few farms. ...

Qormi Qormi (, , ), also known by its title Città Pinto, is a city in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, southwest of Valletta in the centre of the island. It has a population of 16,324 (as of March 2018), making it Malta's fifth-la ...

(

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

) on the site of the former

Royal Naval School Tal-Handaq The Royal Naval School Tal Handaq was a school for children of personnel of the British Armed Forces posted to Malta between January 1947 and July 1978. Formerly known as the Naval Children's School and HM Dockyard Children's School, it had occup ...

(1947–1978). The Junior Lyceum was founded in 1981, and offers secondary education to male students aged 10 to 16. The school complex is characterized by

Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure originally for military use, especially as barracks, made from a 210° portion of a cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. It was designed during the First World War by the Canadian-American-British e ...

s and small blocks in a random layout. Having formerly been a barracks during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

this layout intended to give the site resemblance with a Maltese village, in order to give camouflage from the air. The present uniform consists of a white shirt, green tie, grey jersey, dark grey trousers and a green pinstriped blazer This school was extremely popular in the 1980s when it was run by its energetic

headmaster A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

, John Michael Testa. A number of prominent

Maltese people The Maltese () people are an ethnic group native to Malta who speak Maltese, a Semitic language with a substantial Romance superstratum, and share a common Maltese history and culture characterised by Roman Catholicism, which remains the ...

attended the school including members of

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

David Agius, Clyde Puli ( Partit Nazzjonalista) and Carmelo Abela (

Partit Laburista The Labour Party (, PL), formerly known as the Malta Labour Party (, MLP), is the oldest List of political parties in Malta, political party in Malta, and one of the two major parties alongside the Nationalist Party (Malta), Nationalist Party. ...

) and others Mario Farrugia Borg, High Commissioner of Malta in Australia, Jason Micallef - former

General Secretary and head of

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

2018

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

, Anton Miceli - Culture Official, Massimo Ellul - international marketer, Terence Farrugia - Bay Radio Station Manager, and several lecturers at the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association, ...

). Converted

British Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping ef ...

huts and buildings surrounding the school's

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

were the backdrop of the school, which made it the only secondary school in Malta where students went to their

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

s instead of the other way round. The school was demolished in the late 2000's, replaced by a public middle school (previously a private school).

External links

RN School Facebook page

Liceo M.A. Vassalli and RN School Tal-Handaq - Website contains over 400 photos of the school buildings plus other school related images

Educ.um.edu.mt

Talhandaqnostalgia.org photo gallery of RN School days with old photos of Malta included
* https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1388925841121369&set=g.6533863249&type=1&theater&ifg=1 Liceo Vassalli - Tal-Handaq on Facebook: Contains photos of John Michael Testa head of school] * https://www.facebook.com/groups/209420386116832/photos/ * https://www.facebook.com/groups/1710464412502149/photos/ Educational institutions established in 1981 Schools in Malta Qormi 1981 establishments in Malta {{Malta-school-stub