11
NEWS
maltatoday | SUNDAY •14 MAY 2023
and Gzira are overtaking Qawra
as the locality with the largest
percentage of non-Maltese stu-
dents. In Sliema the percentage
of foreigners increased by 4.9
percentage points in a year, and
by 6.3 points in Gzira and 6.6 in
St Julian's.
But the sharpest increase in
foreigners was seen in the two
primary schools in Marasaska-
la: 11.7 points in the new St Joa-
chim school and 8.4 points in
St Anne school. The locality is
home to a growing foreign pop-
ulation, particularly Italians.
At the other end of the table,
Siggiewi, whose percentage
of foreign students increased
from just 1.7% last year to 3%,
lost the bottom spot to Mtarfa,
which has only one non-Mal-
tese student in its primary
school.
Overall, the number of
non-Maltese primary school
children increased from 4,290
(19.1%) last year to 5,204 now
(22.6% of total primary school
children).
The statistics do not include
students attending church and
independent schools which al-
so attract a significant percent-
age of students hailing from
affluent Maltese families.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
Siggiewi primary
school's foreign
population
increased from
just 1.7% last year
to 3%, typical of
other schools in
rural areas with
small foreign
communities
