EU Pays £1m to Train Italian
Showgirls at 'School for Bimbos'

by Bruce Johnston

A "School for Soubrettes" that teaches young Italian women the not-so-subtle skills needed to become television games hostesses and showgirls has opened near Naples, backed by generous European Union funding.

The programme at the First Tel School has prompted a political storm over the EU's willingness to put £1 million into what critics say is a "course for bimbos".

There has been no shortage of interest from potential pupils, however, given that Italy's television networks are awash with programmes featuring scantily clad female assistants. About 1,200 women - and a handful of young men - applied for the 97 places on the eight month course when it was advertised in the summer.

Under the terms of the EU grant, students must be at least 18, unemployed and come from the Campania region - renowned throughout Italy for the beauty of its women. They will be taught diction, show presenting, make-up, singing, dancing, acting, and the history of cinema and the theatre.

Dino Giordano, one of the school's founders, said it was aimed at equipping students for a wider career than that pursued by mere bimbos. "They are being thrown in at the deep end but it will give them a head start in show business," he said last week. Some pupils, though, seem to have less ambitious objectives. "I want to be famous, rich and marry a footballer," declared Simona Toto, a diminutive blonde.

The school, in Frattamaggiore near Naples, attracted "structural funding" from Brussels - channelled through the local, Left wing regional council - because it is one of the EU's most economically backward areas. Unemployment among young people is 50 per cent.

Some of the EU funding will go directly to the students who will receive 2.07 euros (1.44) for each class they attend. Yet the grant has come under attack from local media and members of Silvio Berlusconi's conservative-led coalition.

"It is totally incomprehensible the way the region is blowing European funds that are meant for training schemes to help develop the area and so create jobs," complained Antonio Pezzella, the MP for Frattamaggiore.

He questioned why show business was being given priority in an area where there was greater need for more traditional skills such as tailoring. "Instead of creating a serious labour policy (the council) is merely putting on a show."

Pietro Vittorelli, a co-founder of the school, said that it had already built a studio set and made a dummy programme of Quiz lotto, a typical Italian games show, which it was trying to sell to television. "It's not just a school, it's an industry," he said.

One student, Antonella Sacchettino, 19, who is taking time off studying at a local university to attend, said, "It's a fantastic opportunity and I hope I enjoy myself, while to be able to get a job at the end of it would be ideal." One of the high flyers at the school auditions, she added, "I'm going to put everything I have into this. I don't want to be a velina (a bimbo). I'm interested in the world of show business."

PHILLIP DAY'S COMMENT: Britain's membership of the EU costs us £1.3 MILLION AN HOUR, with no appreciable benefit, save not having to change out the sterling when we smuggle all those 'duty-frees' back from the hypermarkets in Calais. And now a school for 'bimbos', eh? I rest easy knowing our money is being put to good use.