Maltese students most improved in the world in reading, report says

May 16 2023

According to international report ‘Progress in International Reading Literacy Study’ (PIRLS), Malta’s educational sector has made a major step forward, with considerable improvements since the last report in 2016.

The report, which is conducted every five years, concerns reading objectives amongst children around the age of 10, which is equivalent to Year 5 locally. It then analyses their ability to read, understand and apply what they have read.

The average amount of points given to Malta (515) is significantly higher than the international average of 500, with Malta placing 31st amongst 57 participating countries. This result shows significant improvement over preceding reports: 2016 (452) and 2011 (457), with Malta coming in 38th place back in 2011.

In this report, Malta also secured the biggest increase in points amongst all countries when compared to the 2016 report.

According to the publication, Maltese students are at the same level as students from New Zealand, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, France, Serbia, Albania, Cyprus and Belgium. Maltese students’ reading proved to be better than that of students from England, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Russian Federation, the United States, Finland, Poland, Australia, Denmark, Norway and Austria.

Across the board, female students performed better than male students. In Malta, female students scored 6 points more than male students, a score which is much better than the international average, where the difference between female and male students is 18 points.

In light of this, Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation Clifton Grima stated that the ongoing works are giving results. “I am satisfied that this report shows improvement over the preceding ones, especially one remembers that this happened amid the pandemic’s challenges. While we continue to build on the good done in preceding years, there are sectors where more work has to be done to improve that which is already achieved, such as more reading resources, and the confidence in reading amongst students.”

What do you make of this?

#MaltaDaily

Relax Bello: Local comedian James Ryder tattoos Love Island catchphrase on chest

May 16 2023

It was only a matter of time before that immediately-iconic Love Island catchphrase ‘Relax Bello’ cemented itself into Maltese meme lore… and James Ryder has made sure of it, tattooing it on his chest for all to see.

“Let’s do this”, the local comedian & TikToker posted alongside a bare-chested photo of himself with a newly-etched butterfly tat atop the iconic ‘Relax Bello’.

We’re sure that local Islander Dale would be happy to find out that his episode one phrase found itself on one of the show’s fan’s chest and whether he finds out anytime soon or not, we’re sure it won’t be the last hilarious remark from the show.

#MaltaDaily

90,851 tourists travelled out of Malta in first 3 months of 2023

May 16 2023

According to the National Statistics Office, a total of 90,851 outbound trips were undertaken for holiday trips in the first three months of this year.

Meanwhile, 43,664 trips were taken for visiting friends and relatives, with most outbound tourists aged between 25 and 44 years, or 52.5%.

This age bracket was followed by those within the 45-64 age bracket at 27.5%, with Italy remaining the most popular destination with a share of 35.4%.

The largest share of guest nights was spent in non-rented accommodation establishments (54.9%), whilst the average length of stay of total outbound tourists stood at 6.8 nights.

The €131.6 million mark was surpassed in total expenditure by outbound tourists, averaging €832 per person.

#MaltaDaily

Shaun Farrugia promotes Maltese musicians abroad in new band

May 16 2023

Shaun Farrugia had the opportunity to both fulfil one of his life-long dreams of playing in a band whilst also promoting Maltese musicians abroad in his two latest shows.

Performing in London and Brighton, Farrugia revealed to MaltaDaily that when approached by his team to look for a band, he expressed his wish to have local artists by his side.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shaun Farrugia (@shaunfarrrugia)

He told this newsroom that he wanted to ‘give them the opportunity to play shows overseas alongside me and live our dream together. The talent in Malta is endless. It’s the opportunities which are needed to help us grow and achieve great things.’

Sharing on Instagram, Farrugia was joined by Daniel Micallef, Aleandro Spiteri Monsigneur, Martin Caruana and Shaun Abdilla, saying that he had the time of his life and cannot wait to do it again all summer.

#MaltaDaily