Liceo Italiano I.M.I. (Istituti Medi Italiani) is the Italian state school in Istanbul, run by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The school regards 1888 as the founding year of the first Italian state school in the city, and the liceo has been in its present building in Beyoğlu since 1919. It belongs to two systems at once: for Turkey it is a private foreign school, for Italy a state school. It now has three levels: a primary school (state since the 2024-2025 school year, 5 classes, 76 pupils), a middle school (3 classes, 50 pupils, only for children without Turkish citizenship) and a four-year scientific liceo (liceo scientifico, 20 classes, 450 students) with a preparatory Italian-language year for Turkish students. The liceo has two tracks: scientific and Turkish-mathematical. Graduates receive the Turkish diploma, and those who pass the esame di Stato also the Italian one. For Turkish students two thirds of lessons are in Italian and one third in Turkish; Italian students take English and extension subjects in those hours. English and Latin are taught as subjects.
Key facts
Programmes
Italian programme · National programme
Languages of instruction
Italian, Turkish
Languages taught
English, Latin
About the fees For Italian citizens tuition is free; the school asks for a voluntary contribution of 300 EUR per year for extracurricular activities and technology. Non-Italian students pay tuition: the school announces the amount every year by the end of April on its website, and the amount is not published on the site.
Admissions The primary school gives first priority to children with Italian citizenship only; children with dual citizenship (one of them Italian) and foreign children without Turkish citizenship are admitted after an Italian language test, with at most 18-20 children in the first class; first grade is for children turning 6 by 31 December 2026 (early entry up to 30 April 2027); children registered in the Turkish E-Okul system are not accepted. The middle school is open only to Italian and foreign children without Turkish or dual citizenship, Italians first, subject to authorised class sizes. In the liceo, Italians have priority in the non-Turkish quota; students from five-year licei are placed one year lower; those from non-state, non-paritaria schools are admitted after a qualifying exam in the last week of August. Turkish students enter the preparatory class, where they learn Italian, and move to the first liceo year with passing marks in Italian, Turkish and mathematics. Passports, a Turkish residence permit and a vaccination certificate are required; the deadline for 2026-2027 was 27 February 2026. Tuition is charged to non-Italian students.
Stages and year groups Italian levels currently offered: scuola primaria (5 classes, state since 2024-2025), scuola secondaria di primo grado (3 classes, only for children without Turkish citizenship), a four-year liceo scientifico (scientific track and, since 1998, a Turkish-mathematical track), preceded by a preparatory Italian year for Turkish students. The liceo ends with the esame di Stato (maturità) in June and July with a commission from Italy; successful candidates receive the Italian diploma, which gives access to any university in Italy. For Turkey the school is a private foreign school issuing the Turkish diploma, used to enter Turkish universities through the state exam. There is no kindergarten.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
MAECIIt is an Italian state school abroad: Italy's foreign ministry names it on its list of state schools, and the curriculum and the diploma are Italian.
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
MAECIItaly's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI)
An Italian school abroad: a state or paritaria school, the Italian curriculum, the esame di Stato exam and a diploma with the same legal value as in Italy.
What the badge means for this school. This is an Italian school abroad: it teaches the Italian curriculum, and Italy's foreign ministry names it on its list of state or paritarie schools - so Italy recognises its exams and diploma. The entry is not a quality inspection. Which stages are recognised and what the school charges are on this page and on the school's own website. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Italian programme
The Italian school curriculum taught in Italian: scuola dell'infanzia, primaria, secondaria di primo grado (scuola media) and the liceo, ending with the state exam, the esame di Stato, and the Italian diploma.
What this means for this school. The curriculum is set by the Italian state: the school is an Italian state school abroad or a paritaria school, recognised by Italy. Exams follow Italian rules and the diploma has the same legal value as in Italy, giving access to Italian universities. The host country's curriculum usually runs alongside, and students receive two certificates.
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 hallnot stated on the website
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field
Campus: The liceo occupies the historic building on Tomtom Kaptan Sokak in Beyoğlu, where the school has been since 1919. According to the school plan the liceo has a multimedia lab, science, physics and chemistry labs, a drawing room, a library, a theatre, two outdoor sports grounds, a table tennis area, a canteen and an infirmary; the primary and middle school use these facilities. The canteen is paid. The primary school has no canteen and no school bus.
Clubs and activities: Music Club · Musical Improvisation Workshop · Fluid Painting · Creative Writing · Orienteering · Fitness Club
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
According to the school plan the middle school has 6 teachers posted by the Italian Foreign Ministry and 2 project teachers, the liceo 27 Foreign Ministry teachers and 1 project teacher, plus local teachers of Turkish subjects. The teachers page names 43 staff. Two school psychologists run counselling and guidance.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
✓Security staff
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The liceo has a doctor, a nurse and a security officer. There are separate evacuation plans for the liceo and for the primary and middle school, and an epidemic plan. The counselling service sees students, parents and teachers, runs prevention work and helps form classes; a student wellbeing project is in place.
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 data80 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 data76 Value for money (6%) scored at the median65 "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
Istanbul, Turkey · est. 1888 · Private