Boys attending Sta Klara College will as from next year be gradually integrated into Pembroke Secondary School to create Malta's first state co-education school, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said this morning.

He explained that current Year Six boys in Sta Klara will next year enter Form One in Pembroke, where the classes will be formed of both boys and girls. The process would be extended every year.

He said the government was also introducing the concept of middle schools, with Forms One and Forms Two separate from the higher classes.

He said the process was being started at Sta Klara because of the fragmented nature of that college, with pupils having to move from one school to another every few years.

The government had considered significant refurbishing of the Gzira and St Andrew's schools, but this would have been a short-term solution.

Furthermore, he said, the co-ed and middle school concepts had worked well in independent schools and it may be extended to other schools in the future. However the government did not want a one-size fits all model and colleges would be allowed to develop according to their needs.

The concepts have been discussed with the teachers, some of whom expressed concerns about issues such as discipline, class sizes and facilities. Many wanted class sizes to be reduced to 20 pupils and they also sought stronger support for discipline. Both measures will be adopted.

However overall teachers were broadly supportive of the ideas, Mr Bartolo said.