I.T.S. Blaise Pascal - Reggio Emilia

I.T.S. Blaise Pascal ( Reggio Emilia, Italy )

The Istituto Blaise Pascal is an experimental high school situated in Reggio Emilia a city of 140,000 inhabitants in the Po Valley area of Northern Italy. The school’s pupils are aged 14-19. Like other high schools in Italy it offers a five year course of studies. In the first two years all pupils follow a common curriculum with a few optional subjects. In the final three years pupils have a choice of four different courses:

1. Foreign Languages 2. Computer Studies 3. Science
4. Artistic and Cultural Studies

Each course of studies leads to a different high school diploma. With this diploma pupils can continue their studies at the university faculty of their choice. At present the school has a total of about 750 pupils.

The school was founded as an experimental school within the Italian state school system in 1974 and its present course structure was developed in the following two years. Although like other schools it offers a five year course of studies leading to the high school diploma examination, its present course structure does not fit into one of the standard categories of Italian high schools.

The school would never have been founded had it not been for the hard work of a group of dedicated teachers who worked closely together with the first headmaster in the initial development of the project. The following factors were instrumental in the decision to found the school:

1. The desire to experiment with a different kind of school organisation and teaching methods in the wake of the 1968 student protest movement.

2. The desire to give pupils an all-round education in their first two years of high school so that they will be better equipped to make responsible choices regarding the courses to follow in their final three years of high school and beyond.

The school seeks to promote:

1. Pupil-centred learning

2. All-round education

3. Good relationships between teachers and pupils

4. Team teaching

5. Objective assessment

Teaching methods

1. Laboratory work (language, scientific and technical) is a vital part of the learning process in all areas of study.

2. Team teaching is the norm. Teachers meet weekly to plan their work and all the classes at the same level share the same course content, teaching and learning objectives. They are also given the same tests which, as far as possible, are marked using the same criteria.

3. Pupils who have difficulty are given help in special remedial courses held at the beginning of the school year, during each term and alongside their normal lessons