The School System

Schooling in Massa-Carrara is structured along the lines of the national system.

Various levels are foreseen:
Infant school (under 6 years)
Primary school (from 6 to 10 years)
Grade I Secondary School (from 11 to 13 years)
Grade II Secondary School (from 14 to 18 years)
University (from 19 to 23 years)

While the first three levels are substantially the same in all institutes, starting from Grade II Secondary School students can specialize in various different kinds of studies.
Scholastic structures can be public or private.
Art. 1 section 3 of the Legislative Ordinance 76/2005 guarantees the right/duty ‘of instruction and formation for at least twelve years until obtaining a minimum three-year qualification by the eighteenth year of age’. Compulsory education therefore lasts at least until eighteen years of age. According to the same ordinance, the exercise of that right is not subject to enrolment fees or attendance in state institutions.
There are no restrictions on nationality: students coming from every country can attend any institute, on condition that their position is regular in a legal sense. In order to have a general idea about the structure of the scholastic system, we advise foreign nationals to have a look at the link www.study-in-italy.it.

The schools in the province

Students in the province of Massa-Carrara can count on 190 state institutes (including separate branches) subdivided into 60 Infant Schools, 77 Primary Schools, 24 Grade I Secondary Schools and 29 Grade II Secondary Schools. Among these, apart from the Grade II Schools specializing in Classical languages and the Sciences, there are many different professional and technical institutes that provide vocational directives of a high level. State schools are flanked by a series of private institutes (principally infant and primary schools).

On a local level, university level education is represented by the Academy of fine Arts which welcomes university students from all over the world in the artistic subjects treated there (sculpture, painting, scenography …) You can find further information on the site www.accademiacarrara.it

These proposals for education are completed by the presence of 4 University poles placed in a radius of little more than 100 kilometres (Pisa, Florence, Parma and Genoa). In the pole in Pisa, less than 50 kilometres away, there are three Universities with numerous study courses in the various scientific, technological, literary and economic sectors. The Scuola Normale Superiore, the Scuola Superiore di S. Anna are part of this pole, and, alongside the CNR and other University Institutes, they represent top level structures for study and research. A list including all useful references is available on the site of the Ministry of Instruction, University and Research: www.istruzione.it/anagrafica_scuole/statali.shtml.

The site of the University of Pisa: www.unipi.it

Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna: www.sssup.it

Scuola Normale Superiore: www.sns.it

Enrolment procedures

Enrolment at Infant School and at every type and grade of school are generally open until the month of January. For more detailed and specific information you are advised to contact the secretary’s office of each institute, where you will find more exact particulars.
The basic forms are available from the Ministry of Instruction, Research and the University and students entering the first class of II Grade Secondary School can enrol online using the procedures present on the Ministry’s web site itself.