← Back to the rankingThe English International School of Padua
Padua, Italy · est. 1987 · Private
Illustration · Padua
The English International School of Padua (EISP) is a private international school in Padua, founded in 1987, for children aged 1 to 18. Education is bilingual in English and Italian, but the main language of communication and instruction is English. The nursery draws on the British EYFS and the infant school on the IB PYP approach; the primary school (Reception - Year 5) combines British and Italian curricula, with the Italian part following ministerial guidelines for state schools. The middle school (Year 6-8) combines international principles with the Italian curriculum and adds a third European language - French, German or Spanish. The high school lasts four years: two years of Cambridge IGCSE and two years of the IB Diploma Programme; the IB subject table shows options for recognition of the diploma as equivalent to an Italian liceo diploma (linguistic, human sciences, scientific profile). About 700 students of 46 nationalities attend; the average IB score, according to the school, is 34. Fees include lunch, scheduled trips, textbooks and one Cambridge English language exam.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $8 586–17 172 a year
7 600–15 200 EUR
Programmes
IB · DP · Cambridge · IGCSE · National programme
Admits from
1 year · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English, Italian
Languages taught
French, German, Spanish, Latin
Registration fee
≈ $1 695
1 500 EUR
About the fees Fees 2026-2027 (first instalment by 31 July 2026, second by 7 January 2027), excluding the annual enrolment fee: nursery and infant school 6100 EUR (two instalments of 3050), elementary 8300 EUR (2 of 4150), middle 10900 EUR (2 of 5450), high 13700 EUR (2 of 6850). With the annual enrolment or re-enrolment fee of 1500 EUR the full totals are 7600, 9800, 12400 and 15200 EUR. If the enrolment fee is paid by 31 January 2026 it is reduced by 500 EUR. A 10% discount for the second child and 15% for each additional sibling. Fees include lunch, scheduled trips, textbooks and one exam session of A2 Key or B1 PET in elementary school and B2 First in middle school.
Admissions Admission steps: enquiry via form or email, meeting with the Head of School and tour (in person or by video call), entrance tests, Admissions Board decision within 7-10 working days, contract and payment of the enrolment fee. Tests in English, Italian and Mathematics are required only from Year 3 to Year 11, with a modern foreign language added from Year 6; Italian is tested only for students with prior knowledge of the language. Children without Italian are accepted. There are no tests for the nursery, infant school and Reception - Year 2; for the infant school a child must communicate in the first language and be toilet trained. Entry to the final years of each cycle (Years 8, 10 and 12) is possible only in exceptional cases by decision of the board. Year group is set by birth year (1 January to 31 December). The school asks international families to contact admissions at least one week before arriving in Padua; if a family cannot come, a teacher at the current school may administer the test. The nursery welcomes children of all nationalities.
Stages and year groups Grades PN, N1-N4, Reception, Year 1-12. Nursery (PN from 12 months, N1 from 18 months, N2 from 2 years) inspired by the British EYFS, infant school (N3-N4, ages 3-5) inspired by the IB PYP. Primary Reception - Year 5 (ages 5-10): British and Italian curricula, with an exam before an external commission in Year 5. Middle school Year 6-8 (ages 11-13): international principles and the Italian state curriculum. High school Year 9-12: Cambridge IGCSE in Years 9-10 (9 to 11 subjects, Cambridge exams compulsory; subjects 2026-2027: English First Language & Literature or English as a Second Language, Italian First Language & Literature or Italian as a Foreign Language, French, German, Spanish, History, Biology, Environmental Management, Chemistry, Physics, International Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics or Business, Art & Design, Latin, Music, Global Studies) and the IB Diploma Programme in Years 11-12, with subject options for recognition of the diploma in Italy (Equipollenza for the linguistic, human sciences and scientific profiles). Language certificates: B2 First for Schools, DELF, Goethe-Zertifikat, DELE. The school is a SAT test centre.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeCambridge · 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 IGCSE. A bilingual school following the Italian curriculum to Year 8, then 9-11 compulsory Cambridge IGCSEs in Years 9-10 and the IB Diploma in Years 11-12.
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: IGCSE (ages 14-16). 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
Average IB score
34 (world average 30.88)
Exam results The average IB Diploma score, according to the school's home page, is 34 (year not stated). In 2015 one of the school's students achieved the maximum 45 points.
Where leavers go: University of Bath · University of Bristol · University College London · University of Warwick · University of Edinburgh · Hartpury University · University of London · Royal Holloway, University of London · Eindhoven University of Technology · IE Business School · Bocconi University · Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
and others, 18 universities in the school's list in allThe school says its graduates each year gain admission to prestigious universities, including Ivy League institutions in the USA and British universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio · Playground
Clubs and activities: EISP school choir · Boys' and girls' football teams · ISSTA International School Sports Tournament · Mediterranean Cup · Duke of Edinburgh · MUN · Pupil Council
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 school has a school psychologist for students, parents and staff and an external psychologist consultant. Pastoral care: class teachers and heads of year, psychologists, a personal and social education programme, and weekly relationship education lessons in primary. At enrolment the family must disclose the child's linguistic, social, emotional development and health.
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 data80 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "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