Istituto Leopardi is a private, state-recognised (paritaria) secular school with a Catholic orientation in central Milan, founded in 1947. It takes children from a nursery group at age two to the final state exam: a bilingual Italian-English kindergarten, primary and middle school, and at upper secondary level the liceo scientifico and its sports track, a European lyceum with linguistic and legal-economic tracks, a liceo delle scienze umane and two four-year courses - a technical-economic institute and a linguistic lyceum. The school calls itself an Italian international school: the curriculum is Italian and lessons are in Italian, but English is reinforced from kindergarten, where a native English educator works all day alongside the Italian teacher. Since 2017 the school has been a Cambridge International School and includes IGCSE and AS/A Level courses in the lyceum curriculum with exams on site. Since 2000-2001 all courses have paritaria status, and the school is ISO 9001 certified.
Key facts
Programmes
Cambridge · IGCSE, A-Level · National programme
Admits from
2 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
Italian, English
Languages taught
French, German, Spanish, Latin, Chinese, Arabic, Russian
About the fees The school charges fees; the retta is not published on the website: no prices appear on the stage and track pages or in the curriculum documents.
Admissions The school invites families to open days for 2026-2027, booked via a form on the website: for kindergarten, primary and middle school at Via Arena, for upper secondary at Via del Carroccio, with a presentation of each track and a chance to meet the rector, heads and teachers; appointments with the office can also be booked. The website does not describe enrolment conditions, entrance tests or language requirements. The kindergarten takes children from 24 months (nursery group) and from 3 to 6 years; the first day and settling in are prepared together with parents.
Stages and year groups Italian curriculum ending in the esame di Stato. Nursery group (24-36 months) and bilingual kindergarten (ages 3-6) from 8:00 to 16:00, after-school care until 18:00. Primary: English 3-5 hours a week with a native speaker, CLIL in science and PE. Middle school: 30 or 40 hours a week, English by level, a second language of choice (French, German or Spanish), drama. Upper secondary: liceo scientifico (with extra mathematics and computing) and scientifico sportivo; Liceo Europeo with a linguistic track (English, a second language and Spanish for all five years; history and art in English from year 3) and a legal-economic track; liceo delle scienze umane with an economic-social track; four-year Istituto Tecnico Economico (Amministrazione, Finanza e Marketing) and Liceo Linguistico. Cambridge in the lyceum curriculum: in the Liceo Europeo - IGCSE Geography (years 1-2), English as a Second Language and Spanish (years 2-3), Economics (years 3-4, legal-economic track), AS/A Level History (years 4-5); in the liceo scientifico - IGCSE Geography (years 1-2), Mathematics (years 2-3), English as a Second Language (year 3). Exams are taken at the school.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · IGCSE, A-Level · authorised programmeThe Cambridge register names the school as its centre; it teaches Cambridge IGCSE, AS and A Level. Built into the lyceum timetable: IGCSE Geography, Mathematics, ESL, Spanish and Economics, plus AS/A Level History in the Liceo Europeo, all examined at school.
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: IGCSE (ages 14-16), A-Level (ages 16-18). IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate. A-Level is the senior years, and their results are what British and many other universities admit on.
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
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio · Playground
Campus: Two buildings in central Milan in 20123: Via del Carroccio houses the lyceums and the technical institute, Via Arena the kindergarten, primary and middle school and the scientific lyceum. All classrooms have interactive whiteboards and Wi-Fi; in middle school and the lyceums every student has a tablet. There are computer rooms (12 PCs in primary, robotics in the lyceum), a multimedia room, indoor and outdoor gyms, a football and basketball pitch, a large courtyard with play areas and a toy library. The kindergarten has an outdoor school garden, playground, green lab, art, music and movement workshops, a drama atelier with stage and a nap room. The school's own kitchen cooks meals supervised by a dietitian; a school bus runs on request, and primary pupils have a Pedibus walking route with a teacher.
Clubs and activities: Robotics · Theatre Workshop · GIS - La Scala Interest Group · Chinese, Arabic and Russian Courses · Financial Education · Music Workshop · F.I.S.A.E. Sports and School Tournaments · Dance Play · Psychomotor Activities · Taekwondo · Mini Rugby · Art Lab · Kids Yoga
Summer programme away from campus: . The school runs no camp of its own on campus
Primary pupils have a summer school; upper secondary students are offered internships and summer courses abroad in English-speaking countries, and primary and middle school pupils go on a language week at an English college.
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
The website names the rector and the heads and deputy heads of each stage and track. The school describes its teaching staff as stable and continuously trained. Cambridge courses are taught by native speakers or Italian teachers with CLIL training and Cambridge courses; each track has hours with a native English speaker, the Liceo Europeo also with a native French speaker; in kindergarten a native English educator works all day alongside the Italian teacher.
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 policy
Lyceum students have an in-school psychological support service through the 'Scuola in ascolto' network of paritaria schools, plus individual guidance on future choices. The Health project addresses alcohol, bullying, gambling, safe driving and first aid; there are talks on the proper use of social networks. A whistleblowing procedure is published.
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%)85 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 data70 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 data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median68 "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 7 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
Milan, Italy · est. 1947 · Private