A six-year-old girl named Aysha is set to become the sole pupil at what is believed to be Europe's smallest school, in the isolated hamlet of Ginostra on the Italian island of Stromboli. The village's original primary school closed two decades ago as its population dwindled to around 40 residents, but local authorities have agreed to reopen it after Aysha's parents warned they would otherwise be forced to leave, since she would have had to travel to a school on the neighbouring island of Lipari.

The single-classroom school, housed in a building owned by the local Catholic parish, opens on 10 September. Ginostra has no roads linking it to the rest of Stromboli, with access only by boat, and it is often cut off by rough seas. Mayor Riccardo Gullo called the reopening "a sign of solidarity" for the isolated community, while parish priest Father Nino Pirrotta said schools serve as a community focus, not just a place of learning. Aysha's parents, Monica Abbate and Raffa Bazine, say their daughter is happy despite being the only student.