← Back to the rankingThe International School of Florence
Florence, Italy · est. 1952 · Private
Illustration · Florence
The International School of Florence (ISF) traces its history to 1952, when it was founded in Rome; in 1963 it moved to Florence and in 1983 it became an IB school. Today it is an English-language IB continuum school for ages 3 to 18: PYP in early years and grades 1-5, MYP in grades 6-10, and in grades 11-12 a choice of the full IB Diploma or an accredited American High School Diploma. All high school students share one curriculum and differ only in final assessment; the school does not offer AP courses. There are 545 students from more than 38 countries, and 64% of staff are international. The Junior School is in a villa among olive groves in Bagno a Ripoli, the Upper School in a 13th-century villa near Piazzale Michelangelo. Grades 1-5 have a parallel Italian programme preparing for the Italian fifth-grade exam, and middle school prepares for the eighth-grade exam. In 2026, 96% of candidates obtained the IB Diploma with an average score of 33.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $16 889–29 847 a year
14 950–26 420 EUR
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · American programme
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Italian, French, Spanish
Class size
15 to 18 students on average
Registration fee
≈ $565
500 EUR
About the fees Annual fees 2026-2027 (standard rate): early years 14950 EUR, Foundation - grade 5 19400, grades 6-8 21340, grades 9-10 22950, grades 11-12 (IB Diploma) 26420 EUR. Corporate rates, when the employer pays, are higher: from 17190 to 30370 EUR. The IB cost is included in high school tuition; in early years tuition covers academic resources, local field trips and insurance. Fees are paid in two instalments: by 15 July 2026 and by 30 September 2026. For high school candidates the school periodically offers merit-based or need-based financial assistance.
Admissions The school welcomes children from any country: expat families, English-speaking families and Italian families seeking an international education. Steps: inquiry via form (reply within 48 hours), personal or virtual visit, application through the portal with documents and a non-refundable 500 EUR fee, admission test and screening; applicants to grades 6-11 also have an interview with the academic leadership. The admissions committee decides holistically. English is not required in the younger grades: children without English join the class with support; in older grades English must be sufficient to meet academic expectations. Transfers into grade 11 are possible with space and suitable background, into grade 12 only in exceptional cases. Places for three-year-olds fill quickly; the school advises applying early. Children moving to Italy mid-year are admitted in any of the three terms.
Stages and year groups Grades Early Years, Foundation, 1-12. IB PYP: two years of mixed-age early years (ages 3-5), Foundation (ages 5-6) and grades 1-5 at the Junior School. IB MYP: grades 6-10 at the Upper School, with the Personal Project in grade 10; grades 9-10 are pre-diploma years. Grades 11-12: the full IB Diploma (six subjects and the TOK, EE, CAS core) or the MSA-accredited American High School Diploma based on internal assessment; classes are shared. No AP courses; the school is a SAT test centre. The IB Diploma is recognised in Italy as equivalent to the maturità with the required subject combination; more than 31% of 2026 graduates earned a bilingual IB Diploma. Languages: literature in English or Italian, language acquisition in French, Spanish, Italian (including ab initio). A parallel Italian programme in grades 1-5 prepares for the Esame di Quinta, and in middle school for the Terza Media exam.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · authorised programmeCIS · accreditationMSA · accreditationThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes. A full IB continuum in English, with the IB Diploma or an American High School Diploma in grades 11-12. The school is accredited by CIS. The school is accredited by MSA (Middle States Association); its directory status is Active.
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 →MSAMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools
One of the oldest American accreditations, working since 1887 in more than a hundred countries and linked to the Office of Overseas Schools of the US State Department. It judges the school as an institution across twelve areas, including finances, governance, premises and student support.
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 →American programme
The American school programme, with the High School Diploma at the end. It usually comes together with AP courses, which the College Board stands behind, and with an American accreditation - MSA, NEASC or Cognia.
What this means for this school. The diploma is written out by the school itself: the American programme has no common leaving exam, and the content of the senior years is set by the school. Outside checking therefore rests on two things here - the accreditation of the school, and the AP exams if the school runs them.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Average IB score
33 (world average 30.88)
Exam results IB Diploma 2026: 96% of candidates passed, average score 33, top score 44, more than 31% earned a bilingual diploma. In recent years, according to the school, the pass rate has ranged from 85% to 98% and the average score from 33 to 35, with several graduates reaching the maximum 45 points.
Where leavers go: University of Oxford · University of Cambridge · Imperial College London · London School of Economics (LSE) · University of St Andrews · Yale University · Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) · Stanford University · New York University · University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) · Bocconi University · LUISS and others, 18 universities in the school's list in all
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Playground
Clubs and activities: Model United Nations · FloMUN · TEDxISF Youth · The Duke of Edinburgh's Award · Cantabile Choir · The Tuskan Times · Competitive Sports Program · Drama club · Visual arts · Martial arts · Yearbook · Book clubs
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
✓Number of teachers80
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: In the high school all teachers are IB-trained and certified, mostly native English speakers with international experience.
More than 80 teachers from over 15 countries; 64% of school staff are international.
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 policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
A Child Protection Policy and Procedures for 2026-2027 and a whistleblowing procedure are published. Each class has a class teacher who monitors social dynamics and each child's development; in middle school newcomers get a peer buddy and daily homeroom advisory periods.
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%)97 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%)95 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data70 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