The Matriculation and Secondary Education Certificate (MATSEC) Examinations Board is once again recognising its highest achievers by commending their academic success.
To mark this year’s achievements, on Thursday 21 November 2024, MATSEC Director, Mr Dario Pirotta convened at Room VC 102 within the IT Services Building at the University of Malta’s Msida Campus, to hand out the Anna Muscat Azzopardi Prize (worth €70) and the Dom Maurus Caruana Prize (worth €47).
The awardees, Elle Bonello and Shannie Lee Maria Ciappara (pictured below) achieved the highest mark in SEC Maltese and SEC Religious Knowledge respectively.
Mr Pirotta congratulated both awardees, saying that “this recognition is not just about acknowledging these excellent results but also about honouring the dedication and resilience that drive those outcomes, which are shown by not just those present here but by the overwhelming majority of students sitting for their exams.”
The two prizes go back a long time, well before the setting up of the MATSEC Board itself.
Anna Muscat Azzopardi co-wrote a book on Maltese (Kif ngħiduha : ġabra ta' tixbiħ, frażijiet u ħwejjeġ oħra li ngħidu ta' kuljum) with her husband, Ġino Muscat Azzopardi (1899 - 1982) who was a keen promoter of the Maltese language with his literary contributions. While the earliest year recorded for the Anna Muscat Azzopardi prize was 1979, the award started being handed out earlier.
Dom Maurus Caruana (16.11.1867 - 17.12.1943) was the first and only Benedictine monk to become bishop of Malta (1915- 1943) since 1511.
