Even by the standards of the Covid era, Tor Del Federico, now principal of Southlands British International School in Rome, has had an eventful couple of years.
In January 2020, as coronavirus burst into our consciousness, she was happily leading the British School Yangon, Myanmar, and enjoying the challenge and buzz of living in an “amazing country”.
But as Covid arrived, just seven months into her post, her exciting new life was turned upside down. “We were advised by the embassy to leave if we could,” she said.
“Yangon is an amazing place but when the possibility of medical air evacuation became doubtful it was very difficult for my husband and me to subject our children to that.”
“Del Federico was running a school with teachers and pupils everywhere from Brisbane to Wales, London to Phuket and Yangon.”
So in March 2020, Del Federico and her family left the country, to run the school remotely from a sister school in Thailand. Many other staff and students left at the same time with the same concerns, so she was running a school with teachers and pupils everywhere from Brisbane to Wales, London to Phuket, and of course Yangon.
“We had teachers and students literally across every time zone,” says Del Federico, “The response from everybody was astonishing.”
“Moving to Italy seemed natural as her husband was born in Rome and she was keen for her children to connect with their Italian roots.”
As the school year drew to a close, she made the decision to move back to Europe, taking up the job at Southlands British International School last September. It seemed like a natural move as her husband was born in Rome and she was keen for her children to connect with their Italian roots.
Despite ongoing Covid restrictions, she has embarked on a programme of changes at Southlands to enhance its appeal as a distinctly British international school, offering much of the flavour of British independent schools.
Established in 1976 the school was bought by Globeducate in 2018. It is now part of their growing cluster of specialist British international schools in Europe – Globeducate British International Schools (GBIS).
As the other schools in this cluster are doing, she has already established a house system, and the development of the sports and outdoors offer is a strong focus.
“These are the ingredients that combine to help students to become articulate, confident young men and women.”
She says: “I have always worked in really great independent schools either in the UK or internationally and I believe in what they do: the attention to the co-curricular alongside the academic, the house system, the focus on student leadership and student voice, sport, drama, arts. These are the ingredients that combine to help students to become articulate, confident young men and women and get where they want to in the world.”
“I saw a real opportunity at Southlands because we have a beautiful campus on the outskirts of Rome, 10 minutes from the sea at Ostia, five minutes from the pine forests, with acres of green space around.” It is a perfect base for a great sport and outdoor adventure and education offer.
“He’s going to be absolutely brilliant at getting our kids out on the water, into the forest, doing all of these things that make the difference in an education.”
The school has already created an adventure sports programme, and Del Federico has recruited a kayaking expert who has come over from Singapore to take the lead on it.
“He’s going to be absolutely brilliant at getting us out on the water, into the forest, orienteering and learning new skills.
“We piloted it with surfing and trail biking last summer. It was a joy to see the students off site and really pushing themselves and that will continue to grow in the year ahead,” she says.
The school launched its new “British International School” identity this month. For students and parents at the school, this progressive approach based on British education, traditions and values will further broaden opportunities for pupils. They will take part in things such as cultural exchanges, online summits, events and pilot programmes with other schools in the cluster and with other Globeducate schools.
Along with more than 55 schools in the group, Southlands benefits from a global partnership with WWF and is on a journey to become an “eco-school”. Extra-curricular sports, activities, and outdoor learning form a key element of the values of the new cluster, which have been aligned around four central “pillars”: Enrich, Challenge, Shape, Achieve.
“Parents looking for a great school expect those extra elements, and it’s these kinds of opportunities that GBIS schools offer that really do make the difference: we shape character as well as achieving excellent academic results,” says Del Federico.
“I did white-water rafting, with the graduating class and of course, I was the only one who fell out of the raft.”
Del Federico worked for four years as a vice principal at Collège Alpin Beau Soleil in the Swiss Alps, which, she says, had an outdoor education programme designed to help children learn to “dig deep” in adversity.
She notes that it is important to “lead from the front” and whilst in Switzerland she got stuck into many adventurous activities in order to set a positive example to other staff and students.
“I have hiked across mountain ridges, run up icy pistes and cross country skied by torchlight. We did white-water rafting with the graduating class, and of course, I was the only one who fell out of the raft. I also completed a paddle boarding instructor course with the PE department, ending in an open water assessment that was fairly terrifying for an English teacher by profession.
“That’s the thing about having a really great team: you learn with and from your colleagues, whilst having fun and being pushed out of your own comfort zone.”
At the same time as Southlands introduces a British-style holistic education with the emphasis on the academic, co-curricular and pastoral sides, Del Federico stresses the international and Italian aspects of the school are still extremely important and highly valued.
From Year 1 through to Year 9 bilingual students can choose to follow the Italian ministerial programme alongside the English national curriculum.
“We take the best from both educational worlds and package it into something that is really wonderful for our children.”
“It’s quite challenging as the children complete the Italian and international English curricula so they do need to have the level of language to keep up with those demands,” says Del Federico.
Alongside improvement to the co-curricular offer, the school is developing its curriculum, including introducing classics, which seems apt for a school on the outskirts of Rome.
A new “past, present, future” programme will help secondary school pupils connect with the ancient Roman world and use that local knowledge to look at the global context of modern Italy.
Lower down the school in Early Years, the team have introduced a more dynamic play-based and child -centred approach to learning, aiming to foster independence and cultivate curiosity. Through sensory play, plenty of outdoor learning and carefully crafted practical opportunities, the youngest Southlands students are encouraged to strengthen their communication skills, teamwork and creativity.
It’s a packed programme which promises to raise the profile of the school and appeal to both international and Italian parents.
Del Federico’s sense of adventure and energy are clear from her CV, and as Southlands relaunches under the “British international” label, it is clearly set to benefit from a leader who has tested herself time and again.