← Back to the rankingScuola Italiana Arturo Dell'Oro
Valparaíso, Chile · est. 1933 · Private
Illustration · Valparaíso
Scuola Italiana Arturo Dell'Oro is the school of the Italian community of Valparaíso. The Società Italiana d'Istruzione was founded in 1912, and classes began in March 1933 with 128 pupils; the school is named after an Italo-Chilean volunteer killed in the skies over Belluno in the First World War. Today it is one school on two sites: the historic building in Valparaíso and the Viña del Mar site opened in 2003. Since 2010 (Viña del Mar since 2011) the school has been paritaria, so the Italian state recognises its qualifications. The programme combines the Chilean and Italian curricula, and the school calls itself trilingual: Spanish and Italian as mother tongues, English up to First Certificate level. In grade 8 students sit the esame di Stato and receive the Italian lower secondary certificate, and in IV Medio the Italian liceo diploma in one of two tracks: liceo scientifico (scienze applicate) or liceo delle scienze umane (economico-sociale, since 2016). Graduates enter Chilean universities through agreements and universities in Italy.
Key facts
Programmes
Italian programme · National programme
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
Italian, Spanish
About the fees The 2026 fees, which the school gives as a reference for 2027, are set in UF and paid in 10 monthly instalments from March to December: Nivel Medio Mayor 78 UF per year, Pre-Kinder and Giardino 102 UF, grades 1-6 115 UF, grade 7 to IV Medio 125 UF. Sibling discounts: 6% for the second child, 16% for the third, 36% for the fourth, 51% for the fifth.
Admissions Admission for 2027 is open on both sites; according to the 2027 vacancy table there are places from Scuola Nido to grade 7 in Valparaíso and up to grade 1 in Viña del Mar, with no places from grade 8 upwards. Minimum age on 31 March: 3 for Scuola Nido, 4 for Pre Giardino, 5 for Giardino, 6 for grade 1. Parents have an interview with the management; kindergarten and grade 1 children have a play-based pedagogical assessment; grades 2 to 7 take written tests in Spanish, mathematics and English with a minimum mark of 4.0 (60%). If there are more suitable candidates than places, priority goes to siblings of students, children of staff and alumni, candidates with Italian citizenship and members of Italian community organisations. Foreign applicants provide a passport; school records from abroad must be apostilled and validated by the Chilean Ministry of Education. Students from Italy and from Italian paritaria schools may apply outside the admission period, the latter with an Italian language check. One priority place per class is reserved for children with special educational needs, but for 2027 these places are already filled.
Stages and year groups Grades Scuola Nido, Pre Giardino, Giardino, 1-12. Italian track, paritaria since 2010 (Viña del Mar since 2011): scuola dell'infanzia (Nivel Medio Mayor - Scuola Nido, Pre-Kinder - Pre Giardino, Kinder - Giardino), scuola primaria (1-5 básico), secondaria di primo grado (6-8 básico), secondaria di secondo grado (I-IV Medio). In grade 8 the esame di Stato and the Italian lower secondary certificate; in IV Medio the esame di Stato (maturità) and the diploma of the liceo scientifico, scienze applicate option, or the liceo delle scienze umane, economico-sociale option (since 2016). Chilean track: the school's own programme following the Chilean curricula, with PAES preparation. English with preparation for certificates up to First Certificate at no extra cost.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
MAECIItaly's foreign ministry names the school on its list of paritarie Italian schools abroad: it teaches the Italian curriculum, and Italy recognises its exams and diploma on a par with state schools.
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
Where leavers go: Politecnico di Torino · University of Bologna · University of Valparaíso · Federico Santa María Technical University · Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso · Andrés Bello University · Adolfo Ibáñez University · University of the Andes, Chile
The school says it sends graduates to the Politecnico di Torino and the University of Bologna and has contacts with the universities of Pavia and Bocconi; in Chile graduates enter universities with which the school has special admission agreements based on the Italian esame di Stato.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Art studio
Campus: One school on two sites. The historic building in Valparaíso on Avenida Pedro Montt was built from 1940 and opened in 1942; it houses classes from Scuola Nido to IV Medio, courtyards, a covered sports hall, a library, a canteen, physics and chemistry laboratories, art and music workshops, computer rooms and an assembly hall. The Viña del Mar site (Miraflores district) opened in 2003: an old mansion and a three-storey building with similar facilities. Some sports activities take place at external venues. It is a day school with no boarding; extended hours are available for kindergarten at extra cost.
Clubs and activities: Ballet · Drawing Workshop · School Orchestra · Robotics and 3D Printing · Instrumental Ensemble · Debate · Theatre · Creative Writing · Danza contemporánea (contemporary dance) · Cooking · Pastry Making · Rock Workshop · Art and Poetry · Taekwondo · Chess · Volleyball · Basketball · Five-a-Side Football · Girls' Gymnastics · Athletics
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 school presents its teachers by name and department: Italian, Spanish, English, mathematics, physics and computing, sciences, history, human sciences, art and music, physical education, inclusion, and the primary section of each site. In 2016-2018 the school rewrote its curricula as competence-based programmes combining Chilean and Italian requirements.
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 policynot stated on the website
Each site and the kindergarten has its own PISE school safety plan; there is an inclusion department and a department for pastoral care and school climate; all students are insured against accidents around the clock all year. In 2026 the school introduced mobile phone rules under law 21801.
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 data70 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 Value for money (6%) scored at the median71 "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.
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