EDUCATION IN ITALY

NURSERY SCHOOL

1- At what age do parents send their children to nursery school? At the age of 3

COMPULSORY EDUCATION

2 – Is compulsory education provided for by the law? Yes, up to the

age of 15

Compulsory education starts at the age of 6

and ends at the age of 15

3 - Parents pay no enrolment fee in state schools

4 – Compulsory school is divided like this: - Scuola elementare (primary

school) 5 years

- Scuola Media inferiore

(Junior High School) 3 years

- Scuola Media Superiore

(Senior High School) 1 year

Primary School / Junior High School
5 – Duration / 5 years (ages 6 – 11) / 3 years (grades)
6 – Number of students per class / Up to 20/25 / Up to 20/26
7 – Number of teachers per class / About 3 teachers / 7 teachers
8 – Are children with special needs admitted to state schools? / Yes, they are / Yes, they are
SCHOOL PROGRAM
9 – Is the school curriculum the same in all state schools being established by the Ministry of Education / Yes, it is / Yes, it is
10 – What foreign languages are taught? / English starting from the 3rd year of primary school (except for special projects) / English and/or French
11 – Are school trips organised during the school year? / Yes / Yes
SCHOOL TIME-TABLE
12 –How many hours a week do students spend at school? / 27/30/40 depending on the school organisation / From 30 to 36
13 – How many days a week do students spend at school? / 5, from Monday to Friday / 5 or 6
14 – Daily school time-table / From 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. at the “scuola a tempo pieno” (full time); from 8.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. at the “scuola a moduli” (school based of a selection of modules) where pupils have to stay on in the afternoon a few times a week / From 8.30 a.m. to 13.00/13.30 p.m.; some students stay on for labs in the afternoon once, twice or 3 times a week
15 – Activities carried out in the afternoon labs are : / in compliance with the pupils’ school curriculum / In compliance with school curriculum or other activities
17 – Do pupils have to do homework after school? / Yes, they do / Yes, they do
18 – Do pupils have free time to play at school? / Yes, they do. / Yes, they do
SCHOOL CALENDAR
19 – Beginning of the school year / Between 10 and 15 September / Between 10 and 15 September
20 – End of the school year / By 15 June (then follows a national examination that marks the end of the primary school) / By 15 June (then follows a national examination by which pupils get the “Licenza media”, a sort of GCSE: general certificate of Secondary Education)
21 – Holiday time during the school year / Christmas holiday : from 23 December to 6 January;
1 week at Easter;
2 days at Carnival;
other catholic or national festivities / The same
INTERACTION SCHOOL-FAMILY / Individual meetings parents and teachers;
meetings of all the teachers of the class and families;
other meetings involving the presence of families, teachers, headmaster and others / The same