← Back to the rankingGalileo Galilei İtalyan Lisesi
Istanbul, Turkey · est. 1870 · Private
Illustration · Istanbul
Galileo Galilei İtalyan Lisesi (Liceo Scientifico Galileo Galilei) is a private Italian scientific liceo in Beyoğlu run by a congregation of sisters. The school traces its history to 1870, when it opened as an Italian school for girls with a kindergarten and primary school; the liceo has run since 2000 and has had its present name since the 2005-2006 school year. For Italy it is a state-recognised paritaria school, for Turkey a foreign private school supervised by the Turkish Ministry of Education. Studies last five years: a preparatory Italian-language year and four years of liceo. Two thirds of subjects are taught in Italian and one third in Turkish; English is taught from the preparatory year and Latin for the four liceo years. All students receive the Turkish diploma, and all grade 9 students are automatically enrolled in the Italian track leading to the esame di Stato (maturità) and the Italian diploma. In the 2026-2027 school year 326 students attend in 15 classes, almost all Turkish citizens.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $24 500 a year
1.2 million TRY
Programmes
Italian programme · National programme
Languages of instruction
Italian, Turkish
Languages taught
English, Latin
About the fees Fees for 2026-2027 including 10% VAT: the preparatory class for new students costs 1200292 TRY (1080263 if paid in full by bank transfer, 1120665 by card), instalments through the bank credit line, first instalment on enrolment. For continuing students the fee is fixed by entry year: grade 9 1090371 TRY, grade 10 843947, grade 11 630633, grade 12 510894.
Admissions The preparatory class admits students on the results of the Turkish central LGS exam under the rules of the Turkish Ministry of Education; there are 76 places for 2026-2027, with enrolment on 11-12 July, then by main and reserve lists and in open enrolment periods. In 2024-2025 the school admitted candidates within the top 5% of LGS results. Enrolment is final only if the student has not chosen state high schools and is not registered at another private high school. Direct entry to grade 9 requires an Italian B1 certificate and an LGS score of at least 399, plus a written and oral exam in Italian and Turkish literature (exam on 2 September 2026, at least 70 in both). Enrolment requires ID documents of the student and parents and the LGS result. According to its history the liceo has been open since 2000 to Italian, foreign and Turkish students; today almost all students are Turkish citizens, some with dual citizenship.
Stages and year groups 15 classes. Italian track: liceo scientifico only (secondaria di secondo grado), four years after a preparatory Italian year; in the final year the esame di Stato (maturità) with a commission appointed by the Italian Ministry of Education, and successful students receive the Italian diploma. Paritaria status was granted by an Italian ministerial decree in 2004. Turkish track: the Turkish Ministry of Education curriculum and the Turkish diploma; after grade 10 students choose the science or Turkish-mathematics track, and the Italian diploma requires the science track. Students receive two report cards, Turkish and Italian. Preparation for the Turkish university exam YKS starts in grade 11. There is currently no kindergarten, primary or middle school.
Address Turnacıbaşı Sokak No:20, 34433 Beyoğlu, İstanbul
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
MAECIItaly's foreign ministry names the school on its list of paritarie Italian schools abroad: it teaches the Italian curriculum, and Italy recognises its exams and diploma on a par with state schools.
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
MAECIItaly's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI)
An Italian school abroad: a state or paritaria school, the Italian curriculum, the esame di Stato exam and a diploma with the same legal value as in Italy.
What the badge means for this school. This is an Italian school abroad: it teaches the Italian curriculum, and Italy's foreign ministry names it on its list of state or paritarie schools - so Italy recognises its exams and diploma. The entry is not a quality inspection. Which stages are recognised and what the school charges are on this page and on the school's own website. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Italian programme
The Italian school curriculum taught in Italian: scuola dell'infanzia, primaria, secondaria di primo grado (scuola media) and the liceo, ending with the state exam, the esame di Stato, and the Italian diploma.
What this means for this school. The curriculum is set by the Italian state: the school is an Italian state school abroad or a paritaria school, recognised by Italy. Exams follow Italian rules and the diploma has the same legal value as in Italy, giving access to Italian universities. The host country's curriculum usually runs alongside, and students receive two certificates.
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
Where leavers go: Sapienza University of Rome · University of Milan · University of Bologna · University of Padua · Politecnico di Milano · Politecnico di Torino · Bocconi University · Catholic University of the Sacred Heart · University of Rome Tor Vergata · LUISS University · IULM University · University College London (UCL)
and others, 18 universities in the school's list in allThe alumni achievements page lists admissions to medicine, pharmacy, engineering, economics and design programmes at Italian universities, and to universities in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Canada, Switzerland and Turkey; the school does not state the year of the list.
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
Campus: The school occupies a historic complex in Beyoğlu, where it has been since 1882. Bright classrooms with interactive whiteboards, physics and biology and chemistry labs, a language and computer lab, a library with books in Italian, Turkish, Latin, English, French and Spanish, drawing and music rooms, three conference halls, a gym, a sports ground, three courtyards, a cafe-restaurant, an infirmary and a book shop. School buses serve the school. Lessons run from 8:00 to 15:00, each lesson 45 minutes.
Clubs and activities: Turkish Literature and Competition Preparation · Philosophy, Democracy and Human Rights · First Aid and Emergency Response · Entrepreneurship · Solidarity Projects · Journalism · MUN · Cinema · La Dolce Vita - Italian Through Games · Scrabble · Chess · Sports · Robotics and Artificial Intelligence · Art & Craft Studio · Choir
Summer programme away from campus: . The school runs no camp of its own on campus
In summer, preparatory class students go to summer schools in Florence and Rome, and the school runs a career planning programme in Milan; there are also summer courses in Italy with residence or host family stays.
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
Experienced Turkish and Italian teachers teach at the school, some staff are alumni. According to the school plan there are 31 teachers: 6 teach Italian (3 of them in the preparatory classes), 4 Turkish literature, 5 mathematics and physics, 2 English, the rest Latin, history, philosophy, geography, sociology, sciences, art, music, computing, physical education and religion. The website names 32 staff.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
✓Security staff
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school has a psychologist, a doctor, a nurse and a security guard. The counselling service offers individual sessions, teaches coping with anxiety and exam stress, provides career guidance and runs seminars for parents. There is an emergency committee, a student transport committee and disciplinary rules.
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 data70 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data85 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