Schools in Rome: British schools, Italian state schools and the road to UK universities

You can keep your children on the English National Curriculum in Rome, right through to A levels or the IB. It just costs about what a decent private school back home does, and the good places fill early.

The short version

• School is compulsory in Italy from 6 to 16, and state schools are free [1].
• Rome has several British-curriculum schools. The biggest, St George's British International School, charges EUR 13,900 to EUR 27,000 a year in 2026/27 (about £11,600 to £22,500), plus a EUR 4,000 registration fee (about £3,330) [4].
• Italian state school enrolment runs online each winter. For 2026/27 the window was 13 January to 21 February 2026, using SPID, CIE or CNS digital ID [3].
• UK university fees depend on your story. Families living in the EU on 31 December 2020 can get home fees for courses starting before 1 January 2028; most newer arrivals pay international fees [2].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.2002).

Your three options

Most British families in Rome end up choosing between three paths, and the right one depends on how long you're staying and how Italian you want your children to become.

1. A British-curriculum school. The easiest switch if you might move back to the UK, or on to another posting. Your children carry on with Key Stages, GCSEs or IGCSEs and A levels, so a return to a school in Surrey or Stockport is fairly painless.
2. An international or IB school. Good for families who move every few years. Several Rome schools mix a British lower school with the IB Diploma at 16 to 18.
3. The Italian state system. Free, local and the fastest way to fluent Italian. Brilliant for younger children and families settling for good, harder for a 14-year-old with no Italian.

British and international schools in Rome

Rome's British schools cluster in the leafy north and north-west of the city, along the Via Cassia and the Via della Camilluccia, where many expat families live. A few sit in the east and south. The school run matters more than you'd think in Rome traffic, so check the bus routes before you sign a lease. All the schools below were checked against their own sites in November 2026.

St George's British International School

The big one. St George's has a senior school and junior school on its main campus at Via del Cenacolo 25 in La Storta, about 16 km (10 miles) up the Via Cassia, plus a City Centre Junior School at Via di Santa Maria Mediatrice [5]. It follows an enhanced version of the National Curriculum leading to IGCSE, then the IB Diploma in the sixth form. It says it has more than 1,000 pupils, lists membership of COBIS and HMC, and holds British Schools Overseas accreditation from the Department for Education for 2024 to 2027 [5].

The New School Rome

Founded in 1972, The New School calls itself a private, not-for-profit school, and it sticks to the English National Curriculum from Foundation Stage to GCSE and A levels, with the Extended Project Qualification in the sixth form [6]. That makes it one of the few places in Rome where your child can sit A levels rather than the IB, which matters if you have a particular UK course in mind. It's on Via della Camilluccia in the north of the city [6].

Smaller and primary schools

Britannia, Core and Ostia International School are smaller and mostly primary, which some parents prefer for little ones: a cosier feel, and English-speaking friends while they pick up Italian. Ostia teaches its Foundation Stage entirely in English, then moves to a bilingual model, and suits families who'd rather live by the sea than in the city.

What it costs

Fees in Rome are a bit lower than at a London day school but still serious money. St George's is the only school above that publishes a full fee table online. Its 2026/27 figures, paid by parents, are [4]:

On top come a non-refundable EUR 300 application fee (about £250), a EUR 4,000 registration fee once you accept a place (about £3,330) and a EUR 350 re-enrolment fee each year (about £290). Lunch is included [4]. Fees are slightly higher if an employer pays.

The New School publishes its fees as a downloadable schedule rather than on the page itself, so ask the admissions office for the current figures [6]. The same goes for the smaller schools. Ask what's included: buses, lunches, trips and exam fees can add a surprising amount.

If your employer is moving you, check your package. School fees are one of the first things to negotiate, and a few schools charge employers a little more.

Italian state schools

Italian state schools are free, apart from books in the later years, trips and the odd contribution the school asks for. The structure looks like this:

• Scuola dell'infanzia (ages 3 to 6): optional nursery school, a bit like Reception plus a year.
• Scuola primaria (6 to 11): five years of primary.
• Scuola secondaria di primo grado (11 to 14): three years of lower secondary, ending with an exam.
• Scuola secondaria di secondo grado (14 to 19): five years at a liceo, technical or vocational school, ending with the maturità.

The FCDO's Living in Italy guide reminds parents that all children aged 6 to 16 must attend school or be home-schooled, and points to the Ministry of Education and Merit for finding a school and enrolling [1]. Nurseries for under-threes are run by the Ministry and the comune, and the Bonus Asilo Nido helps with nursery fees [1].

Enrolling in a state school

1. Get a codice fiscale for your child (and yourself). Italian admin runs on it.
2. Sort a digital identity. Parents enrol online through the Ministry's Unica platform using SPID, CIE (the electronic ID card) or CNS [3].
3. Apply in the winter window for the following September. For 2026/27 it ran from 8am on 13 January to 8pm on 21 February 2026 [3]. Expect similar dates for 2027/28, but check the Ministry's page from December.
4. Arriving mid-year? Contact the school directly. The online window is for planned September starts.
5. Ask about Italian support. Schools vary a lot in how they help newcomers, so ask what L2 (Italian as a second language) help is on offer.

Catchment is looser than back home, and popular schools in neighbourhoods such as Monteverde, Prati or Parioli can fill up. Visit, ask other parents and go with your gut.

UK university from Rome

This is the bit that catches families out. UK universities set fee status by residence, not by passport, so a British teenager who has lived in Rome for years can be charged international fees.

• Families in the EU on 31 December 2020. If you were living in the EEA or Switzerland then, and have lived continuously in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or Gibraltar since, your child can be eligible for home fees and student finance in England for a course that starts before 1 January 2028. They also need at least three years' residence in those places before the course starts [2].
• Arrived after Brexit. Most families who moved to Italy from 2021 onwards will be charged international fees in England unless they move back to the UK in time to meet the usual three-year residence rule.
• Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own funding bodies and rules [2].

Apply through UCAS as usual, from Rome. The schools above are used to UK applications, and their careers staff will know the deadlines. If your child is staying in Europe, Italian state universities are cheap by UK standards, but teaching is mostly in Italian.

Our guide to UK student loans while living abroad covers repayments if your child does study in the UK and then moves back out. For swapping notes on schools, our community group for Brits in Italy has plenty of parents who've done the open days.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Italy (last updated 28 October 2026)
2. GOV.UK (DfE): UK nationals in the EEA and Switzerland: access to higher education and 19+ further education (updated 4 September 2026)
3. Ministero dell'Istruzione e del Merito: Iscrizioni online 2026–2027 (checked 7 November 2026)
4. St George's British International School: Fees 2026–27 (checked 7 November 2026)
5. St George's British International School: home page and accreditations (checked 7 November 2026)
6. The New School Rome: curriculum and admissions (checked 7 November 2026)

Keep reading

• Moving to Rome as a Brit: visa and residence routes
• Renting in Rome
• Registering a child born abroad and British citizenship by descent
• UK student loans while living abroad