Virtual School in Italy: Sicily, Sardinia, Puglia and a South With Few International Schools

By Brendaliz Chelangat, Head of Academics · October 2026 · 9 min read

Most writing about international schooling in Italy stops at Rome, or at Naples. South of that, and across the islands, there is very little English-medium provision of any kind, yet the families who need it are real: engineers at STMicroelectronics in Catania, aerospace staff at Leonardo’s plant in Grottaglie, US Navy families at Sigonella, remote workers who have moved to Puglia or Sardinia, and Italian families coming home after years abroad with children educated in English. This guide is about how a virtual school serves them, from the legal route to the journey to an exam centre.

Who the southern families are

They fall into a few groups. Industrial and technical families, at semiconductor, aerospace and energy sites in Sicily, Puglia and Sardinia, often on postings of a few years. Military families around Sigonella and Naples, many of whom have base schools but want an additional record or a subject those schools do not offer. A growing group of remote workers and their families who have chosen the south for its pace and cost of living. And returning Italians, from the UK, Germany, the United States or Australia, whose children have spent years in English-medium schools and do not want to lose that record entirely. What they share is distance: the nearest international school, if there is one, may be hours away or on the mainland.

The two routes the law allows

Italian law gives southern families the same two options as everyone else. The first, and the most common, is supplementary: the child attends a local Italian school, which carries the enrolment and the Italian record, and studies Cambridge or Pearson Edexcel subjects live with us in the afternoon. The second is istruzione parentale, home education by annual declaration to the head of the local school, with us as the main school. Until the education obligation ends at sixteen, that route requires an annual esame di idoneità in Italian at a state or paritaria school, built from the educational project the family submits. Our separate guide covers the deadlines; here it is enough to say that the records we keep are designed to support it.

The language question, which matters more in the south

In Milan or Rome a child can often find English-speaking peers at school. In Lecce or Cagliari, the local school will be entirely in Italian, and so will the annual exam for families in istruzione parentale. That is not a problem to avoid but a fact to plan around. Younger children usually become fluent in Italian quickly at a local school, and the online classes keep their English academic work moving. Older teenagers arriving with little Italian may find the full-time online route easier for the IGCSE years, with Italian studied seriously alongside, because the annual exam and daily life both need it. Either way, the plan should be set out at the start of the year, not discovered in the spring.

Exams from a long way away

Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel examinations are sat at authorised exam centres, which families book. In Italy these are usually Cambridge-authorised schools that accept external candidates, and they are concentrated in the north and around Rome, so a student in Palermo or Cagliari should expect a journey, sometimes a flight. We confirm the centre per family, per session, and plan fewer, well-prepared sittings so that each journey counts. Pearson Edexcel’s International GCSE and International A-Level run more series each year than Cambridge, which gives a southern family more choice of dates. For families in istruzione parentale before sixteen, the Italian exam and the international exams are separate tracks, and we plan the calendar so they do not collide.

After sixteen, and where it leads

Once the education obligation ends at sixteen, the annual Italian exams stop unless the student enrols in an Italian school, and the A-Level years become a straightforward choice. Italian universities assess A-Levels and the IB Diploma through recognition, and they expect thirteen years of schooling, which an A-Level route reaching Year 13 meets. UK universities read A-Levels directly through UCAS; US universities read AP and the full record through the Common Application. For a returning family unsure whether their child will study in Italy or abroad, an international record keeps both options open. Families should confirm entry requirements per programme, including Italian-language requirements for courses taught in Italian, and should do so early.

Southern Italy and the islands have international families and very few international schools. A virtual school brings the same live English-medium teaching to Catania, Bari, Lecce, Palermo and Cagliari as to Milan, and plans the Italian requirements, the language and the exam journeys honestly from the start. Book an assessment and we will look at your child’s age, Italian and nearest exam centre together.

Frequently asked questions

We live in Puglia with no international school nearby. What are our options?

Most families keep a local Italian school enrolment and add live Cambridge or Edexcel subjects with us. Some choose istruzione parentale with us as the main school, which is legal by annual declaration.

How do class times work from Sicily or Sardinia?

All of Italy is two hours behind Nairobi in winter and one hour behind in summer, so live classes land in the afternoon. Every session is recorded.

Where would my child sit Cambridge exams?

At authorised exam centres, which families book. In Italy these are mostly in the north and around Rome, so we confirm the centre per family, per session and plan sittings to keep journeys few.

Does my child need to sit Italian exams too?

Only in istruzione parentale, and only until the education obligation ends at sixteen. A child enrolled at an Italian school follows that school’s normal assessment.

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