← Back to the rankingBilingual British School
Scanzorosciate, Italy · est. 2011 · Private
Illustration · Scanzorosciate
Bilingual British School (BBS) is a private bilingual British school near Bergamo for children from 6 months to 18 years, founded in 2011 by Patrizia Canzoneri; the primary school has been paritaria since 2014. Most of the day is in English with native-speaker and bilingual teachers: the whole day in nursery and kindergarten under the British Early Years Foundation Stage, 80% of the week in primary years 1-2 and 75% from year 3, and 75% in middle school. Mathematics, science and English are taught from year 1 simultaneously under the Italian curriculum and the Cambridge programme; Italian gets 10 hours a week in years 1-2 and about 12 from year 3. Middle school ends with the Italian state exam. At 14 students choose one of two high schools: the paritaria liceo scientifico sportivo, where 45% of subjects are taught in English and students sit the maturità, or the International High School taught entirely in English, with three years of IGCSE courses followed by two years of the IB Diploma Programme. The primary and middle school score above the Italian average in the national INVALSI tests. The middle and high school building in Bergamo has a boarding house for students from other countries.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · Cambridge · Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE · National programme
Admits from
6 months · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English, Italian
Languages taught
Spanish, German, Chinese, Latin
About the fees The school does not publish tuition fees on its website: the fees page contains only an enquiry form, and the first meeting with admissions is free.
Admissions Admission starts with a meeting with the head or her delegate and a school tour; the family then submits an online application with documents from the previous school, references and, where relevant, documentation of special educational needs, and pays the amount stated on the form. Students from the school's own nursery, primary and middle school move up without selection. External applicants to primary and middle school are assessed to decide whether they need language or learning support: before the year starts, English as a second language lessons with a tutor and optionally a trip to the UK; during their studies, an Italian tutor in some subjects. The school promises induction support and a tutor to students without a bilingual background. The school welcomes families moving to Italy or arriving from abroad, and the Bergamo boarding house takes students from all over the world; at the sports liceo English is taught as a second language from any starting level.
Stages and year groups Grades Nursery, PY1, 1-5 primaria, 1-3 media, 1-5 liceo / IGCSE + IB DP. Nursery and kindergarten (Nursery, all day in English, British Early Years Foundation Stage): Nido from 6 months to 2 years, Kindergarten ages 2-3, Little Ones ages 3-4, Mini Transition ages 4-5, PY1 (Primary Year 1) ages 5-6; nursery and kindergarten are not paritaria. Scuola primaria paritaria (ages 6-11): the full Italian curriculum and in parallel Cambridge Primary in mathematics, science and English as a first language; six years of the Cambridge programme are covered in five Italian years. Scuola secondaria di primo grado paritaria (ages 11-14): the Italian curriculum, with mathematics, science and English also following the Cambridge Curriculum, ending with the esame di Stato. High school options: Liceo Sportivo Internazionale (liceo scientifico sportivo, paritario, ages 14-19, 28-31 hours a week, 6-8 hours of sport, IELTS exam in year 4, maturità at the end) or the International High School (ages 14-18, entirely in English): years 1-3 IGCSE courses (English Language and English Literature or English as a Second Language, Mathematics Core or Extended, Coordinated Sciences, History, Economics, Art & Design, Computer Science, a third language), years 4-5 the IB Diploma Programme (English or Italiano, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Design Technology, History, Economics, Psychology, plus TOK, CAS and the Extended Essay). The school states that the IB diploma is recognised in Italy as equivalent to the maturità.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeCambridge · Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE · authorised programmeThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Diploma Programme. The Cambridge register names the school as its centre; it teaches Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary, Cambridge IGCSE. Maths, science and English follow Cambridge alongside the Italian curriculum in primary and middle school; the International High School runs three IGCSE years, then the IB Diploma.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: DP (ages 16-19). DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →CambridgeCambridge International Education
Part of the University of Cambridge. It allows a school to teach the Cambridge programmes and to enter pupils for the exams. There are four stages and they are authorised separately: primary, lower secondary, IGCSE and A Level. If the stages are known they are named in the line below; if that line is missing, the school does not publish them, and the Cambridge registry does not show stages either - it gives only the name of the centre, the country and whether private candidates are accepted. Cambridge calls what it does registration rather than accreditation, and the network holds about ten thousand schools.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: Primary (ages 5-11), Lower Secondary (ages 11-14), IGCSE (ages 14-16). Primary is the primary stage, ages 5 to 11: English, mathematics and science to Cambridge syllabuses. At the end of the stage a school may run the optional Checkpoint test, which is marked in Cambridge. Lower Secondary is the middle stage, ages 11 to 14, with the same optional Checkpoint test at the end. IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →National programme
The state school programme of the country the school stands in: it is set by that country's ministry of education, which also licenses the school and awards the leaving certificate. That certificate is used for entry to local universities, and abroad it is matched to the local one.
What this means for this school. This entry does not count towards the score, and that is deliberate. Every lawful school in a country works to the national programme, so on its own it tells one school apart from no other - unlike the French, German or Russian programmes, which are carried abroad and confirmed by the register of their organisation. We show it because a parent needs to know what programme their child is taught and what certificate the child will get. Counting it would lift the whole ranking at once and still tell nobody apart.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Exam results National INVALSI tests: primary year 5 in 2021-2022 - mathematics 69,7 points against an Italian average of 55,3, Italian 64,3 against 54,3. In middle school 100% of students reached the ministry's required English level in reading (Italy 75,9%) and listening (59,1%), and 63,6% achieved the top score in mathematics (Italy 13,5%). The school does not publish IGCSE or IB Diploma results.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
✓Boarding
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio · Playground
Clubs and activities: Introduction to Dance · Introduction to Music · Piano · Violin · Guitar · Theatre · Judo · Model United Nations · Eco Council · Pupil Council
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
What the listings show: native English speaker and bilingual teachers qualified in their subjects; educators are early years specialists
Subjects in English are taught by native-speaker and bilingual teachers qualified in their subjects, Italian by Italian teachers who are fluent in English. In middle school every class has a tutor; at the sports liceo some lessons are co-taught by an Italian teacher and a native English speaker, and student athletes are supported by tutors. In the kindergarten all educators are early years specialists, native speakers or fully bilingual. PE is taught by a specialist from year 1. The website names the founder, the head, the primary deputy head, the nursery head, the head of wellbeing and several teachers.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
A school counsellor works across the school with children, teachers and parents and runs meetings, consultations and workshops for families; personal, social and emotional development is taught as a curriculum of its own. Homework is deliberately limited. There is a head of wellbeing.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)84 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data60 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data90 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median95 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 7 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
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