ᐅ Primary School in Fino Mornasco ᐅ International School of Como

Leading International Elementary Education in Como

IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) - Ages 6 to 10

At our international Primary School in Fino Mornasco, Como, pupils receive a truly future-ready, globally-focused education through the renowned IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). Delivered in English, the PYP framework sets a solid foundation for the remaining IB programmes at ISC, offering a student-centred approach to teaching, academic excellence, and learning through inquiry.

Alongside our international curriculum, pupils can study subjects from the Italian national curriculum by choosing the Italian Strand option from Grade 2.

Our Primary School in Como is divided into two sections: Lower Elementary (Grades 2-3) and Upper Elementary (Grades 4-6). By the end of Elementary School, pupils are well-prepared for a seamless transition to subsequent educational stages, equipped with essential life skills to thrive in our fast-paced, globalised world.

Why Our Primary Education in Como, Fino Mornasco?

We are the sole IB school in Como, offering the IB Continuum programmes, including the PYP. Our Primary education in Como not only imparts essential knowledge but also nurtures key 21st-century skills such as an entrepreneurial mindset, practical study strategies, effective time management, bilingual proficiency in English and Italian, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and leadership.

The Primary Years curriculum is enriched with a variety of co-curricular opportunities for students to explore their interests and cultivate talents, including robotics, creative writing, music, Russian language, and participation in the student council or the NISSA International Schools sports league across Italy and Switzerland, where our Primary students are undefeated.

With exceptional teachers, a diverse curriculum, and strong learning support, all Primary pupils are prepared to excel in the PYP and beyond, ensuring a seamless transition to Middle School and establishing a solid foundation for lifelong success.

Elementary School Curriculum

IB Primary Years Programme

As an IB World School, our Elementary education follows the IB Primary Years Programme’s transdisciplinary framework, adapted to the Italian context. A transdisciplinary approach to learning involves integrating knowledge and skills from multiple subjects to address common themes or problems. This methodology promotes a more comprehensive understanding and application of concepts across subjects, encouraging pupils to draw connections between different areas of study and apply their learning to real-world situations.

Additionally, by employing an inquiry-based learning approach, the Primary Years Programme engages and challenges students with diverse perspectives, values, cultural backgrounds, and languages, all while respecting our local Italian context through the inclusion of an Italian Language Programme. As a result, Primary pupils in our Elementary School in Como achieve exceptional learning outcomes and are well-prepared to excel in the next academic stages, whether pursuing the IB pathway or the Italian curriculum.

Elementary School Subjects

Our Primary students explore a wide range of disciplines from Grades 2 to 6, including Language, Mathematics, Italian, Arts, Performance, Computing, Physical Education, and Dance. These subjects are also integrated into the IB PYP Units of Inquiry, creating rich transdisciplinary connections between them. This approach ensures that students recognise the real-world applications of everything they learn.

Best Practices from Globally Recognised Curricular

Our Elementary School education in Como integrates elements from leading international programmes into the Primary syllabus:

English Programme: Supported by 'Read, Write Inc Phonics', 'Oxford PYP Grammar', and the Oxford Owl Reading Programme.
Maths Programme: Complemented by Oxford PYP Mathematics resources.

These inquiry-based resources fully align with the PYP approach, offering comprehensive coverage of our curriculum.

Italian Programme

In Elementary School, the Italian programme prepares students to engage with the local context and to take the 5° Elementare external examinations in Language and Mathematics in Grade 6. Recognising the significance of Italian in our local and cultural setting, we ensure an ideal level of differentiation for Italian lessons in our international Primary School. Each grade is divided into three groups during Italian lessons: Italian B (Italian as an Additional Language) and two levels of Italian A (Language Proficiency).

Grade 6 Exhibition

The IB Primary Years Programme culminates in the Grade 6 Exhibition, where students integrate a diverse range of subject knowledge around a topic of personal interest. This inquiry-based learning experience helps them demonstrate their research and communication skills by giving a TED Talk-style presentation to the school community. The Grade 6 exhibition is a great opportunity for students to showcase what they have learned and practise their public speaking abilities.

Fostering 21st Century Skills from the Primary Years

Through the IB framework, our Primary students develop a wide range of key future-ready skills which will boost their performance in the subsequent academic stages and contribute to lifelong success. As well as learning subject-specific competencies, they acquire transdisciplinary skills that go beyond individual subjects:

Thinking skills - including independent, critical thinking, analytical thinking, and creative thinking.
Research skills - including formulating questions, observing, planning, collecting and recording data, organising and interpreting data, and presenting research findings.
Communication skills – listening, speaking, reading, writing, and non-verbal communication.
Self-management skills – gross and fine motor skills, spatial awareness, organisation, time management, safety, a healthy lifestyle, codes of behaviour and making informed choices.
Social skills – accepting responsibility, respecting others, cooperating, resolving conflict, group decision-making, and adopting a variety of group roles.

Primary School Assessment

From Grades 4 to Grade 6, standardised assessments - GL Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT4) and Progress Tests (PT Series) in English and Maths help us enable every student to realise their full potential by taking a ‘whole student view’ which takes into account ability to achieve, current attainment, and any barriers to learning. Progress Tests help accurately measure how our school and our students are performing in English and Maths compared with their peers internationally - and measure year-on-year progress.

Languages in Our Primary School

In our Primary school in Como, all classes are taught in English except for the Italian language lessons. We offer English immersion with native teachers, equipping students to become bilingual in English and Italian. All students study Italian from ages 5 to 16, either as a language acquisition course or as a literature subject.

Primary School Facilities

Our modern campus offers 10,000 m² of exceptional indoor and outdoor facilities, including a dedicated Primary Years section tailored to the learning needs of children aged 6 to 10. With spacious classrooms and playground areas for outdoor learning, Primary pupils benefit from a wide range of resources designed to stimulate problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills.

Primary learners have access to three fully equipped science labs, a Primary arts studio, a drama studio, an auditorium for performances and presentations, a Primary music classroom, a multi-sports field, and a cafeteria serving nutritious home-cooked meals, helping teach our young pupils the importance of a healthy diet.

Aligned with our commitment to providing the best learning experience for our pupils, we are currently expanding our campus to include additional specialist teaching spaces for visual and performing arts, sports (including a football pitch, and a gym), and twelve new classrooms.

Primary School Teachers

Our Primary teachers are highly qualified, experienced, and committed educators. All of them are native English speakers, with many being bilingual or multilingual. They adapt their teaching to the diverse educational environments and needs of our pupils, fostering the best learning outcomes while creating an inclusive, international community of high-performing learners.

Activities in Primary School

Pupils in our Primary School in Como benefit from a varied enrichment programme. Learners are encouraged to become involved in many action projects throughout their PYP years, including the student council, social justice, social entrepreneurship, advocacy, and lifestyle choices initiatives. They can also participate in a diverse after-school programme with activities spanning music, sports, drama, an extensive range of personal interest clubs, and homework supervision for one hour after school on most days. Clubs vary yearly and typically run from 3:50 pm to 4:50 pm. Please refer to co curricular programme page for more information.

Co-Curricular Programme

Discover how our leading international Primary education in Como can build a foundation for lifelong academic and personal success.

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