EDUCATION SYSTEM
in ITALY
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The school year usually starts towards
the middle of September and finishes
towards the middle of June.
There are about 33 weeks of school.
There are not mid-term holidays, we
have only the Christmas and the Easter
holidays.
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For Christmas we have about 15 days.
For Easter we have about 5 days.
Education in Italy is compulsory
from 6 to 16 years of age.
It is divided into five stages:
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kindergarten (scuola dell’infanzia) – from 3 to 5
years (not compulsory);
primary school (scuola primaria or elementare) –
from 6 to 10;
Lower secondary school or middle school (scuola
secondaria di primo grado or scuola media) –
from 11 to 13;
Upper secondary school or high school (scuola
secondaria di secondo grado or scuola superiore)
– from 14 to 18;
university (università) – from 19.
SUBJECTS AT SCHOOL
In primary school we have:
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Italian
English
Mathematics
Life and earth Sciences
History
Geography
Physical Education
Music
Art and craft activities
6-8 hours
1 hour (first year)
2 hours (second year)
3 hours (last three years)
6-7 hours
2 hours
2 hours
2 hours
1-2 hours
1-2 hours
1-2 hours
Lower secondary school provides further education on the
subjects studied at primary school, with the addition of
Technology and a language other than English
(typically French, Spanish or German).
IN PRIMARY SCHOOL
Until 2004, pupils had to pass an exam to
access Scuola secondaria di primo grado
(Lower secondary school), comprising the
composition of a short elaborate in Italian,
a written Math test, and an oral test on
the other subjects. The exam has been
discontinued and pupils can now enter
Middle School directly.
IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
At the end of the third year students sit an
exam which enables them to continue
their education.
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In Italy there are a lot of different school organization.
In our primary school
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our pupils do 36 hours per week.
They start school at 8.10 and finish at 16.10 (they stay 8 hours) from
Monday to Thursday.
On Fridays they start school at 8.10 and finish at 12.30. But pupils can
stay at school till 16.10 (paying something to the school).
They have lunch at school.
In our middle school
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our pupils do 28 hours per week.
They start school at 7.55 and finish at 13.30 from Monday to Friday.