Collegio Arcivescovile Alessandro Volta is a Catholic private school in central Lecco, from nursery to liceo. The present building opened in 1902, when the Cardinal of Milan recognised the college as archiepiscopal; the scuola media has run since 1946 and the liceo scientifico since 1977, and since 2001 all levels have had paritaria status. Kindergarten, primary and middle school offer two tracks: a bilingual track with the Cambridge International curriculum and an expressive track with music, theatre and extra English. On the bilingual primary track 7-9 hours of subjects a week are taught in English on top of 4 hours of English; in the scuola media it is 15 hours a week. The liceo is a state-curriculum liceo scientifico with Latin taught by the natura method, two hours of Mathematics and Biology in English in years 1-2 following the IGCSE syllabus, and the option of an American high school diploma via online courses alongside the Italian diploma. Since 2019 the liceo has been a European Parliament Ambassador School.
Key facts
Programmes
Cambridge · Early Years, Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE · National programme
Admits from
9 months · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
Italian, English
About the fees The school does not publish the retta on its website: the admissions page only explains why a paritaria school charges fees and invites families to an interview. Only the quota di iscrizione is stated: 50 EUR for kindergarten and 200 EUR for other levels.
Admissions Applications are made during the national enrolment period: for nursery and kindergarten at the Via Aspromonte office, for primary there or at the main building, for secondary at the main building on Via Cairoli. A quota di iscrizione is paid on application: 50 EUR for kindergarten, 200 EUR for other levels. Enrolment is confirmed only after two interviews: with the coordinator of the level and with the Rector. The bilingual scuola media track begins with an assessment of English and, if needed, a remedial programme. Liceo enrolment runs in November-December until places are filled, then a waiting list; applicants take placement tests in Italian, Mathematics and English, and are expected to have A2 English or commit to reaching it quickly. The school states that a paritaria school is open to all; the site gives no specific conditions for children without Italian.
Stages and year groups The Italian state curriculum at all levels, ending with the esame di Stato (maturità) of the liceo scientifico. Cambridge International on the bilingual track: in kindergarten, Cambridge Early Years (gained in September 2025); in primary, Cambridge Primary with Cambridge Primary Checkpoint in Mathematics and English, 7 hours of subjects in English in years 1-2 and 9 hours in years 3-5; in scuola media, Cambridge Lower Secondary: Global Perspectives, Mathematics, Science with the option of Checkpoint, 15 hours a week in English in total; in the liceo, one hour a week each of IGCSE Mathematics and IGCSE Biology in years 1-2 for all students, with an optional IGCSE exam at the start of year 3. Optional American high school diploma: six online courses with American teachers over two to four years, alongside the Italian diploma. Separately, Cambridge English exams from Starters to Advanced.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · Early Years, Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE · authorised programmeThe Cambridge register names the school as its centre; it teaches Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary, Cambridge IGCSE. The bilingual track follows Cambridge Primary and Lower Secondary with Checkpoint; all science liceo pupils have an hour each of IGCSE Mathematics and Biology in years 1-2.
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: Early Years (ages 3-6), Primary (ages 5-11), Lower Secondary (ages 11-14), IGCSE (ages 14-16). Early Years is the nursery stage, ages 3 to 6. There are no exams at the end: the stage describes what the youngest children are taught and how, and it follows the Cambridge frame rather than a national nursery programme. 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
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
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Clubs and activities: Voltattack · Romanae Disputationes (national philosophy competition) · Spelling Bee Competition · Book club · Theatre · Musical Instrument · Choir · Athletics · Spanish Language
Teaching staff
The school publishes neither the number of its teachers nor their qualifications.
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
The scuola media has a school psychologist (sportello psicologico) for students and families and a psycho-pedagogical team among the teaching staff. At the start of the year families, teachers and students sign a patto educativo di corresponsabilità. Liceo students have attended talks on cyberbullying and online safety.
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 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.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country
Lecco, Italy · Private