National Initiative Brings Diverse Sports to Italian Lower Secondary Schools

The 2025/2026 academic year has seen a significant push to integrate athletic practice into the Italian education system through the Scuola Attiva Junior project. This national initiative, designed specifically for lower secondary schools, aims to bridge the gap between formal education and physical activity, promoting a culture of movement and health among students during a critical stage of their development.

Led by Sport e salute S.p.A. And the Ministry of Education and Merit (MIM), the program operates in close coordination with the Minister for Sport and Youth via the Department for Sport of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. By involving National Sports Federations and Associated Sports Disciplines, the project ensures that students are not just exercising, but are introduced to structured sporting disciplines under professional guidance.

A Collaborative Effort for Youth Health

The architectural goal of Scuola Attiva Junior is the promotion of sport within the school environment to foster consistent motor and sporting practice. This represents not a standalone physical education requirement but a coordinated effort to expand the variety of sports students encounter. The partnership between the MIM and Sport e salute S.p.A. Allows schools to access resources and expertise that might otherwise be unavailable at the local level.

For the 2025/2026 cycle, the application window opened on October 20, 2025. While the initial deadline for school adherence was set for November 12, 2025, certain regions, including Veneto, saw extensions pushing the deadline to November 20, 2025. This flexibility ensured a broader range of educational complexes (plessi) could register using their specific mechanical codes to participate in the program.

More Than Just Athletics: The Educational Core

Beyond the physical benefits, the initiative focuses on the holistic development of the student. The program is designed to develop self-awareness and an understanding of individual aptitudes and capabilities. By introducing students to a wide array of sports, the project helps them develop informed decisions about which athletic paths they wish to pursue outside of school hours.

The core objectives include:

• Global Motor Development: Enhancing overall physical coordination and capacity, which serves as a foundation for all sporting activities.
• Inclusion and Integration: Using sport as a tool to improve student participation and social cohesion.
• Health Literacy: Spreading a culture of wellness that combines physical movement with nutritional education for students, teachers and the wider educational community.
• Fair Play: Educating students on honest and correct sporting behavior.

It is helpful to view this not merely as a sports program, but as a pedagogical tool. By improving conditional and coordinative capacities, the project aims to foster a lifelong habit of health and wellness.

From Padel to Orienteering: Implementation in the Field

The versatility of the Scuola Attiva Junior framework is evident in how different schools tailor the project to their local environment. A clear example of this implementation is seen at the Istituto Comprensivo “Udino Bombieri,” where the project runs from September 16, 2025, through June 6, 2026.

In this instance, the project is articulated as a multi-sport and educational path. Depending on the location, students engage in different disciplines: those in Solagna and Valstagna focus on Orienteering and roller sports, while students in Pove engage in padel. This localized approach allows schools to leverage regional strengths and facilities while still adhering to the national goals of the MIM and Sport e salute S.p.A.

By providing schools with the necessary know-how and specific tools, the project empowers physical education teachers to reintroduce these disciplines into the curriculum long after the formal project period ends.

The Framework for School Participation

To maintain organizational rigor, the project utilizes a dedicated portal for school adherence. For Comprehensive Institutes (Istituto Comprensivo) managing multiple lower secondary sites, the system allows for the registration of each individual site using its specific mechanical code. This ensures that the needs and student populations of different locations are accurately tracked and supported.

The 2025/2026 rollout is part of a broader strategy that includes other tiers of education, such as “Scuola Attiva Infanzia” for preschools and “Scuola Attiva Kids” for primary schools, creating a continuous pipeline of athletic engagement from early childhood through the start of adolescence.

The program is currently in its active phase, with various schools across Italy conducting their sports paths. The next major milestone for participating institutions is the conclusion of the academic project cycle, scheduled for June 2026.

Archysport will continue to monitor the outcomes of the Scuola Attiva Junior initiative as schools report their final results for the academic year.