Lancashire schoolchildren warm to PM

It was the last place you would expect to hear the Maltese national anthem being played: on BBC Lancashire Radio just before 9 a.m. And to add to the mystery, it was being sung in English.

The performance was being played live just half an hour before a visit to the Hapton Primary School by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. BBC Lancashire were captivated by the idea of Class 4 doing a presentation for him on Malta, including the anthem.

The prime minister was in Lancashire to open the new Fraser Eagle headquarters and the British group had been trying to add visits of interest to his itinerary.

When Kate Marney, the wife of one of the group's commercial directors, heard that they were considering a visit to a school, she immediately volunteered the primary school that she has headed for barely a year.

"We got the children to look things up on Internet - including the music and words to the anthem, places of interest and a map, and so on," she said. "We have been working on it for a few weeks."

They did their homework well: the prime minister and Mrs Gonzi were greeted with a loud "Bongu!" before being given a tour of the school.

Friday is assembly day when certificates are given out to the best performers of the week - including the tidiest class - and the children and their parents were enthralled to have them presented by such a distinguished visitor. One boy quipped: "Grazzi hafna!" as he took his certificate.

"Important people never come here. They would always go to a bigger or more central school. The children were really excited about this. I think we all were," Ms Marney admitted with a grin.

Dr and Mrs Gonzi smiled all through the presentation on Malta and its history but were genuinely moved at the national anthem, with its lyrics translated to: "Guard her, O Lord, as ever thou hast guarded this motherland so dear, whose name we bear".

Joshua Denney presented the Prime Minister with a huge 'thank you' card while Mrs Gonzi received a bouquet and a teddy bear keychain. They lingered as long as they could before moving on to their other engagements. As they left, the children started up another chorus: "Sahha!"