COMPREHENSIVE INSTITUTE OF VALNURE

ADDRESS: via F. Acerbi, 61 – 29028 Ponte dell’Olio (Pc) Italy
TYPE OF SCHOOL: Nursery, Primary, Secondary 1° grade
NUMBER OF STUDENTS:  903
NUMBER OF TEACHERS:  111
FOREIGN LANGUAGES TAUGHT: English, French

The Comprehensive Institute of Valnure, comprises seven schools situated in five different municipalities of the Nure Valley, the names of which are Bettola, Farini and Ferriere, Pontedell’Olio e Vigolzone, in the province of Piacenza, in North Italy. The seat of the Institute is located in Pontedell’Olio which with Vigolzone is located in Mid Valnure; the other three municipalities are located in the Upper Valley. In the Institute classes some disable children are present, for whom supporting teachers are provided.

BETTOLA, a small village with a population of about 3.500 inhabitants, crossed by the Nure river, in a hilly countryside about 30 kilometres from Piacenza (Emilia Romagna). In Bettola a Nursery School, a Primary School and a 1st grade Secondary School are present.

FERRIERE and FARINI are two small mountain village as well, with few pupils. In Ferriere there is a Nursery School, a Primary School and a 1st grade Secondary School; in Farini there is  a Nursery School, a Primary School and a 1st grade Secondary School. Farini and Ferriere are two small villages which lots of immigrants returning from abroad and several holiday makers animate in the summer time. During winter only few people live there; they have been considered depressed areas for several years and in such seats the didactic activity suffers from the school organization which is articulated in multi-classes. The youth living in these villages are particularly disadvantaged because they can’t rely on cultural and recreative centers: the only place which gives them growth opportunities is school. In the various seats some laboratories during the afternoons have already been organized, in order to let the children spend more time at school doing stimulating activities. For some pupils the time to cover the way from home to school is long, beyond the possible difficulty in winter to reach the school seats due to abundant snow. Once the pupils’ first levels of school education is fulfilled, the great majority of students commute to the various high schools sited in Piacenza, the main town about 50-64 kilometres away. At the end of the high cycle, they can choose among a certain number of university courses in town or elsewhere

VIGOLZONE and PONTE DELL’OLIO are two medium-sized villages located in a partly plain and partly hilly environment in an agricultural, handcraft and industrial area. They comprise two primary and two secondary schools 1° sited a few kilometres from each other. A costantly increasing number of foreign families, mostly originating from East Europe and Africa, have lived and worked in this area for years; they have reached good levels of integration, yet willing to mantain their native cultures and traditions. Once the pupils’ first levels of school education is fulfilled, the great majority of students commute to the various high schools sited in Piacenza, the main town about 20 kilometres away. At the end of the high cycle, they can choose among a certain number of university courses in town or elsewhere. As for recreation, young people can enjoy the few but modern local sport facilities and cultural stimulations, while a job is to be searched for elsewhere.