Chatterbox is a private English-Italian school in Cagliari for children from 18 months to 14 years. It opened on 1 September 2000 with 11 families in a former railway school building; it was the first English nursery and primary school with a bilingual curriculum in Sardinia recognised by the Italian Ministry of Education. Lessons are taught in English, with the Italian curriculum running alongside: the primary school teaches English, Italian, French and Chinese. The primary school has one class per year, grades 1 to 5. After it comes the three-year Secondary Project, opened in 2016: a bilingual British-style course organised as parental education, with most subjects taught in English, where students take an annual eligibility exam at an Italian school and the state exam in grade 8. Since 2021 the school has been a Cambridge International School: students take Cambridge Checkpoint exams in grades 6 and 8. Students include children from England, France, the US, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Australia, China and Spain.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $9 151 a year
8 100 EUR
Programmes
Cambridge · Lower Secondary · National programme
Admits from
18 months · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English, Italian
Languages taught
French, Chinese, Latin
Registration fee
≈ $1 130
1 000 EUR
About the fees Annual fees for 2026-2027 are the same for all stages: 8100 EUR when paid in one sum between 1 and 5 September 2026. In instalments: Starters 10 payments of 830 EUR (including a 200 EUR surcharge); pre-school, Reception, primary and Secondary 12 payments of 695 EUR (including a surcharge of about 240 EUR) from 5 July 2026 to 5 June 2027. The sibling discount is 600 EUR off the first instalment; in families with three children two pay in full and the oldest pays only lunches and extras; there is no sibling discount in the Secondary Project.
Admissions Nursery places (from 18 months) go first to siblings of current pupils; settling in follows a calendar based on month of birth. Reception and primary admissions follow priorities: children from Chatterbox Reception or nursery, children born by 31 December of the year attendance begins, siblings of pupils, children with the most years at Chatterbox, children of native English speaking parents, children from recognised international English schools. For the Secondary Project the school considers a B1 English certificate, attendance and punctuality of at least 90% in the last year, a behaviour grade of distinto or above, international primary experience and siblings at the school. Paid Italian as a second language lessons are available for foreign Secondary students; the school recommends starting in the nursery, before age 3.
Stages and year groups Starters - an experimental sezione primavera from 18 months; Movers I and II - pre-school for ages 3 and 4; Reception - a British-style transition year at age 5; Primary - a ministry-recognised primary school, grades 1-5, one class per year, with a bilingual curriculum of English, Italian, French and Chinese. Secondary Project - a three-year lower secondary course (grades 6-8) since 2016 organised as parental education (istruzione parentale): English language and literature, history, geography, mathematics, science, music, art history, IT, Global Perspectives, art and PE in English; Italian, literature, technology, geometry, geography, history, Latin in grade 8 and French in Italian and French; an optional 2 hours of Chinese. Exams: an annual eligibility exam at an Italian school, the state exam in grade 8, Cambridge Checkpoint in Science and English in grade 6 and in Global Perspectives in grade 8 (extra charge), INVALSI, and optional DELF A2/B1, Cambridge English B2/C1 and EIPASS.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · Lower Secondary · authorised programmeThe Cambridge register names the school as its centre; it teaches Cambridge Lower Secondary. In the Secondary Project (Grades 6-8) Global Perspectives is taught in English, with paid Checkpoint exams in science and English in Grade 6 and Global Perspectives in Grade 8.
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
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: Lower Secondary (ages 11-14). Lower Secondary is the middle stage, ages 11 to 14, with the same optional Checkpoint test at the end.
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
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Playground
Clubs and activities: Debate club · Choir · Science Festival · Monumenti Aperti (Open Monuments heritage event) · Sports Day · After school club
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
The staff are native English speakers and Italian educators, so younger children and parents can also be addressed in Italian. The Secondary Project is led by named Italian and French teachers; each Secondary class has a form tutor who holds a weekly session on personal growth and current affairs. Teachers of Italian for foreigners hold the DITALS qualification.
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
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school promises a calm, respectful and safe environment and follows a behaviour policy built on the CARE values (collaboration, achievement, respect, empathy). There is a designated health and safety officer (RSPP) and a whistleblowing procedure. Allergies and diets are arranged with a paediatrician's certificate; homemade cakes are not allowed. In the Secondary Project each class has a tutor for individual support.
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%)72 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data60 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data76 "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 8 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.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country
Cagliari, Italy · est. 2000 · Private