International schools in Italy: prices, IB

When a family with children moves to Italy, after the first shock of enrolling in an ordinary school a second question almost always arises: should the child be sent to an international or private school - in English, with a recognized diploma, with a gentler entry into the new country. This article, based on the community, examines how a paid scuola internazionale differs from the free state scuola statale, what programs there are (IB, British, American, French, bilingual), roughly how much it costs, where such schools exist and how admission works. This is not legal advice and not advertising for specific schools: prices and conditions are a guide, verify the current details with the school itself and on official sources.

If you have not yet sorted out the basic, free system - how to enroll a child, what stages there are and why a place at a state school is owed to anyone - start with the practical guide on enrolling in kindergarten and school and the overview guide on school for foreign children. This article is about the paid alternative, which complements rather than replaces that system.

We are still at the very start of the journey, the child is seven, and after the move he has to go to school right away. I looked at international rates - roughly from eleven thousand and much higher per year, a serious figure. Just plunging the child straight into a local school with Italians is a bit scary, we want him to enter the language gradually - through Russian or at least through English. Maybe we are reasoning wrongly, but that is how we reason.

How an international and private school differs from a state one

The main fork is simple. The state scuola statale is free, runs entirely in Italian, and a place in it is owed to any child regardless of the family's status - which is exactly why most newcomers end up choosing it. The paid scuola internazionale (as well as private paritarie) charges money but teaches a significant part of the subjects in English.

An important point that immediately dispels a common misconception: an international school is not a "school for foreigners". According to the community, in many such schools the majority of pupils are citizens of Italy, and emigrant families are in the minority there. And one more thing: any school in Italy, whether state or international, is obliged to take the children through the entire mandatory Italian curriculum. The international one simply translates part of it into English and adds optional subjects. The ratio, according to the community, is roughly two-thirds of classes in English and a third in Italian, with more Italian in the lower grades and more English as the child gets older. Teaching in English-language schools is mainly by native speakers from Britain, the USA and Canada.

Private education in Italy is on the whole quite good. In international schools almost the entire teaching staff are British, Canadian, American. If you take the Italian-plus-English combination, the proportion is roughly one to two: the main language of instruction is English, but there is a lot of Italian, especially in the lower grades.

Accreditation: IB, A-level and just a private license

The first thing the community advises looking at when choosing is the accreditation, not ratings and regalia. There are essentially a few options.

• IB (International Baccalaureate) - an international standard, in existence for over half a century, thousands of accredited schools around the world, with the program split by age (effectively several programs for children from kindergarten age to graduation). The main plus: the IB diploma is recognized by universities and other schools without additional exams. That is, with it a child enters an Italian university without exams and transfers between schools without problems; with a diploma from an "ordinary" school, exams will most likely have to be taken.
• The British system (A-level / Cambridge, IGCSE) - an alternative to IB. According to the community, in A-level there are fewer subjects (three to four versus six in IB), but they are studied more deeply; there is no extended essay and no separate subject on the theory of knowledge, which exist in IB.
• Just a private license - of a British, Swiss, Catholic and similar school, without IB. The school is full-fledged, but without automatic recognition of the diploma.

It is useful to understand that Italian IB schools still run the mandatory Italian curriculum (they take the basic Italian one and teach it in English) - this comes in handy if you later want to transfer the child to an ordinary Italian school. But in the "classic" IB program there are almost no lessons in Italian: Italian there is taught rather as a foreign language. And one more nuance about exams: there is no single equivalent of a final state exam here, while intermediate exams in IB usually run from the lower grades a couple of times a year.

We settled on an online format with instruction in English - today you can choose both A-level and IB. For us this is above all the chance not to close the door for the next move: if something does not work out, both of these diplomas are accepted, including by Italian universities. That is calmer than being tied for good to one system in one country.

Separately about ratings. According to the community, you should treat the global "top IB schools" from the internet with caution: they are built only on data from those schools that voluntarily publish their graduates' results, the underlying IBO figures are closed, and a single objective rating simply does not exist. The community advice is to rely on the very fact of the needed accreditation, not on a place in someone's list, and to remember that exam scores do not answer most of the questions that really matter to a specific family.

How to choose: city, age, language, size

The selection algorithm, according to the community, is usually this.

1. City and district. Many families put the school first and choose the city to fit it. And here there is an important pattern: international schools are concentrated in the north and the center. The most options are in Milan and Rome, noticeably fewer in Florence, Turin, Genoa; south of Rome the choice is quite small. But in the north there is a whole "belt" of cities where almost everywhere you will find at least one school.

2. The child's age. Not every school is accredited to run education through graduation (age 18), and somewhere there may be no primary stage. A school "up to age 11" is essentially only primary (primaria), "up to 14" is middle school without the upper stage. So the child's age is often the very first filter.

3. Language and direction. Most often families look for English-language schools. In the large cities there is a choice of British and American ones - with their own program and often exclusively English instruction. But "language of instruction: English" on the site does not always mean a hundred percent English, so the real share is clarified in the section on the curriculum. There are also Italian international schools - an Italian program and language, but with advanced English and an emphasis on integrating foreigners.

4. Size and infrastructure. The community advises looking at how many pupils there are in the school and in the class (the fewer, the more personalized the teaching, which is important for foreign children), how large the share of foreigners is and what their origin is, whether language support is provided for those whose two languages - both English and Italian - are weak, as well as the presence of a uniform, clubs, a school bus, meals and the daily schedule.

We too aimed straight at an international school, building the choice of city around it. In the end our daughter is going into the first grade of an international one, and the geography itself was an added draw: about forty minutes by car to the sea, a couple of hours to the Alps, and in the city, because of the large university, almost everyone speaks English passably. So the school pulled the entire rest of the choice along with it.

How much it costs

The figures, according to the community, are a guide, not a price list, and depend heavily on the city, the stage and the specific school. Verify the current details with the school itself.

• Large cities (Milan and the like) - roughly 10-25 thousand euro per year and up.
• Smaller cities - you find it cheaper, roughly from 6 thousand euro.
• For the lower grades it is often a little cheaper, for the upper ones more expensive.
• Uniform, after-school care (studying until 16:00 - often basic, longer - for an extra charge) and meals may be separate.

Many schools do not post prices on the site, and that is normal: the price is clarified by email or phone, no one "inflates" it because of the question. According to the community, a frequent conclusion is that an English-language school exists, the language is not a problem, but a notional 20 thousand euro a year turns out to be unaffordable, and the family stays in the state system. So you should approach the expenses soberly already at the city-choosing stage.

My hands finally reached English for my six-year-old child, and I monitored the options in my city. A private chain school: lessons once a week for an hour, a play format, it comes out to about six hundred euro for half a year plus a one-off fee for enrollment and materials. And in parallel a course from the parents' association at an ordinary school

• a native speaker, a British school, the same once a week for an hour, but noticeably cheaper. We went to trial lessons at both; the child liked the school one more. The only thing I can compare it with is Moscow rates - and here it comes out cheaper, even in the private option.

Admission: testing, waiting lists, grade conversion

According to the community, getting into a good IB school is not always simple: there can be waiting lists, and a place is confirmed well in advance (for example, the application is submitted a year ahead, and confirmation comes closer to the start of the school year). The little ones (about 5-6 years old) are often taken without knowledge of the language, beyond that - through an interview and testing. For older children, on transfer the grades from the previous school are usually recalculated, including based on the results of an interview and tests, sometimes remotely, and with a lucky turn of events the year is not lost.

There is also an important nuance with teenagers and the number of years of study: Italian (and not only) universities may require a full 12 years of school, and with a Russian certificate these years may not be enough. So, according to the community, families with children who are aiming for IB or A-level are often advised to enter the system earlier - not only because of the years, but also because the basic principles of the program are laid down from the lower grades, and the last two years are the most demanding.

My daughter studies at an international school in Milan under the IB system, she transferred there at thirteen - the task was precisely to continue the international baccalaureate she had been studying for a couple of years back in Moscow. The entrance exams were taken in the form of an interview and tests over video link, the grades were converted without losing a year. Then she chose a creative direction, and ahead are the usual exams after the ninth grade. On the whole the transition turned out to be smooth.

The Russian language: weekend schools and online

A common question of newcomers is whether you can educate a child in Russian or "wait it out" in a Russian school. According to the community, the answer is this: it does not replace a full Italian school. Education in Italy is mandatory, and the child is by law enrolled in an Italian school; studying remotely in a Russian school "instead" is not an option if you are already enrolled in the system.

But Russian is supported in parallel:

• Weekend schools (usually Saturday) - people go there for the language, reading, writing and the connection with the culture; the programs are often "for bilinguals". The payment benchmark, according to the community, is about 30 euro per study day, and the load can be tangible, because the program is compressed into a few hours once a week.
• Online schools and lessons for bilinguals - a flexible format, some combine them with the Saturday school.
• The school at the embassy - according to the community, the only one that issues a Russian-format certificate, but it is an ordinary school with in-person attendance, and getting in is hard because of the large number of applicants.

Whether to keep up Russian in parallel at all depends, according to the community, on the goals: if a return is possible or it is important to preserve the language in a bilingual family, many continue; if the priority is quick adaptation in Italy, then at first the child's main resource goes to the new language anyway, and psychologists who work with emigrants advise not to overdo the additional load in the first year.

The child (almost seven) started going to a Russian school on Saturdays, into the first grade. A program for bilinguals: conversation, reading, writing, logic; there is homework, but a little. There are about five people in the class so far, and so far he likes it, even though he has to sit down at a desk on Saturday. But by the end of the second year of life here, Italian already seeps in from everywhere, even at home Italian little words slip out, so we decided to support Russian deliberately. We pay about thirty euro per study day.

State or international: how to weigh it

There is no universal answer, according to the community, and that is normal. Briefly the pros and cons.

The state (free) scuola statale. Pros: it costs nothing, a place is owed to anyone, strong immersion in Italian and quick integration, there is modest language support and the option to replace the religion lesson with extra Italian. Cons: everything is in Italian from day one, which is hard at first; the quality and atmosphere depend heavily on the specific school and teachers; there are no ratings of state schools in Italy, according to the community, so you have to choose "blindly" and by reviews.

The international (paid) scuola internazionale. Pros: instruction in English and a smooth entry into the language, a recognized diploma (especially with IB), as a rule a smaller class and more attention, easier to keep a further move open. Cons: expensive (according to the community, a private school is manageable for a minority of families), stronger in the large cities, there can be waiting lists, and uniform and after-school care are often paid separately.

What to actually rely on - the budget, the goal (to stay in Italy or to keep options open), the child's age and their readiness for the language. And perhaps the main point, according to the community: however you compare schools by metrics, it is decided not by status and regalia but by the specific teachers who work with the child every day - and that is almost impossible to assess without a personal visit and conversation.

I would not idealize either option. Many in the chat have just arrived and are going through the initial stages of adaptation, and far from every family can afford a private school. I personally am setting myself up to think that the ordinary school will be liked and everything will work out; and if not - we will figure it out as we go. I do not idealize the state school, but I do not write it off either.

If benefits matter - free meals, textbook compensation, a school bus, child allowances - they are tied to the ISEE/DSU certificate and are available above all in the state system: this is one more factor in favor of the ordinary school for families on a limited budget.

Official sources

• istruzione.it - the Ministry of Education: the mandatory curriculum, the school calendar, the general rules of school education (including for private and paritarie schools).

Related articles

• Enrolling a child in kindergarten and school - a practical guide to iscrizione, documents, deadlines and portals for the free state school.
• School and kindergarten for foreign children - an overview guide: the stages, mandatory education up to age 16, language support and the right to study regardless of status.
• ISEE and DSU - the means-status certificate: discounts on meals, textbook compensation, school bus and child allowances.
• Minors: a permesso for a child and al seguito - how to legalize the child themselves and why school matters for the family's path.
• Family reunification in Italy - an overview of family grounds and routes for moving with children.

Frequently asked questions

How does an international school differ from an ordinary state scuola statale?

According to the community, the main difference is the language and the accreditation: the state scuola statale is free and runs entirely in Italian, while an international school (scuola internazionale) is paid and teaches most subjects in English, while keeping the mandatory Italian curriculum. An international school is not a school only for foreigners: in many of them the majority of pupils are citizens of Italy. Verify the exact format and the share of English with the school itself - this is not legal advice.

What is IB accreditation and why is it needed?

According to the community, IB (International Baccalaureate) is an international educational standard whose diploma universities and schools accept without additional exams, so with it both admission and transferring from school to school are easier. Without such accreditation a private school also operates, but at graduation and on transfer you usually have to take exams. There are also alternatives such as the British A-level system. Check the specific conditions for recognizing a diploma with the chosen university or school - this is not legal advice.

Roughly how much does a year at an international school cost?

According to the community, a year at an international school in the large cities costs roughly 10-25 thousand euro, in smaller cities you find it cheaper, from about 6 thousand; for the lower grades it is often a little cheaper than for the upper ones. Many schools do not publish prices on the site - there is no catch in this, the price list is clarified by email or phone. Uniform, after-school care and meals may be separate. The prices are a community benchmark, verify the current details with the school itself.

Where in Italy are there the most international schools?

According to the community, the main choice is concentrated in the large cities of the north and center - the most options are in Milan and Rome, noticeably fewer in Florence, Turin, Genoa and other cities of the northern belt. South of Rome there are very few international schools. Not all schools have an upper stage after age 14, so the child's age is one of the first filters when choosing a city. Check the specific schools and stages yourself - this is not a directory.

Can you keep up the Russian language - are there Russian schools?

According to the community, a Russian school does not replace a full Italian school: education is mandatory by law, and the child is enrolled in an Italian school. But Russian is supported through weekend schools (usually Saturday) and online formats for bilinguals - people go there for the language and the connection with the culture, with a payment benchmark of about 30 euro per study day. A Russian-format certificate, according to the community, is issued only by the school at the embassy, which is hard to get into. Check the current status of specific schools yourself.

Should you take an international school or is the free state one enough?

According to the community, there is no single answer: the free state school copes with integration and the language, and many choose precisely it, while an international one is taken for the English-language program, a recognized diploma and a smooth entry into the language through English. It is decided by the budget (a private school is manageable for a minority of families), the goal (to stay in Italy or to keep the way open) and the child's age. This is not legal advice and not advertising - the choice is the family's.

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Documents for this topic

• "Guide to the Italian High School System for Foreign Teenagers and Parents (Bilingual, It/Ru)"
• List of school supplies for 1st grade of Italian primary school (A.S. 2022/2023)
• Italian Education System by Age Levels