€3.2 million investment transforms Kerċem primary school

Students at Kerċem Primary School are set to start the new scholastic year in a substantially upgraded environment following a €3.2 million investment in the 105-year-old school.

The project, being carried out by the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools (FTS), has seen the school extensively refurbished and modernised, with works including air conditioning, improved accessibility, upgraded educational and recreational spaces, and new building services.

Education and Sport Minister Byron Camilleri and Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri visited the school to inspect the final stages of the works as the project approaches completion.

Kerċem Primary School is housed in a two-storey building constructed in 1921 and covers around 1,200 square metres. The refurbishment was designed to bring the historic building in line with the needs of today’s students and educators while retaining its role at the heart of the local community.

“An investment in Kerċem is an example of how we are renewing our educational infrastructure according to today’s needs, while ensuring that every student in Malta and Gozo has the conditions they deserve to learn and develop,” Byron Camilleri said.

He said the aim was not simply to refurbish school buildings but to improve students’ and educators’ everyday experience by providing a comfortable and safe environment.

“An institution that has been serving the community for more than 100 years is today being renewed so that it can continue doing so for generations to come,” Byron Camilleri said.

The project includes the redesign of open and recreational areas, as well as new spaces for extracurricular subjects. Outdoor recreational areas have also been upgraded with non-slip surfaces and artificial turf.

A new air-conditioning system has been installed throughout the school, alongside upgraded lighting, water and drainage services, internet connectivity, security cameras and alarms, and fire protection systems.

Energy-efficiency measures have also been introduced as part of the refurbishment.

Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri said the project would have a direct impact on children, families and the wider Kerċem community.

“After completing the primary school in Nadur, as well as the Middle and Primary School in Victoria over the past years, this year it is the turn of Kerċem’s children to enter a new primary school here in Ta’ Kerċem,” Clint Camilleri said.

Clint Camilleri said the school had effectively been stripped back to shell form before the works were carried out from the ground up.

Despite the scale of the project, students continued attending lessons on temporary premises within the same school site while construction was underway. This allowed works to progress quickly and safely while keeping children within the school environment they were familiar with.

Maria Cutajar, Head of Contracts Management at the FTS, said the extensive works had resulted in a school that would look and feel substantially different to students returning in the new scholastic year.

“This is another project involving a major investment by the FTS, where we carried out extensive improvements to this school, which is now around 100 years old,” she said.

“At the beginning of the new scholastic year, which starts this month, the children will enter a completely different school from the one they remember.”

Cutajar said the refurbished school would feature air conditioning, improved accessibility through a newly installed lift, a renovated hall and a large outdoor area covered with artificial turf and rubber surfacing.

She said the upgraded facilities would provide students with a more comfortable and safer environment for learning, adding that those involved in the project were looking forward to seeing the children enter the renewed school for the first time.