‘Vanishing like glaciers’: plunging birthrate threatens Italian schools

If the fall in the birthrate continues at the current pace, government figures forecast 1.4 million fewer students aged between three and 18 by 2034. Photograph: Sipa US/Alamy

For centuries, the infant school in Champorcher, in the Aosta Valley, has been an integral component of the community, with the sound of children’s voices in the playground providing a beacon of hope for the mountain village’s survival.

In September last year, however, the school fell eerily silent. It was forced to close after just two pupils enrolled.