← Back to the rankingThe International School in Genoa
Genoa, Italy · est. 1966 · Private
Illustration · Genoa
The International School in Genoa (ISG) is a not-for-profit international school, the oldest in Genoa: it was founded in 1966 by three American families as The American School of Genoa and took its current name in 2007. It is the first IB continuum school in Liguria: PYP in early years and elementary, MYP in grades 6-10 and the Diploma Programme in grades 11-12 (DP since 2002). Teaching is in English; Italian is the school's second language from early years: native speakers study it under the Italian state curriculum (Italian A), international students as a foreign language (Italian B). There are 410 students of 45 nationalities, international students make up 46%, and the average class has 13 students. Since the 2023-2024 school year the first grade of the elementary school has been recognised by the Ministry as equivalent to a state school (paritaria), with recognition moving up through the grades. All graduates receive the ISG high school diploma, and those who pass the full IB Diploma also gain recognition as an Italian maturità in the scientific, linguistic or human sciences profile. Since 2004, 200 graduates, 95.2% of candidates, have obtained the IB Diploma.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $8 215–21 543 a year
7 272–19 069 EUR
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP
Admits from
2 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Italian, Spanish, French, German, Chinese
Class size
13 students per class on average
About the fees The fees page is headed school year 2026-2027; annual tuition includes the annual registration and maintenance fee and meals: Reception (age 2) 7272 EUR, Pre-School 10190, Pre-Kindergarten 10273, Kindergarten 10650; grade 1 12470, grade 2 13491, grade 3 14291, grade 4 14602, grade 5 15069; grade 6 15247, grade 7 15400, grade 8 15619, grades 9-10 17890, grades 11-12 19069 EUR. In elementary, middle and high school tuition includes English and Italian language support, and in middle and high school also extracurricular activities (musical, athletics, Model UN, yearbook). New early years students get a 10% discount kept until grade 1 and 15% for grade 1. A 30% discount for the third child. Payment: a 700 EUR advance at registration, then 50% in September and 50% in February.
Admissions Admissions are open all year into any grade, space permitting; enrolment for the following school year usually opens in October. Steps: online application, school visit (or video call for those outside Genoa), registration. Early years places are given by availability and no prior English is required; playgroups are offered for prospective students. For elementary and middle school, two years of records and a teacher letter or reference form are required and the school assesses English; children with weaker English receive support included in tuition for the first years. For high school, three years of records and an English certificate (Duolingo, TOEFL, Cambridge, IELTS accepted) are required: level B1/B2 for grade 9, C1/C2 for grade 10 and above; students below this level are admitted with a compulsory paid intensive course. Grade placement follows the year of birth (cut-off 31 December). The school welcomes all students who can benefit from a challenging, university-preparatory education in English; international students make up 46%.
Stages and year groups Grades Reception, Pre-School, Pre-K, K, 1-12. Early Years (Reception from age 2, Pre-School, Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten) and elementary grades 1-5 - IB PYP; middle school grades 6-8 and grades 9-10 - IB MYP with the Personal Project in grade 10; grades 11-12 - IB Diploma Programme (full diploma or individual course certificates). All graduates receive the ISG high school diploma (American-style), giving access to American and many private universities. The full IB Diploma is recognised in Italy as equivalent to the maturità liceo scientifico, linguistico or scienze umane depending on the subject combination. Italian: Italian A under the state curriculum for native speakers (preparing for Italian state exams), Italian B for international students. Additional MYP and DP languages: Spanish, French, German, Mandarin. The elementary school has been paritaria since 2023-2024, starting with grade 1. The school is a SAT and PSAT test centre.
Address Via Romana della Castagna 11a, 16148 Genova
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · authorised programmeCIS · accreditationThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes. A full IB continuum (PYP, MYP, DP) taught in English, with Italian to the state curriculum for native speakers. The school is accredited by CIS.
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: PYP (ages 3-12), MYP (ages 11-16), DP (ages 16-19). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end. MYP is the middle stage, ages 11 to 16. There are no exams here either; at the end an optional electronic assessment of pupils' work is possible. 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 →CISCouncil of International Schools
It accredits international schools and is a paying association at the same time. It examines governance and ownership, the curriculum, teaching, student wellbeing, staff and premises; a team of volunteers from other CIS accredited schools visits the school. Membership and accreditation are different things here, and schools confuse them more often than anything else.
What the badge means for this school. The school has been through this organisation's accreditation. It was judged as a whole: governance, safeguarding, staff, premises, teaching. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Exam results Since 2004, 200 of the school's graduates - 95.2% of all candidates - have obtained the IB Diploma. The school does not publish an average score.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio · Playground · Makerspace
Clubs and activities: Musical Production · Athletic program · Model United Nations Club · Yearbook club · GP Tennis · Innovation Lab · Coding with Scratch · Yoga · Dance · Martial Arts Course · Volleyball · Rugby · Arts and crafts · Swimming
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: Teachers are certified and recruited through international hiring agencies; they come from 19 countries, including Britain, Ireland, the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Spain, China and Germany.
The school reports low staff turnover and a professional development programme; the teachers page presents staff by section with nationality and years at the school.
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 policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school psychologist advises students, parents and teachers throughout the year and runs thematic workshops in all grades; secondary advisory periods focus on social and emotional wellbeing. Student support runs learning support programmes with individual plans, and English and Italian as additional languages. A Child Protection policy is published on the website.
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%)95 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 data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 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