Who we are
SAINT DENIS SCHOOL IS A HISTORIC INSTITUTION THAT HAS BEEN OFFERING EDUCATION
TO CHILDREN OF FAMILIES BASED IN TURIN
FOR OVER 40 YEARS.
Saint Denis School opened at the end of the seventies at the foothills of Turin, with a pioneering objective to provide a curriculum in both Italian and English to the city. The historic first historic location was opened in 1981 in the area locally called “Crimea” beside the river Po, in Corso Moncalieri 52a. Later, a second location was opened in a beautiful historical building in the heart of the centre of Turin.
C.so Moncalieri 52/a, 10133 Torino
Saint Denis School is both a bi-lingual Nursery charter school (Italian and English) and a Primary charter school specialized in languages (Italian, English and French).
The educational project set up in the early years is then continued in Saint Denis Middle School, an international charter middle school.
Saint Denis School welcomes children of many nationalities and cultures in a happy and friendly environment. There is an international, cosmopolitan atmosphere thanks to the daily presence of many native-speaking English and French teachers, alongside Italian teachers who graduated in languages and have taught abroad.
Our School is a qualified CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: our pupils have the opportunity to obtain a double certification for the skills they have acquired (Italian Ministry of Education certificate and University of Cambridge Assessment certificate).
In the Nursery School the school curriculum is taught in English, by native-speakers throughout the morning, for a total of 20 hours per week, while the afternoon activities are taught in Italian.
In Primary School the students will learn from a combination of subjects syllabuses as proposed by Cambridge Assessment and others which follow Italian ministerial program for a total of 13-15 hours in English per week (lessons are a full 60 minutes).
Alongside these English language hours, students will also have 1-2 hours per week of French lessons.
Middle School students will have 14 weekly English language lesson hours, and 2 in French.
Pupils learn not only to develop a civil consciousness in respecting rules, themselves, and others, but will also be introduced to the joys of “learning how to learn”, as outlined by the European Parliament Reccomendation of 2006.
The school is open from Monday to Friday from 7.30 to 18.30 (a total of 55 hours a week).
Each school day is structured in a way that aims to be harmonious and balanced for all.
The national curriculum indicated by the Italian Ministry of Education is adhered to in all sections of the school, while adopting a more personalised approach in order to keep in mind any learning necessities that may arise in the individual student. This is reflected in the school’s Triennial Educational Plan.
We pay particular attention to the continuity of our educational project: the students are closely followed through transitional moments as they move from nursery school to primary school and again when they start middle school.
Further to the school curriculum, we organise recreational afternoon activities and language support sessions (we are a certified CAMBRIDGE and DELF institution), as well as school trips and excursions.
Every year we also aim to organize a seaside holiday, a study trip to England and the Summer School, which is open to children from other schools as well as our own.
Saint Denis School has been recognised for its work within the ‘Schools Friends to Boys and Girls’ project promoted by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education
On December 5th 2015, Turin’s Director of Education awarded Saint Denis School a merit certificate for the MIUR-UNICEF project ‘Verso una Scuola Amica’ (‘School as Our Friend’). We were the only private school in the city to be awarded this commendation.
This merit award, as explained by Dr. Stefano Suraniti, director of the provincial education office in Turin, is given to the teachers providing motivation to students, working with enthusiasm and efficiency by acquiring knowledge, skills and competencies concerning the objectives of sustainable development.
The school has once again decided to take part in this project for the current school year. The topics relating to the 2030 agenda will be analysed and some of the 17 sustainable objectives will be taken into consideration, as well as the practical methods and strategies that each one of us can adopt to achieve them.
Why choose Saint Denis School?
– It has a truly unique history within Turin’s educational panorama: we are the only institution in the city that is able to boast about over forty years of experience in the field of teaching as a bilingual school (Italian-English). Furthermore, the trilingual program adopted in the last ten years (Italian-English-French) has demonstrated to be of outstanding success for our students.
– Our classrooms are fully equipped to enable the implementation of an intercultural educational project based on language-oriented teaching, while
respecting Italian culture, methods and peculiarities.
– Our Triennial Educational Project marries European and international educational ideals with the Italian Ministry curriculum.
– The “fields of experience” during a child’s kindergarten experience and the “core curriculum subjects” of the primary school are taught in Italian, and adhere to the requirements regarding the number of teaching hours as stipulated by the Italian Ministry of Education.
– We combine an Italian education experience with a further two foreign languages.
– We boast an “enhanced staff” made up of teachers from the three departments (Italian, English and French) which promotes multi-cultural learning and allows the implementation of laboratory activities, group work, remedial and in-depth initiatives, educational outings and educational trips in Italy and abroad.
– Saint Denis School aims to undertake the most innovative educational methodologies alongside more traditional teaching methods.
– Each student aims to finish their primary school years with the ability to converse and interact in two foreign languages, both in written and spoken form (Cambridge KET for Enflish and A1 Delf Prim for French), as well as prepare them for the challenge of middle school.
– Our campuses are both in buildings of historical and scenic value: one at the foot of a hill on the banks of the river Po, surrounded by greenery, while the other in the heart of the city centre, between piazza Carlina and Maria Teresa and surrounded by museums and other historical landmarks.
– Its bright, spacious classrooms, which have been evaluated to adhere with the highest standards of health and safety.
for over 40 years Saint Denis School has been the face of bilingualism in Turin
For further information please contact us at info@saintdenisschool.it!