Updated 6.15pm

The stress level of students sitting for their Systems of Knowledge A Level exam in Naxxar went up a notch on Thursday as they found themselves stuck in a massive traffic jam on their way to the Higher Secondary school.

Several reported tailbacks from Naxxar to surrounding localities, including Birkirkara, Lija and San Ġwann.

A student who left his Birkirkara home at 3.15pm, only reached Naxxar at 3.50pm - 10 minutes before the exam was due to start. His parents said the Birkirkara bypass, Naxxar Road and Tal-Balal areas were all clogged. 

The trip does not usually take longer than seven minutes by car.

When he finished his exam, which he said was delayed by 15 minutes to allow latecomers a breather, he spent at least 10 minutes in a bus stuck in traffic outside the school. 

Tailback just outside Lija at 5.30pm. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Concerned parents who vented their frustration on social media said students stuck in traffic ditched the car and ran up the hill to the higher secondary school, making it to their allocated exam classes out of breath.

Another commuter said it took her 80 minutes to reach Mosta from Floriana, while a separate driver who got stuck on her way from Birkirkara to Mosta decided to postpone her errand and just turned back to her Gżira home.

Her trip from Birkirkara to Gżira took an hour.

According to the Maltese Roads Traffic Updates Facebook page, heavy traffic reported around Lija was caused by an accident.

Times of Malta tried reaching the police.