When I came to see Keynes Institute in person for the first time, I was struck by the place and the feeling of welcome and well-being that it exuded. It immediately seemed to me like a place where I could easily feel at home; a school where I found teachers who were empathetic, passionate, and genuinely interested in each and every pupil; where pupils felt free to express themselves, looking at their diversity as an asset; where everyone, from a true heart, felt happy to come together; whereacademic excellence was an expectation but was evidently rooted in a supportive environment where every pupil mattered. Indeed, I immediately felt at home because there, for me, it was truly home. Today, as a principal, recalling the history of people (the best ones I have encountered in my life journey), those qualities of the school I see again and they affect me every day. And they certainly strike all visitors to the Keynes Institute.
Michele Li Vecchi,
General Manager
We will succeed in achieving the goals:
By nurturing our community of pupils--adults and non-adults--who know what they want from their school, outside and inside the classroom; by providing the best opportunities for our pupils to expand their horizons, intellectually and socially, emotionally and creatively, spiritually and philosophically; by building an environment where each individual involved is in a community that respects others, is trustworthy and recognizes merit where everyone finds support and dedication; by encouraging responsibility and competence; intellectual honesty, pride and passion; by promoting determination, flexibility and adaptability; kindness and consideration of others; by fostering in our pupils the confidence, curiosity, autonomy and wisdom to best approach the future steps of their lives.
We want our pupils to learn, emerge and build their future. Our school gathers around the value of respect, where diversity, which we call variety, is considered an asset. A place where the multiple intelligences and talents of the individual are the starting point for building a path to success that respects the pupil and his or her learning time.
We encourage all our students to walk the road of self-knowledge, explaining how making mistakes and learning from them is a vital part of the educational process. We address the emotional development of the student, which is, now more than ever, a fundamental part of our work. As a result of this, our students, at the end of their course, leave school having acquired skills of the highest level and having, above all, an awareness of themselves and their place in the world after school. Most students continue their studies in Italian and foreign universities, especially Anglo-Saxon ones.
The school was founded by a group of experts in Anglo-Saxon education under the pedagogical guidance of Prof. Biagio Li Vecchi, a leading figure in the world of education in Italy. The experience accumulated over more than 50 years of work has made it possible to create a modern institute with an approach centered on the needs of the individual student. On the site that has been home to the Handmaids for 100 years, the city's historic educational center, Keynes Institute, a secular school that welcomes students of all faiths and students of no faith, run by the International Schools Society, was founded in 2016. At Keynes, Italian and foreign students and teachers meet every day; a mix that fosters openness to the world and to the most diverse cultures. The friendliest and most sincere welcome is reserved for all of them.