Collegio San Carlo is a Catholic archiepiscopal paritaria school in central Milan, founded in 1869 in Palazzo Busca-Arconati-Visconti opposite Santa Maria delle Grazie; its alumni include the future Pope Pius XI. Boarding was closed between 1955 and 1970, and girls have been admitted since 1985. Today it is one of the city's largest private schools: about 2000 children aged 2 to 19, with a nursery, kindergarten, primary school, scuola media, four licei and, since 2017, the IB Diploma Programme in English. At every level below the liceo there are two English tracks: the Cambridge section, where English is studied as a second language (11 hours a week in primary, 10 hours in scuola media), and the intercultural section, where English is taught as a first language and part of the curriculum is delivered by native-speaker teachers (15 hours in primary, 12-13 hours in scuola media). The licei are classical, scientific, human sciences (economic and social) and the four-year Liceo Internazionale per l'Intercultura; in the liceo scientifico years 1-2 have two hours a week of IGCSE International Mathematics. All liceo students can take an American high school diploma through online courses. The school reports 240 teachers, 44 of them native English speakers.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · Cambridge · Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE · National programme
Admits from
2 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
Italian, English
Languages taught
French, Spanish, Chinese, Latin
Students per teacher
8.12 students per teacher, according to the school
Class size
no more than 25 children per class at all levels, no more than 23 in the nursery
About the fees The school does not publish the retta on its website: the payment plan with a one-off fee on first enrolment is emailed after the open day (for nursery and kindergarten, together with the interview invitation).
Admissions Admission follows five steps for all levels: registration on the admissions portal (for 2027-2028 from 30 March 2026), a compulsory open day, observation of the child or an entrance test, a meeting with the leadership where the family receives the outcome, and enrolment within five working days of approval. For nursery and kindergarten there is a video interview with the pedagogical coordinator with both parents and the child. For the licei there is a test in mathematics and logic, Italian and English (A2-B1 English for year 1); thresholds depend on the liceo, for example in the liceo scientifico at least 60 out of 100 in Italian, 65 in mathematics and 70 in English, with at least 75 in the oral. For the IB Diploma Programme: application form and personal statement, school reports, then the CEM cognitive test in English, mathematics and spatial reasoning, an essay and an interview with the programme principal. Siblings of current students and children of alumni have priority, then a waiting list. The IB Diploma Programme includes students from other countries; the school states it makes every effort to accommodate international students with different language profiles who transfer from other schools.
Stages and year groups The Italian state curriculum leading to the esame di Stato (maturità) in the licei: Liceo Classico Interculturale, Liceo Scientifico Interculturale, Liceo delle Scienze Umane (economico sociale) and the four-year Liceo Internazionale per l'Intercultura with classico, scientifico, economico and life science tracks. IB Diploma Programme since 2017, all non-language subjects in English, no more than 25 students per year group. Cambridge International: in primary, the Cambridge section follows the Cambridge International curriculum (English as a second language, 10-11 hours a week), and the intercultural section follows the Cambridge curriculum for English as a first language and science; in scuola media, the Cambridge section follows Cambridge Lower Secondary English as a Second Language; in the liceo scientifico years 1-2 have two compulsory hours of IGCSE International Mathematics, and years 3-4 one hour of science in English. The school has called itself a Cambridge School since September 2019. Optional American high school diploma (Mater Academy) through six online courses. FCE, IELTS, DELF and DELE exam preparation is part of lessons.
Address Corso Magenta 71, 20123 Milano
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. Primary and middle school have a Cambridge section with English as a Second Language (the intercultural section adds science); science liceo years 1-2 take IGCSE International Mathematics.
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 According to the school (ISC Research report), the average English level of liceo graduates is C1 on the CEFR scale. The school does not publish IB Diploma or esame di Stato results on its website.
Facilities from the school's official website
✓Swimming pool
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio
Clubs and activities: Musical and Talent Show · In-School Football Tournament · Swimming Competitions · Robotics and Digital Logic Workshops · Mouse Trap · Mathematics Competitions · Volunteering · Debate and Public Speaking
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
✓Number of teachers240
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
The school reports 240 teachers, 44 of them native English speakers. The IB Diploma Programme has 12 teachers from France, Italy, Spain, Sri Lanka, Ireland, the UK and the US. In kindergarten each class has two teachers, one Italian and one English-speaking.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
✓CCTV
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
A medical centre renovated in 2020: four rooms, nurses always on duty and a doctor at set times, and a defibrillator. A psychology centre with a psychologist; on enrolment families sign consent to the psychology service. An anti-bullying and cyberbullying protocol with designated staff, prevention activities and a reporting form was approved in October 2025. CCTV under published regulations, site security, smoking banned on the whole site, and a whistleblowing channel. The canteen is checked weekly by staff, parents and school leaders.
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 data85 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data85 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median68 "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
Milan, Italy · est. 1869 · Private