Rome, Italy
International schools in Rome: what families need to know
Rome's international schools grew up around the diplomatic corps, the UN food agencies and the Holy See, so the market is smaller than Milan's but unusually varied — American, British, IB, French, German and religious foundations all serve long-standing communities. Most campuses sit north of the centre, along a corridor that also determines where relocating families end up living. This guide covers admissions, curricula, the school year, fees, areas and how places actually work here.
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What you tell us
- Where you are moving
- Rome
- Children
- Sofia (age 8) · Luca (age 5)
- Curriculum
- British preferred
- Start
- August
You tell us once, for every child. Your adviser assesses the brief and contacts relevant admissions teams on your behalf.
Example only. School names in these examples are fictional.
Rome in short
- Curricula available in Rome: American, British, IB, French, German and Italian bilingual.
- The Rome school year runs Early or mid-September to early or mid-June, with the main intake at the start of it.
- Schools are overseen by Ministero dell'Istruzione e del Merito; Lazio regional school office (USR).
- Tuition is published per year group by each school. Registration, deposit, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are normally billed separately.
- Availability is decided per child, per year group and per campus, so two children in one family can get two different answers from the same Rome school.
- You tell us what your family needs once, and see matched Rome schools with places, fees and next steps.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished September 2026Last reviewed September 2026
Rome at a glance
The facts that shape a Rome school search
- Oversight
- Ministero dell'Istruzione e del Merito; Lazio regional school office (USR)
- Main curricula
- American, British, IB, French, German and Italian bilingual
- School year
- Early or mid-September to early or mid-June
- Ages served
- 3 to 18
- Language
- English at most international schools, with Italian taught as a subject
How admissions work in Rome
Most Rome schools follow the same stages, whatever the curriculum.
- 1
Enquire and check the year group
Confirm the year group each child would enter in Rome. Age cut-offs differ between systems, so the same child can be placed a year apart in two schools.
- 2
Assessment
Most schools assess before offering a place. This can be a short online task, a classroom visit or a subject test, depending on age.
- 3
Offer, deposit and registration
An offer is usually held only after a registration fee or deposit is paid. Check whether either is refundable before you accept.
Documents to prepare
Some documents can take time to arrange from abroad. Start collecting them before you have chosen a school.
- Passport and, where required, visa or residence documents for each child
- Birth certificate
- School reports for the last two years
- Transfer or leaving certificate from the previous school
- Vaccination and health records
- Any learning support or assessment reports, shared early rather than late
More detail: how international-school admissions work.
Curricula families meet in Rome
We explain each system once, in the curricula library, rather than repeating it city by city.
British curriculum
IGCSE and A Level, and how English year groups are set by age.
International Baccalaureate
PYP, MYP and the Diploma, and who the IB suits on a later move.
American curriculum
US grades, high-school credits and AP, with their own placement rules.
Changing curriculum mid-move
What transfers cleanly between systems and where a child may repeat or skip a year.
The Rome school year and when to apply
Timing decides how much choice you have. These are the stages most families move through.
Six to nine months ahead
Start looking for the main intake
Popular year groups in Rome fill first, and assessment slots become scarce close to the intake.
Three to six months ahead
Assessments and offers
Schools assess, then make offers within days or weeks. Registration fees and deposits usually follow immediately.
One to three months ahead
Places confirmed, waiting lists move
Waiting lists move as leaving families release places, so keep asking rather than assuming a school is closed.
Start of the school year
Term begins
The Rome school year runs early or mid-September to early or mid-June.
Mid-year
In-year entry
Possible, but limited to whichever year groups have room. This is where asking schools directly saves the most time.
What school costs in Rome
Published tuition is the starting figure, not the total. These are the charges to budget for.
What the Rome market costs, in round numbers
High band- Primary, per year
- EUR 11,000 – 19,000
- Secondary, per year
- EUR 14,000 – 26,000
- Roughly, in US dollars
- US$12,000 – 28,000
Indicative annual tuition across mainstream international schools, for the stated academic year. Individual schools publish their own fees per year group, the top of each market runs above these ranges, and registration, deposits, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are billed separately. Figures refer to the 2025/26 academic year. Compare fees across cities.
- Tuition
- Published per year group by each school
- Registration fee
- Charged at application or offer stage, usually non-refundable
- Deposit
- Secures the place and is often deducted from the first term's tuition
- Transport
- School transport is charged separately and varies by distance and route
- Uniform, books, devices
- One-off costs at the start of the year, higher in the first year
- Meals and activities
- Optional at most schools, but a real part of the annual budget
- Examination entries
- IGCSE, A Level, IB and AP entries are billed in the exam years
See also understanding international school fees.
Places and waiting lists
Which Rome schools have places for your children?
A place is not something a school has in general. It exists for one year group, at one campus, for one intake. Two children in the same family can get two different answers from the same school on the same day.
School websites cannot tell you this. Availability changes when a family leaves, when a contract ends, or when a new year group opens. That is why relevant schools answer directly instead of publishing a number that would be out of date by the time you read it.
For each child, a Rome school can answer that a place is available, that there is a waiting list, that the intake is full, or that it cannot confirm yet. You see the answer, the fees and the next step, and you decide where to focus.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Your schools · 2 children · British curriculum · Starting August
Westbrook International School
From the school
North campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Place availablePlace available for August
Next step: Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
From the school
City campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Waiting listWaiting list, reviewed monthly
Next step: Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
From our team
Main campus · British · Annual fees: Earlier-year reference fee
Fees for your intake not yet confirmed
- Sofia · Year 4Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
- Luca · Year 1Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
Next step: We ask admissions to confirm
Every option says who provided the information and whether places are confirmed. Your adviser explains what each answer means for your children.
Example school options. School names in these examples are fictional.
Choosing where to live in Rome
We do not rank areas. These are the questions that decide whether a school works day to day.
The northern corridor: Cassia, Olgiata, La Storta
Where much of the international schooling sits, with houses, gardens and school buses. The commute into the centre is the price.
Parioli and the north-central quarters
Traditional diplomatic residential areas, apartments, close to embassies and several schools. Expensive and central.
EUR and the south
Business district with its own schooling and easier parking. Practical if your work sits south rather than north.
Historic centre and Trastevere
Wonderful to live in, harder for the school run, and with fewer international places. Bus routes are the deciding factor.
Moving to Rome with children: a checklist
The school-related steps that decide how smooth the first term is.
- Confirm each child's year group under the curriculum you are moving to in Rome.
- Collect and, where required, attest school reports and certificates before you leave.
- Ask schools about places for every child in the same request, not one at a time.
- Check whether registration fees and deposits are refundable if your move date changes.
- Check the visa or residency steps that enrolment can depend on.
- Ask about learning support early, since capacity is decided case by case.
- Line up housing only after you know which school can take all of your children.
See also the moving-abroad timeline.
Moving with more than one child
One school that works for every child, not one child
Most families moving to Rome are moving with more than one child, and the hardest part is rarely finding a good school. It is finding one school that can take all of your children in the same year.
Checking each child separately, school by school, is where the search becomes slow. A school that has room in Year 1 may be full in Year 4, and you only learn that after two emails and a wait.
One request covers every child. Each school answers for each child, so you can see immediately where all of your children could start together, and where you would be splitting the family across two schools.
- Ask once for the whole family, not once per child.
- See sibling answers side by side before you contact anyone.
- Ask about sibling priority and start dates while places are still open.
Your schools, side by side
Westbrook International School
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- North campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- City campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
- Information
- From our team
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- Main campus
- Annual fees
- Earlier-year reference fee
- Next step
- We ask admissions to confirm
Westbrook International School
Harbour Ridge Academy
Elmfield International College
Sofia · Year 4
Luca · Year 1
Information
From the school
From the school
From our team
Curriculum
British
British
British
Area
North campus
City campus
Main campus
Annual fees
Confirmed for your intake
Confirmed for your intake
Earlier-year reference fee
Next step
Assessment, then offer
Campus visit, then assessment
We ask admissions to confirm
Example comparison. School names in these examples are fictional.
How schooling works in Rome
As across Italy, schools are statali, paritarie or non-paritarie. Most foreign-curriculum international schools in Rome are non-paritarie and award the IB Diploma, an American high school diploma or British qualifications; several religious and national foundations run their own recognised programmes. Italian universities accept these with a recognition step, so ask about that early if Italy is a possible destination for your children.
A community-shaped market
Rome's schools are tied to particular communities: an American school with an American calendar and diploma, French and German schools following their home ministries, and IB schools serving a broad mix.
This makes the fit question unusually concrete here. Choosing the school that matches your children's previous system and likely next move matters more than a general reputation.
Calendars do not all match
Italian-calendar schools finish in early June; some foreign-system schools follow their home country's dates, which can end later or start earlier.
If you have children in two different schools, check both calendars before booking flights or a summer move.
Traffic decides the day
Rome's morning traffic is severe and the Grande Raccordo Anulare is unpredictable. A 15 km school run is not a 20-minute journey.
Most international schools run buses along the northern corridor. Living on a route is worth more than living closer as the crow flies.
Fees and what is billed separately
Tuition is moderate compared with northern Europe, with a registration fee and often a one-off enrolment contribution.
Bus, lunch, books, trips and examination entries are separate. The bus is a significant annual line item given the distances involved.
Paperwork and vaccination
A codice fiscale is needed for enrolment and most administration. Diplomatic families follow a separate registration route through their mission.
Italy requires proof of specified vaccinations for school attendance, and schools ask for previous records and birth certificates at enrolment.
What families get wrong in Rome
The local details that cost families a term, a deposit or a long daily drive.
Choosing the neighbourhood before the school
Most capacity is in the northern corridor. Living in the centre can add an hour a day.
Assuming all schools share a calendar
National-system schools follow their home ministry's dates, which differ from the Italian year.
Overlooking the recognition step
A foreign diploma is accepted by Italian universities but needs formal comparability paperwork.
Skipping the bus route map
It is the single most useful document when choosing where to live in Rome.
Missing vaccination documentation
It is a condition of attendance and is checked at enrolment.
Waiting for the diplomatic cycle to settle
Places move in June and July as postings change. Ask to be told when one opens rather than accepting a spring answer as final.
Official Rome resources
Primary sources for regulation, inspection and enrolment. We link out rather than paraphrase.
How InternationalSchools.org works in Rome
Tell us what your family needs once, and see matched schools in Rome with places, fees and next steps.
- 1
Tell us about your family and Rome
Your children's ages and year groups, the curriculum you prefer, your budget and when you want to start. One brief covers every child named in it.
- 2
Your adviser researches Rome
A 30-minute consultation, then research of the schools in Rome that suit each child, and contact with relevant admissions teams about your start date.
- 3
Receive your recommendations
Three recommended schools plus up to two alternatives where suitable, with written reasoning for each child, a review call and follow-up questions answered for 30 days.
We do not publish scores or predict availability. How we select schools.
Questions families ask about Rome
Find international schools in Rome for your children
One conversation, every child, answers from the schools themselves.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Go deeper on Rome
How fees compare across cities
What is published, what is billed separately and how Rome compares with the other markets we cover.
Compare the main curricula
British, IB and American side by side, and what a later move between countries changes.
How admissions work
The stages most international schools use, and where relocating families lose time.
Continue reading
Waiting lists and availability
How waiting lists really work, and what to ask before you join one.
School year and intake timing
When places open, and what a mid-year move changes.
How it works
From telling us what you need to answers from the schools themselves.
Other destinations
You can search any destination, published guide or not.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Guide version 3.0. Rome information is compiled from official regulators, curriculum authorities and school-published material. Fees, intakes and requirements are set by individual schools and change, so confirm details directly with a school before you rely on them.
Sources
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