Liceo Statale Niccolò Machiavelli is a state upper secondary school (Istituto di Istruzione Superiore) in the historic centre of Florence. Tracks: liceo classico, Liceo Classico Cambridge International, liceo delle scienze umane and its economic-social option, and a Liceo Internazionale with a common two-year course followed by a choice of international scientific or international linguistic track. The international liceo was created under a bilateral Italian-French agreement: French is taught by native-speaker teachers, history and geography in years 1-2 and history in years 3-5 are taught in French; the school calls it the only international liceo in Tuscany. In the Cambridge classical track some subjects are taught in English on Cambridge IGCSE syllabuses with exams; the course ends in year 4 so that the fifth year is devoted to preparing for the maturità. The main language of instruction is Italian. The school attracts students not only from Florence but from neighbouring municipalities and provinces such as Prato and Arezzo.
Key facts
Programmes
Cambridge · IGCSE · National programme
Languages of instruction
Italian, English
Languages taught
French, German, Spanish, Latin
Class size
21 students per class on average
About the fees State liceo (scuola statale): there is no tuition fee and enrolment follows the state procedure. No separate charge for the Cambridge course or IGCSE exams appears on the pages read.
Admissions Entry to year 1 is through the state iscrizioni online procedure on the ministry portal, after completing lower secondary school, within the dates set each year by the ministry circular (usually in November); SPID, CIE or eIDAS is required. The pages read do not describe a separate selection for the Cambridge classes or the international liceo. The website says nothing about admitting foreign students or children without Italian.
Stages and year groups 69 classes. Five-year liceo (upper secondary) ending with the esame di Stato. Liceo Classico Cambridge International integrates Cambridge IGCSE syllabuses. Year 1 - English as a Second Language (plus 1 hour a week with a native speaker) and Physical Education (plus 1 hour); year 2 - English as a Second Language, Physical Education with the exam in June, Biology (plus 1 hour); year 3 - English exam in November, English as a Second Language, Biology, Literature in English; year 4 - Biology with the exam in June and Literature in English. No Cambridge course in year 5. AS and A Level are not offered. Liceo Internazionale (Italian-French): two-year course of 36 hours a week, French 4 hours, English 4 hours, history and geography in French; in the linguistic three-year course French 5 hours, English 4 hours, German or Spanish 5 hours. Also liceo classico, liceo delle scienze umane and the economic-social option.
Address Via Santo Spirito 39, 50125 Firenze (sede centrale); Piazza de' Frescobaldi 1, 50125 Firenze (Palazzo Frescobaldi, sede succursale: Liceo Internazionale)
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · IGCSE · authorised programmeThe Cambridge register names the school as its centre; it teaches Cambridge IGCSE. The Cambridge International classical liceo covers IGCSE ESL, Physical Education, Biology and Literature in English in years 1-4, with year 5 devoted to preparation for the maturità.
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 hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
·Librarynot stated on the website
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The liceo occupies two historic palazzi in central Florence; the buildings have no gyms, which the school says it turned into an educational opportunity. Museums and theatres are within walking distance, and the school works with the Institut Français and the British Institute.
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
The school reports 69 classes with 21 students per class on average; English in the Cambridge classes and French in the international liceo are taught together with native-speaker teachers. The school does not publish teacher numbers or qualifications.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
The school says nothing on its website about security, medical care or pupil support.
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 data55 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data60 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data55 "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
Florence, Italy · State