Brindisi model for foreign education in the South

As of March 2025, Apulia also has its first foreign school: the International School in Brindisi, which started its teaching activities on 1 September and, as of 17 October, has also been recognised by MIM for the purposes of compulsory education.

The Isb is the first international school created south of Naples. A reality organised on the American model (small classes, continuous dialogue with parents, individualised support, integration of families into the school community) and designed primarily for the needs of the diplomatic personnel stationed in the two hubs in the Brindisi area: the Ungsc, the Global Logistics Services Centre for Peacekeeping operating at the local military airport, and the World Food Programme logistics hub set up at the former USAF base in San Vito dei Normanni. But it could also be of interest to managers of the industrial cluster that reaches as far as Taranto and involves, for example, Leonardo, Vestas and Lockheed Martin.

The objectives

The premise behind the Brindisi international school is that it is unlikely that a Danish engineer or an American manager would decide to move without first having properly planned their children’s education. It is precisely in Brindisi that a European school has existed for over ten years, but it is a public institute and follows Italian ministerial programmes, with teachers hired through rankings and so on. Isb, on the other hand,’ explains chief operating officer and co-founder, Carmela D’Angelo, ‘is founded as a social enterprise and is based on the US curriculum and method (Common Core and Aero Standards), with internationally recruited teachers and a competency-based teaching approach. It is 100 per cent self-financing with tuition fees ranging from EUR 8,500 to EUR 15,200 depending on the level of education and corporate rates for companies, international organisations, diplomatic bodies and multinationals.

The International School in Brindisi currently hosts 50 students spread over five age groups: pre-k (early childhood), lower primary (5-7 years), upper primary (8-10 years), middle school (11-13 years) and high school (14-18 years). An organisation typical of international schools, which allows the younger ones to benefit from the mentoring of the older ones and the latter to improve through teaching the younger ones. The staff consists of 14 teachers and teaching assistants, all native speakers or bilinguals.

The Outlook

Looking ahead, assures D’Angelo, the aim is to reach ’80 students by the end of the school year and create a waiting list. The goal,’ he adds, ‘is not only to educate the children of international professionals, but to prove that Southern Italy can attract and retain global talent. The school is the lever that unlocks investment and creates stable residency, transforming a service infrastructure into an economic multiplier for the entire territory’.