GV Malta

GV Malta English Centre is a small, friendly language school on the north coast of Malta, set in a traditional Maltese villa in the seaside town of St Paul's Bay. It has been teaching English since 1999 and keeps its numbers deliberately low, with room for about 100 students at a time. For UK families, retirees and professionals who want to combine a language course with time in the sun, or who are weighing up a longer stay on the island, that scale means you are known by name rather than lost in a large campus.

St Paul's Bay is a lively resort town with a waterfront promenade, cafes and shops, so everyday English comes up naturally once lessons finish. The school sits a short walk from the water and appears in our directory of language schools in Malta, alongside other centres you may want to compare, such as AM Language.

Who GV Malta is and how it teaches

Its approach is personal but professional. Lessons follow a communicative method, which simply means you spend class time using English to speak, listen, read and write about realistic situations rather than memorising grammar rules in silence. Teachers draw on the Oxford University Press Navigate series and add authentic material such as videos and newspaper articles to keep the sessions varied.

Class sizes are small. The average is around six students and no class goes above twelve, so a teacher can spot a weak point and fix it on the spot. On your first day you are placed with learners of a similar level, from complete beginner (A0) up to advanced (C1), and new groups begin every Monday throughout the year. Students come from many countries, which is a practical advantage: with no shared mother tongue in the room, English becomes the only way to chat over a break.

The mission is to deliver high-quality English teaching that makes good use of technology, in an inclusive and environmentally responsible setting. The leadership team includes Sean Doublesin as chief executive, Stefanelle Cachia as Director of Studies and Wendy Steciuk as Assistant Director of Studies, who brings many years of school teaching and headship in the United Kingdom.

Teachers are qualified and dedicated, and several have been at the school for many years: one joined in 2009 and was nominated by colleagues for an Inspiring Professional Award from the English Language Council in 2017. Another member of staff, Andrea from Manchester, runs operations and has lived in Malta since 2013, so UK students will find a familiar accent at the front desk. The school's atmosphere is often called family-like, with celebrations marked through the year, and a friendly miniature poodle named Bailey acts as unofficial mascot.

Courses for adults

General English is the core adult programme, open to learners aged 18 and over from beginner to advanced. It works on all four skills together and can be taken at 20 or 30 lessons a week, so you can choose between a relaxed morning timetable with the afternoon free for the beach, or a more intensive routine. Private lessons can be added on top if you want extra attention on a particular weakness.

Business English is aimed at intermediate to advanced learners aged 21 and over who need to communicate at work: meetings, presentations, emails and negotiation. It is offered at 10, 20 or 30 lessons per week. This suits professionals planning to work with Maltese or international companies, and people considering relocating to Malta from the UK who want their English to sound polished in a business setting.

Exam preparation combines 20 General English lessons with 10 one-to-one sessions each week, tailored to your target test. The school prepares students for IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge and other international English exams, at any level. The same page of options also lists English for Special Purposes, Erasmus+ mobility courses and Bildungsurlaub, the German paid educational leave scheme, for which the school is a recognised provider.

Kids, teens and family courses

GV Malta teaches young learners all year round, so a family trip does not have to wait for the summer holidays. The Kids Club is for children aged 4 to 11 and follows a multi-level programme of 20 lessons a week built around games and activities. The Teens Club is for ages 10 to 17, from elementary to advanced, also with 20 lessons.

The Summer Camp is the school's flagship programme for teenagers, with beginner to advanced English and a choice between a course-only place and a full residential package. It runs from a separate site in Rabat rather than the St Paul's Bay villa, so ask which location applies to your dates. Pairing it with things to do in Malta gives a sense of the excursions and free-time options a teenager can look forward to.

Family courses are designed so that parents and children can study at the same time. The school arranges synchronised timetables, which means the whole family is in class together and free together. Afternoons are then open for swimming at one of the best beaches in Malta, such as nearby sandy bays, or for a day trip to the Blue Lagoon on Comino. Staff can also help with group activities and outings so you are not left planning everything yourself.

The school, classrooms and facilities

The villa has twelve air-conditioned classrooms spread across three floors. In January 2024 the school installed new Promethean interactive boards, and the largest rooms take up to twelve students. Free Wi-Fi covers the whole building, and students can use shared computers on the first floor.

Reception is on the first floor, where staff deal with questions, administration and tips on what to do locally. A library on the second floor holds English books for adults, teenagers and children, and there is a sunny rooftop terrace with seating and sunshades for breaks between lessons. The terrace does not offer sweeping views, but it is a popular place to meet other students.

Please note that the building has no wheelchair access, which is worth knowing if anyone in your party has mobility needs. Language courses also pair well with the local area: the Mellieħa area guide covers the nearby bay to the north, and the Valletta city guide helps with weekend sightseeing in the capital.

Where to stay while you study

The school can arrange accommodation for students. Shared student apartments are close to the school, between 0 and 150 metres away, with single rooms or shared twin and triple rooms and a shared kitchen and lounge. Host families are a second option, offering single or shared twin rooms within a 30-minute walk of the school, with breakfast and lunch provided and a packed lunch available on request.

Some visitors prefer to book independently, and there is a good choice of hotels in Qawra and St Paul's Bay nearby. Whichever route you take, mention it when you enquire so the school can fit your lesson times around your plans. The weather suits year-round study, and our Malta weather guide shows what to pack month by month, and flights to Malta from UK airports are frequent.

Accreditation and how to get started

GV Malta is accredited and inspected by the ELT Council and holds a licence from the Malta Ministry of Education (licence number 121) and one from the Malta Tourism Authority (licence number 35-0033). It is also recognised for Bildungsurlaub. These details matter if you want reassurance that the school operates within Malta's regulated English language teaching sector.

The school publishes brochures and price lists on its own site, and quotes are tailored to your course, length of stay and accommodation. A registrations coordinator handles bookings and helps match students to the right course, and the team looks after you from the first enquiry through to arrival. If you want a break from lessons, the area also has diving and boat trips, for example Abyss Diving Club in Buġibba.

To begin, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page, telling us the age of each student, the course you have in mind and your preferred dates. We will pass your message to GV Malta, and the school will reply with a personalised quote.