San Anton School’s headmaster, Sandro Spiteri, on Monday passed away, the Mgarr private school announced.

He was 56 years old and had been battling illness for months.

Taking to social media, the school wrote:

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our Head of School, Dr Sandro Spiteri, earlier today.

“May he be granted eternal rest and may the Lord watch over his family, during this very difficult time.

“We kindly ask you to keep them in your prayers.”

An outpouring of grief could be observed on social platforms, with Dr Spiteri having been loved by parents, students and teachers alike.

Dr Spiteri has held leadership positions across the education sector, including  as National Coordinator and Acting CEO of the Foundation for Educational Services, College Principal, Director within the Education Department, and Head of Quality Assurance at the NCFHE.

He has lectured, presented, published and consulted in Malta and internationally on family literacy, the teaching of writing, parental leadership, educational policy and quality assurance in education.

Dr Spiteri also pioneered Malta’s national quality assurance systems for both compulsory as well as further and higher education.

He was appointed Head of School at San Anton in 2020, which marked a return to the educational institution as he had previously taught Maltese there years before.

Condolences to Dr Spiteri’s family at this difficult time.