Online School & Homeschool in Florence

Online school and homeschool in Florence

For Florence and Tuscany families — a city with one of Europe's largest American academic communities and a long-settled Anglo-Florentine population, but thin upper-secondary international school provision.

Live online Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge A-Level, Pearson Edexcel International, IB Diploma Programme, and American Curriculum with Advanced Placement (AP) for Florence and wider Tuscany families. Florence hosts the largest concentration of American study-abroad programmes anywhere in Italy — dozens of US university campuses and academic institutes operate in the city — alongside a long-settled Anglo-Florentine community with roots going back generations, and a steady flow of art-conservation, design, and cultural-institution professionals. That produces a substantial English-speaking family population, but one served by markedly thinner dedicated international school provision than Milan or Rome, particularly at upper-secondary level. Smartious extends full Cambridge, IB, and American curriculum access to Florence and rural Tuscany families regardless of local school capacity.

Challenges Florence families face

Florence has markedly thinner dedicated international school provision than Milan or Rome, especially at upper-secondary level — families with older teenagers often face a genuine gap.
Rural Tuscany families outside Florence face long commutes to any international school, making live online delivery a practical rather than merely preferable option.
The annual esame di idoneita applies until the education obligation is discharged at 16, administered in Italian and built from the family's submitted educational project.
Florence's large American academic population is heavily weighted toward university-level study-abroad rather than school-age provision, so the visible English-speaking community does not translate into school capacity.
Time zone: Florence shares Italy's CET (UTC+1) / CEST (UTC+2 summer) — 1-2 hours behind Nairobi EAT.

Why Florence families choose Smartious

Fills a genuine upper-secondary gap: Florence's international school provision thins considerably at the IGCSE and A-Level stage. Smartious covers exactly that range, live, without relocation or boarding.
Reaches rural Tuscany: Families in Chianti, Siena, Arezzo, and Lucca get full Cambridge, IB, and American curriculum access without a daily commute to Florence.
Built around the Italian exam calendar: Planned against the 30 April application deadline and June exam window, with the documentation the educational project depends on.
Strong fit for the American academic community: AP and Common Application support suits families connected to Florence's US university campuses, with the 13-year point flagged early if Italian university entry is also in view.
CET/CEST timezone alignment: Nairobi EAT is only 1-2 hours ahead of Florence.
Cross-country peer cohort: Florence's school-age international community is smaller than its adult academic population suggests. Smartious students join a cohort across many countries.

Istruzione parentale is legal and notification-based. Florence and Tuscany families declare annually to their local dirigente scolastico. The annual esame di idoneita is sat at a state or paritaria school until the education obligation is discharged at 16, application due 30 April with the educational project attached. Smartious supplies the underlying scheme of work, contact hours, assessments, and progress reports — particularly useful for rural families whose nearest exam school may not be their nearest town.

Premium tier includes optional in-person home tuition supplementation for Florence-area families during examination preparation periods, subject to associate teacher availability across Tuscany.

Live online via Smartious LMS. Classes scheduled to land within the Italian school day given the 1-2 hour EAT/CET-CEST offset. Recorded sessions 24/7. Works across TIM, Vodafone Italia, Fastweb, and WindTre — note that rural Tuscany fibre coverage is less uniform than the cities, so the recorded lesson library carries more weight for some families.

Florence hosts the largest concentration of American study-abroad programmes anywhere in Italy, with dozens of US university campuses and academic institutes operating in the city, alongside a long-settled Anglo-Florentine community with generational roots and a steady population of art-conservation, restoration, design, and cultural-institution professionals. The result is a substantial English-speaking adult population that does not translate into school-age provision: dedicated international schooling in Florence is markedly thinner than in Milan or Rome, particularly at upper-secondary level, and effectively absent across rural Tuscany. Florence shares Italy's CET (UTC+1) / CEST (UTC+2 summer) timezone, 1-2 hours behind Nairobi EAT.

Family situations we work with

Faculty and staff families at Florence's American university campuses and academic institutes.
Long-settled Anglo-Florentine families, a community with generational roots in the city.
Art conservation, restoration, and cultural-institution professional families.
Rural Tuscany families — Chianti, Siena, Arezzo, Lucca — outside practical reach of any international school.
Design, leather, and luxury artisan-sector families.
Families already in istruzione parentale seeking structured curriculum and exam documentation.
Families relocating from the UK or US maintaining an international curriculum trajectory.

Florence communities and nearby areas

Florence city centre · Fiesole · Bagno a Ripoli · Sesto Fiorentino · Chianti · Siena · Arezzo · Lucca

Common questions from Florence families

There is no international school near us in rural Tuscany — does Smartious work?

Yes, and this is one of the clearest cases for it. Live online delivery does not depend on local school provision. The one thing to plan for is the annual exam venue, which must be a state or paritaria school — Smartious helps identify a workable one and handles registration timing.

Does my child still have to sit Italian exams?

Until they turn 16, yes — an annual esame di idoneita. After the education obligation is discharged at 16, annual exams are no longer required unless your child wants to enrol in an Italian state or paritaria school.

We are connected to one of the American programmes in Florence — is the American Curriculum the right choice?

Often yes, particularly for US university plans via Common Application. One thing worth deciding early: Italian universities expect 13 years of schooling, and a 12-year American high school route may need additional study to satisfy that. If Italian university entry is a real possibility, Cambridge A-Level reaching Year 13 is the cleaner path.

Where do Tuscany students sit Cambridge examinations?

At the nearest Cambridge-authorised international school accepting external candidates, which for rural families may involve travel to Florence or another city. Smartious confirms the centre per family per session and plans around it.

Guides for families in Italy

What parents say

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