← Back to the rankingLiceo Classico Statale «Stefano Maria Legnani»
Saronno, Italy · est. 1969 · State
Illustration · Saronno
Liceo Classico Statale «Stefano Maria Legnani» is a state upper secondary school in Saronno (province of Varese), founded in 1969 by decision of the town as a branch of the classical liceo of Busto Arsizio and independent since 1974. Today it has four courses: liceo classico, liceo linguistico (with an EsaBac section giving both the Italian diploma and the French baccalauréat), liceo delle scienze umane and the economic and social liceo (LES). 1275 students attend in 57 classes. Lessons are in Italian under the state curriculum; in the language liceo students learn three foreign languages from English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese, with one subject taught in a foreign language from the third year and two from the fourth. Since the 2013-2014 school year the school has prepared students for Cambridge IGCSE exams, held at the liceo itself; in 2025-2026 these are exams in English, German and Chinese for three classes of the language liceo. The school takes part in Erasmus+, the programme for high level student athletes and the CertiLingua network.
Key facts
Programmes
Cambridge · IGCSE · National programme
Languages of instruction
Italian
Languages taught
English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Latin
About the fees Tuition at the state liceo is free. Families pay a voluntary contribution (erogazione liberale) together with compulsory insurance via Pago in Rete or the electronic register; the school indicates a charge for IGCSE exams without an amount (a separate circular is promised).
Admissions Enrolment in the first year follows the state online procedure (Iscrizioni online). During the year, within capacity, the school gives priority to students for whom refusal would deny the right to education, for example when the family has moved or when switching from a private to a state school; transfers from another school after enrolment are considered by the head teacher depending on places, through a form and a waiting list. IGCSE exams and language certificates are open to students in years 3-5 of all courses with a suitable language level. The school does not write on its website about conditions for children from abroad or without Italian.
Stages and year groups 57 classes. Italian state curriculum, 5 years, ending with the esame di Stato. Courses: liceo classico (with the TAM arts strand), liceo linguistico (three foreign languages, level B2 in English and B1 in French, German, Spanish and Chinese, with preparation for certificates up to B2 or C1; one subject taught in a foreign language from the third year, two from the fourth), liceo linguistico EsaBac (Italian diploma and French baccalauréat, French at least B2), liceo delle scienze umane and the economic and social liceo (LES). Cambridge International: since the 2013-2014 school year the school has prepared students for Cambridge IGCSE (described in 2020 as studying a non-language subject in English); in 2025-2026 IGCSE exams in English, German and Chinese are taken by classes 2DL, 3CL and 4CL of the language liceo based on regular lessons, with exams in April and May at the liceo; the school describes the project itself as organisational, without separate lessons.
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 languages liceo, students in selected classes sit IGCSE exams in English, German and Mandarin at school on the basis of their regular lessons, without a separate Cambridge course.
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
Clubs and activities: Gli Ababubi (theatre company) · Classical Theatre · Theatre Workshop · Fitness Boxing · Football · Volleyball · Baseball · Erasmus+ (international exchanges)
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
Preparation courses for language certificates are taught by school teachers and external teachers after lessons once a week; in the language liceo Italian native teachers work together with native speakers of foreign languages. Two teachers of the liceo are in charge of IGCSE. The school does not give teacher numbers or qualifications.
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 policy
The website has a confidential form for reporting bullying, a decalogue against cyberbullying, a manifesto of non-hostile communication and a protocol for handling gender violence at school. Since the 2017-2018 school year the liceo has been part of the regional network of legality promotion centres (CPL) of the province of Varese. There is a dedicated section for students with special educational needs.
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 data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data75 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