The Royal Naval School Tal Handaq was a school

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

 for children of personnel of the British Armed Forces

British Armed Forces

The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...

 posted to Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 between January 1947 and July 1978. Formerly known as the Naval Children's School and HM Dockyard Children's School, it had occupied sites at Ta'Xbiex, Cottonera, Senglea and the Dockyard before moving to Tal Handaq, a military camp, built during World War 2, to resemble a Maltese village when viewed from the air. Staffed partially by Royal Naval personnel the school was also used by children of personnel of the Military of the United States

Military of the United States

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

 in the 1950s. When first occupied as a school in 1947 only the buildings in the southern and central area of the present day school had been built. The remaining buildings were constructed in the early/mid 1950s, initially with the objective of supporting a complement of some 800 British Forces pupils. The school was co-educational with similar numbers of boys and girls. It was also both a Secondary Grammar and a Secondary Modern school. Numbers at the school steadily increased until by 1960 the school held over 1000 pupils. Even so, class size was still not excessive with a typical class size of 25 pupils in 1960.

The school re-opened as a Junior Lyceum in September 1981 under the name of Liceo M. A. Vassalli

Liceo Vassalli Junior Lyceum

The Liceo M.A. Vassalli is situated in Tal-Ħandaq, Qormi on the site of the former Royal Naval School Tal-Handaq . 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 huts and small blocks in a random...

. In 2006, new building began on completion of which the old buildings will be demolished.
The new buildings opened in 2008 as Kullegg Sant' Injazju.

Headmasters

• Headmaster W Candey 1918
• Headmaster Govier Mar 1925
• Headmaster H E Hindmand MBE Mar 1925 - Jun 1928
• Headmaster G H Rickers Jun 1928 - Dec 1932
• Headmaster Lieut W F Plant Nov 1932 - Dec 1937
• Headmaster Lieut F J Giles Dec 1937 - Sep 1942
• Instructor Commander A H Miles OBE (later Instructor Captain, CBE) May 1946 - Jan 1951
• Instructor Commander A J Bellamy OBE (later Instructor Rear Admiral, CB) Jan 1951 - Apr 1954
• Instructor Captain B J Morgan (later Instructor Rear Admiral, CB) Apr 1954 - Apr 1959
• Instructor Captain D E Mannering Apr 1959 - Aug 1963
• Instructor Captain L Broad Aug 1963 - Aug 1966
• Instructor Captain H C Malkin (later CBE) Aug 1966 - Jan 1970
• Instructor Commander M F Law (later Captain) Jan 1970 - Apr 1974
• Commander G D Stubbs Apr 1974 - Jul 1978

Alternative spellings

The following spelling of Tal-Handaq may be found on present day official documents.

• Tal-Ħandaq (link to related Wikipedia entry)
• Tal-Handaq
• Tal Handaq

The following Anglicised spelling may occasionally be found on internal documents issued during the Royal Naval School period (refer: Etymology section).

• Tal-Handak
• Tal Handak

Etymology

Tal Handak is the British phonetic spelling of the Maltese industrial area Tal Handaq located in the district of Qormi.

In the Maltese written language the letter Q is silent. However it is not uncommon for British people to incorrectly pronounce Maltese words containing the silent Q as if it were an English word. For example, Qormi is sometimes wrongly pronounce "Kwormi" by British people unfamiliar with the written Maltese language. Similarly Tal Handaq was often pronounced Tal HandaK by British Forces personnel.

Between the years 1947 to 1978 the Royal Naval Secondary School for British Forces children was located at Tal Handaq and a number of printed documents relating to the school employed the more comfortable (to the British) spelling of Tal Handak.

External links

• Site with photo gallery of the school grounds and buildings * with over 450 photos plus 360 degree, rotating panoramas.
• Tal Handaq Reunion Association
• History as written by former headmaster, Captain M.F. Law
• Tal Handaq Nostalgia. Photographic memories of the school.1947 - 1978.