A new English language school is set to open its doors in Malta, with an international operator taking over the St Julian's building that EC operated from until its sudden collapse last month.

The opening of Positively Languages is understood to be imminent, with the new school already onboarding former EC staff.

The school does not yet have the necessary licence to operate in Malta, but WhosWho.mt understands that it is expected to be issued in the coming days.

Industry operators, who rallied together in support of Malta’s reputation as a major language learning hub by taking on EC students for free, have questioned how the new school could have passed the stringent licensing process in just a few weeks.

However, when contacted by this newsroom, ELT Council CEO Sue Falzon dismissed any suggestion of unfair application of the rules.

While confirming that Positively Languages’ application is “in the final stages of processing,” she said the date of its submission was protected by confidentiality.

Asked if the application had been fast-tracked, Ms Falzon said, “No. There’s a list of criteria. When it’s confirmed that the applicant has satisfied those criteria and is in line with the relevant legal requirements, the application is approved at that stage.”

A request for comment from FELTOM, the association representing English language schools, was not replied to by the time of publication. 

Company records show that Positively Languages Malta Limited was incorporated on 7th October 2026, followed by Positively Languages Malta II Limited earlier this week on 20th October.

The Directors of both companies are Caroline Alaire Burden-Maas, a US citizen, and Zachary Lewis Gamble-Holmes, a New Zealand citizen residing in the UK.

Positively Languages is owned by Inspirit Capital, a UK-based private equity firm specialising in carve-outs and divestments.

Inspirit acquired Kaplan International Languages / Kaplan Languages Group from the US education giant Kaplan earlier this year.

Kaplan had built its international language business through a series of acquisitions in recent years. It bought Europe’s largest student placement agency, ESL Education, in 2019, along with its French and German language schools business, Alpadia.

Kaplan also bought Azurlingua, a French language school, in 2024.

At the time of the acquisition, Kaplan International CEO David Jones said that the decision had been difficult, but would allow the languages arm of the company to “be given the attention that it deserves going forward”.

Caroline Maas, who served as COO at Kaplan Languages Group and is listed as a Director of the recently Maltese brand, said Positively Languages’ name and brand identity would help it come into the ELT market with “something really fresh and exciting”.