SMC Sixth Form won the Jan Amos Comenius Prize for high-quality teaching about the European Union On the occasion of Europe Day celebrated on the 9th May, St Martin’s College Sixth Form is thrilled to announce that it has won the Jan Amos Comenius Prize for high-quality teaching about the European Union. The prize was a contest for secondary and upper-secondary schools across the EU and was proposed by the European Parliament and implemented by the European Commission. For this EU-wide contest, schools from 24 Member States applied. External independent evaluators assessed each application and 22 schools, each from a different Member State, were identified as winners. St Martin’s College Sixth Form won the prize for Malta. It was awarded to recognise creative ways in which St Martin’s College Sixth Form teaches about the European Union and the ways in which we disseminate such practices. These exemplary teaching methods about the EU are in line with the objectives of the 2018 Council Recommendation Promoting Common Values, Inclusive Education and the European Dimension of Teaching, which identified teaching and learning about the origins, values and functioning of the EU as a policy priority. The prize is €8,000 as well as a trophy. Commission Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas said: “Awarding the Jan Amos Comenius Prize for the first time today to schools and teachers for their creative efforts in teaching about the European Union and its values is highly symbolic. On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Schuman declaration, which is the root of a project of peace based above all on European solidarity, schools and pupils across Europe experience a disruptive situation unknown since the war. Seventy years later, it is only through such creative efforts and solidarity that we will be able to overcome this crisis and rebuild even stronger than before.” Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel said: "Learning about the European Union at school is not a luxury, it is a necessity. We need to enhance citizens' knowledge and understanding of the European Union from an early age. Our schools can foster critical awareness of the European Union and a sense of belonging to it, in ways that inspire. I am pleased that this prize is giving recognition and visibility to such valuable work.” Watch Commissioner Gabriel announce the winners: Jan Amos Comenius Prize 2020? 8
