The school hosts just under 500 students, spanning from kindergarten to Year 6.

The coordinator of the Italian program, Lynden Lawton, lived in Italy for several years as a child.

Lawton is also a teacher for Years 5 and 6, and has watched the school grow over the years.

In 2009, Yarralumla became one of only three primary schools in the territory to offer a bilingual program.

The school adopted the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach to teaching Italian.

“There’s an extensive amount of literature on the subject,” Lawton explained.

“The approach is backed by a great deal of research and supported by lots of material.

“The research done in the last 15 to 20 years has demonstrated how successful this method can be.

“CLIL is strongly rooted in visual learning, a method which is preferred by most children.”

Teachers undergo continuous development throughout the year, to ensure that they are up to date with the latest techniques and are covering the entire curriculum across both languages.

“Some subjects are taught in Italian while others are taught in English, especially those where the linguistic or conceptual part could represent an obstacle,” Lawton continued.

“The children learn arithmetic in English, while geometry, measurements and statistics are taught in Italian, because they’re more visual.

“History is also studied in English, as the major focus throughout primary school is Australian history.”

Simultaneously learning a language and assimilating concepts across a linguistic divide is no easy feat, but bilingualism comes with a range of benefits.

“Bilingualism offers these children the ability to think outside the box and tackle problems in an innovative way,” Lawton said.

“This approach sees children grow into adults who are capable of pushing boundaries and are used to thinking in an unconventional way.

“Students learn that a language is an integral part of the culture it represents and can be a tool to interpret cultural differences.

“It also helps them to understand Italian geography, history and literature.”

Though many of the children enrolled in the bilingual school are from families with Italian heritage, most do not speak the language at home.

The school has an excellent relationship with the Italian Embassy, which supports the primary institution by organising activities and collaborations.

Before the pandemic, various celebrations and gatherings were organised, including events for the Festa della Reppublica, and a festival dedicated to the Italian community.

Although the school’s vast array of initiatives has been suspended during the pandemic, it is hoped that they will resume next year, especially the Italian exchange program with Scanzorosciate, in Bergamo.

“Since 2012, we have organised a visit to a primary school in Scanzorosciate every two years, where our pupils attended classes with their Italian peers and were hosted by Italian families,” Lawton said.

The students, who are accompanied by their parents, have the opportunity to live with Italians, improve their language, and get to know the culture of the Bel Paese up close.

The Yarralumla teachers run English classes for the Italian students, and while the Australian pupils are in class, parents engage in tours and cultural activities.

“We can’t wait to be able to restart this exchange program, which has been so successful that we’d like to do it every year,” Lawton concluded.

In 2022, Yarralumla will host three trainee teachers from the University of Bergamo, who will assist teaching staff for three months.