← Back to the rankingIstituto Comprensivo San Francesco - Petrarca
San Severo, Italy · est. 2024 · State
Illustration · San Severo
The Istituto Comprensivo San Francesco - Petrarca in San Severo (province of Foggia) is a state group of nurseries, primary schools and the Petrarca lower secondary school. In its current form it has existed since 1 September 2024, when the Petrarca - Padre Pio lower secondary school and the San Francesco primary school merged. According to the school it has 1036 pupils in 55 classes. The lower secondary school is registered as a Cambridge International School (code IT994), and Cambridge Lower Secondary classes have run since the 2020/2021 school year: English as a Second Language, Science and Global Perspectives are taught in English in the morning during school hours, by the subject teacher together with a native speaker. In the 2025/2026 school year there are 12 Cambridge classes. At the end of the three years pupils sit the Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint in English and science, and after school they prepare for Cambridge English exams. Since the 2025/2026 school year Cambridge Primary classes have also started in the primary school. There is also a music track, digital iPad classes and Senza Zaino model classes.
Key facts
Programmes
Cambridge · Primary, Lower Secondary · National programme
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
Italian, English
About the fees Tuition at this state school is free. Native-speaker lessons in Cambridge classes are funded by a voluntary contribution from the families of those classes.
Admissions State school: Cambridge classes, digital classes and the music track in lower secondary are chosen at enrolment. The school states that its share of foreign pupils is below the national average. The PTOF does not publish separate selection criteria for Cambridge classes.
Stages and year groups Grades infanzia, 1-5, 1-3, 55 classes. Scuola dell'infanzia (3 buildings, with Montessori sections), scuola primaria (4 buildings, Senza Zaino model, Cambridge Primary classes with a native speaker from year three since the 2025/2026 school year), scuola secondaria di primo grado Petrarca (22 classes according to the PTOF; Cambridge classes, Apple digital classes, music track). 55 classes, on average 18 pupils. Cambridge Lower Secondary classes since the 2020/2021 school year: English as a Second Language and Science (or ICT) in English with the subject teacher and a native speaker in the morning during school hours; in Cambridge classes the literature enrichment hour is used for Global Perspectives in English; interim Progression Tests and a final Checkpoint in English and science; after school, preparation for Movers, Flyers and KET, with KET and PET exams held at the school. In the 2025/2026 school year: 4 first-year, 5 second-year and 3 third-year Cambridge classes.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · Primary, Lower Secondary · authorised programmeThe Cambridge register names the school as its centre; it teaches Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary.
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: Primary (ages 5-11), Lower Secondary (ages 11-14). 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.
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 hall
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Playground
Campus: Six buildings in San Severo, some built in the 1950s, many spaces renovated; every classroom has a smart board with internet. The Petrarca lower secondary school has music, multimedia, language, science and STEM rooms, a gym and a renovated school library with a debate arena. The primary school has a science laboratory, an immersive classroom, computer rooms and a canteen; the nurseries have sensory rooms, music laboratories, an interactive table and canteens. Most buildings have large green grounds with outdoor classrooms. According to the PTOF: 3 gyms and a computerised library.
Clubs and activities: Instrumental Music Track · DELF Preparation (French) · Movers, Flyers and KET Preparation (English)
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
Cambridge lessons are taught by subject teachers together with native English-speaking experts hired by the school through a three-year tender.
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 policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
According to the PTOF 2025-2028 the science room is being converted into a space for mentoring, a student listening desk (sportello di ascolto) and small-group work; the school psychologist supports teachers in classroom management.
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 data55 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data80 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data67 "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