← Back to the rankingLiceo Classico Statale «Nicola Spedalieri»
Catania, Italy · est. 1860 · State
Illustration · Catania
Liceo Classico Statale Nicola Spedalieri is the oldest state classical lyceum in Catania: it was established by decree on 17 October 1860, opened on 19 December 1861 and in 1865 was named after the philosopher Nicola Spedalieri. The poet Mario Rapisardi taught here, and its students included the Latinist Concetto Marchesi, the physicists Orso Mario Corbino and Ettore Majorana and the writer Vitaliano Brancati. The five-year course follows the Italian national liceo classico curriculum in Italian with Latin and Ancient Greek and ends with the esame di Stato. Tracks: standard with reinforced mathematics and English (Chinese optional), Cambridge International IGCSE, medical-scientific, SpedArte with art history, and Koiné with law, economics and international relations. In the Cambridge section biology, Latin, mathematics and English as a second language follow Cambridge syllabuses with expert co-teachers; IGCSE exams are taken in years 3-4. According to the school, the lyceum has 875 students in 40 classes.
Key facts
Programmes
Cambridge · IGCSE · National programme
Languages of instruction
Italian, English
Languages taught
Latin, Chinese
Class size
on average about 21-22 students per class
About the fees Tuition at this state lyceum is free. The school asks families in all years for a school contribution of 110 EUR a year (19% tax-deductible); Cambridge section students pay an extra amount that the school announces after lessons start. In years 4-5 state fees of 21.17 and 15.13 EUR apply.
Admissions Admission to year 1 is through the state Iscrizioni online procedure, with the track chosen when enrolling. In summer families confirm enrolment by sending forms, the competence certificate and lower secondary diploma, any special needs certification and, in years 4-5, receipts for state fees. The website does not mention entrance tests for the Cambridge section or separate conditions for foreign children.
Stages and year groups Grades liceo classico 1-5, 40 classes. Italian state liceo classico curriculum, five years, ending with the esame di Stato (maturità). Tracks: Ordinario (an extra hour of mathematics and an hour of English with a native speaker in years 1-2, an optional weekly hour of Chinese in all years), Cambridge International - IGCSE, Medico-Scientifico (an extra hour of science in all years), SpedArte (art history in all five years with workshops), Koiné (law and economics in years 1-3, international relations in years 4-5). Cambridge course: Cambridge IGCSE - Biology, Latin, Mathematics, English as a Second Language; one hour each of Latin, mathematics and biology is co-taught with an English-speaking subject expert, plus an hour of English with a native speaker in years 1-2 and 4; mathematics 3+1 hours in years 1-2 and 2+1 in year 3; IGCSE exams in years 3-4.
Address Piazza Annibale Riccò s.n.c., 95124 Catania
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · IGCSE · authorised programmeThe Cambridge register names the school as its centre; it teaches Cambridge IGCSE. In the Cambridge section, biology, Latin, maths and English follow IGCSE syllabuses, partly taught in English, with exams in years 3-4.
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). IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate.
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 hall
✓Library
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: A single building on Piazza Annibale Riccò in Catania. Classrooms have interactive and digital touch boards, Wi-Fi, a physics lab and a chemistry-biology lab, a language lab, a multimedia room, two gyms and a fitness room, an inner courtyard, an auditorium and a smart library; every student has a Google Workspace account.
Clubs and activities: Debate Club · Service Learning · Theatre · Sports Club · Classical Contests and Competitions · Philosophy and Italian Olympiads · Poetry Competition · Diplomatici Association - CWMUN · Cambridge Certifications · Spanish Language Course · Volunteering
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 sizein the key facts above
In the Cambridge section Latin, mathematics and biology teachers work alongside English-speaking subject experts, and English is reinforced with an hour with a native speaker. The standard and medical-scientific tracks also have an hour of English with a native speaker in years 1-2. The school does not publish the total number of teachers.
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 policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school runs a psychological counselling service and health and legality education programmes; it describes its climate as open and inclusive.
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 data60 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 "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