International School Admissions in Turin: 2026 Step-by-Step Guide

Last reviewed: October 2026 by Emma from ISA. Fee ranges are indicative; always confirm with the school.

Relocating to Piedmont for a post at the Politecnico, an engineering firm or one of the region's automotive and aerospace employers usually means securing a school place before the removal van is booked. This guide explains how international school admissions in Turin work for the 2026/27 and 2027/28 school years: when to start, what Italian law asks for at enrolment, how a date of birth decides the class, and what happens if you land in January rather than September.

Compared with Milan or Rome, Turin has a much shorter list of international schools. Three schools on International School Advisor serve the Turin area, all of them offering at least part of the International Baccalaureate, and they differ more than the shared IB label suggests: one sits in the hills outside the city, one runs several Italian and English tracks in the centre, and one combines a bilingual programme with residential places. A short list makes planning easier, but it also means a full class leaves you with fewer fallbacks.

Turin for international families: geography and commutes

Turin is a compact city laid out on a grid beside the Po, with the Alps on the horizon and an economy shaped by car manufacturing, aerospace, engineering consultancies and two large universities. International families tend to arrive on assignments of two to four years, and many choose Turin over Milan for its lower rents and calmer pace, while keeping Milan within reach by high-speed train.

Where you live matters, because the three schools are spread out. Vittoria International School uses two buildings in the historic centre: Vittoria Junior faces the Mole Antonelliana, and the upper secondary Licei building is on Via delle Rosine. Families in the Centro, Vanchiglia, Borgo Po or Crocetta can usually reach it on foot, by bike or by tram. World International School of Torino is on Via Traves in the north-west of the city, and its profile places the campus about 20 minutes from the centre. International School of Turin is not in the city at all: its campus is in Chieri, on the road to Pecetto, on the far side of the hills to the south-east.

Commuting is where many relocation plans come unstuck. Crossing the Po and climbing over the hill at rush hour can take far longer than the roughly 15 kilometres between central Turin and Chieri suggest, so families who pick IST often live on the collina, the residential hillside across the river, or in Pecetto Torinese, Pino Torinese or Chieri itself. IST runs a bus service and WINS offers one on request; ask for routes and pick-up times before you sign a lease, and try the journey yourself at 7.45 on a weekday.

Curricula on offer in and around Turin

All three schools offer the IB, but the routes to it differ, and each keeps a link to the Italian system:

• IB Primary Years and Middle Years Programmes: International School of Turin and World International School of Torino both run the full IB continuum, starting in the early years.
• IB Diploma Programme: available at all three schools; at Vittoria it is taught in Grades 11 and 12 of the English-taught upper secondary section and is recognised as equivalent to the Italian maturità.
• Cambridge Primary and Cambridge IGCSE: Vittoria follows the Cambridge Primary pathway in its primary school, and its Grades 9 and 10 complete the Cambridge ICE certificate of seven IGCSEs.
• Italian national curriculum: IST runs an Italian Programme recognised by the Italian Ministry of Education, and Vittoria offers Italian licei, including a five-year Liceo Linguistico Europeo and a four-year international liceo.
• External language and entrance exams: WINS prepares students for Cambridge English and Trinity College London exams and the SAT alongside the IB.

How age decides the class. Starting ages are set nationally. In Italy, children who turn six by 31 December can start primary school in September of that year, and early entry is allowed for those who turn six by 30 April of the following year; schooling is compulsory for ten years (Law 296/2006). Italian-curriculum classes are therefore grouped by calendar year of birth, while families arriving from England are used to a 31 August cut-off and many American schools use a date in late summer or early autumn. A child born between January and August can land in a different year group depending on the system a school follows, so ask each admissions office which cut-off it applies, and how it would place your child, before you compare offers.

The three schools and what each looks for in applicants

International School of Turin (Chieri)

IST is at Via Provinciale Chieri-Pecetto 34, just outside Turin, and teaches in English and Italian. It is an authorised IB World School running the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Programmes for ages 3 to 18, with an Italian Programme recognised by the Ministry of Education alongside. Its profile lists accreditation from NEASC and CIS and gives a roll of around 465 students from 45 nationalities, with a teacher to student ratio the school reports as 1:6. The campus also hosts an external examination centre and offers 24 after-school activities.

At the first enquiry, tell the school if you are interested in the IB route, the Italian Programme or both, because they lead to different qualifications and may change which reports and language checks the school needs. For children aged 11 or over, ask how a later switch between the two routes would be handled.

Vittoria International School (central Turin)

Vittoria is part of Scuole Vittoria Torino, a private, non-denominational day school for ages 3 to 18 whose Licei building is at Via delle Rosine 14. Vittoria Junior covers a bilingual Italian-English nursery, where the two languages alternate in every activity from age 3, a primary school following the Cambridge Primary pathway, and the lower secondary. At upper secondary level, families choose between a five-year Liceo Linguistico Europeo, a four-year international liceo with Cambridge IGCSE certificates, and the English-taught Upper Secondary International School, where Grades 9 and 10 complete seven IGCSEs and Grades 11 and 12 take the IB Diploma.

Because several tracks share one name, state exactly which one you are applying for and ask whether the entry assessment differs between them. Italian is compulsory for every student in the international section, taught as Italian L2 for non-native speakers, and newly arrived students can study Italian as a second language at both sites. Working parents should also note the free early drop-off from 7.30 am at Vittoria Junior and the after-school programme until 6 pm from October to May.

World International School of Torino (north-west Turin)

WINS, at Via Traves 28, is an IB World School authorised for the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Programmes, and it describes its teaching as bilingual in English and Italian, with a strong Italian language and literature programme. It takes children from age 2.5 to 18. The profile describes an 8,500 m2 campus with residential places for international families, a swimming pool, a gym, outdoor sports fields, science and ICT laboratories and music and art studios.

With the youngest entry age of the three, WINS is worth a call if a toddler needs a place soon after you arrive. Students who train seriously in a sport should ask how the school's IB Sport & Studio pathway for student athletes works and whether it changes the application, and families who need a residential place should raise it at the first contact, as it is a separate conversation from day admission.

Fees and admission costs in Turin

None of the three schools publishes a fee band on its International School Advisor profile; each asks families to contact the school. The figures below are therefore rough planning ranges, not any school's price list. For nursery and preschool, budget roughly €7,000 to €11,000 a year; for primary and lower secondary, roughly €9,000 to €15,000; and for upper secondary and the IB Diploma years, roughly €12,000 to €20,000. That is about US$8,000 to US$23,000 across the range at recent exchange rates. Where a school runs both Italian-curriculum and English-taught tracks, as Vittoria does, ask whether tuition differs between them.

• Application fee: usually charged when you submit the form and rarely refunded.
• Enrolment fee or deposit: paid to secure the place after an offer, typically within a deadline of a few weeks.
• Development or capital contribution: some schools add a one-off or annual levy, so ask whether one applies.
• Transport: IST runs a bus service and WINS offers a bus on request; check whether either is included in tuition.
• Meals: Vittoria Junior's canteen is run by an external caterer; confirm whether lunch is billed separately.
• Exams: IB Diploma and Cambridge IGCSE entry fees can be charged in the exam years.
• Uniform, devices and trips: a laptop for secondary, sports kit, residential trips and paid after-school clubs.
• Residential places: WINS lists accommodation for international families; ask for those costs separately from day tuition.

Tuition is commonly split into two or three instalments, and some schools offer sibling discounts; ask about both, along with the refund policy if a posting ends early. If your salary is paid in pounds or dollars, build a margin of around 10% into the budget to absorb currency swings between the offer and the final instalment.

Practical advice for applying in Turin

Start the timeline in the autumn. For a September start, beginning between September and January leaves room for a second choice if your first school is full. If you are keeping an Italian state school as a fallback, note that online enrolment for the first year of each stage usually opens in January. The sequence below works for most families:

1. Enquiry: email each admissions office with your child's date of birth, current curriculum, languages and intended start date, and ask whether the year group has space.
2. Visit: tour the campus, or join an online session if you are still abroad, and ask to meet whoever handles English or Italian language support.
3. Application: complete the form, pay any application fee and upload passports and recent reports.
4. Records: send reports for the last two years, a reference from the current school and any learning support assessments.
5. Assessment: younger children usually join an informal play session; older students may sit English and maths tasks, plus an Italian check for an Italian-curriculum track.
6. Offer or wait list: most schools reply within a few weeks of a complete file and keep a wait list when a class is full.
7. Acceptance and deposit: sign the contract and pay the enrolment fee or deposit by the deadline to hold the place.
8. Enrolment file: medical forms, vaccination records, the codice fiscale and proof of address complete the paperwork before the first day.

Get the Italian paperwork moving early. Beyond passports, a birth certificate and school reports, Italian enrolment relies on two items many families overlook. The first is the codice fiscale, the tax code issued by the Agenzia delle Entrate, which your child needs for almost any official registration. The second is the vaccination record: under Law 119/2017, vaccinations are mandatory for children up to 16, and for nursery and preschool they are a condition of enrolment, so bring the full record, ideally with an Italian translation, and expect it to be checked. Birth certificates issued abroad may need an apostille and a sworn translation, and reports in languages other than English or Italian should be translated. If your child could later move into an Italian-recognised track or a state school, ask whether foreign reports will need a dichiarazione di valore from the Italian consulate in your current country.

Arriving mid-year is possible, with caveats. All three schools cover the full age range up to 18, so a January or Easter start can work if a class has space, and Vittoria's Italian L2 provision is aimed at exactly that kind of newly arrived student. The hardest points to join are the two IB Diploma years, because the course runs over two years and subject choices are fixed early; if your move falls late in secondary, ask whether a mid-course transfer is realistic or whether starting at Grade 11 makes more sense. Keep copies of every report and any recent coursework, since schools use them to decide placement when a child arrives part-way through a year.

Compare Turin with the rest of Italy

If your employer could place you in another city, or you simply want a wider view before you apply, see our ranking of the best international schools in Italy to compare schools across the country.

More guides to schools in Turin

• International school fees in Turin
• ranking of the best international schools in Italy

Frequently asked questions

What age does my child need to be to start primary school in Turin?

Italian primary school starts in September of the year a child turns six, and children who turn six by 30 April of the following year may start early. Italian-curriculum classes follow the calendar year of birth, so a child arriving from England, where the cut-off is 31 August, can be placed differently from what you expect. Ask each school which cut-off it uses.

Which vaccinations are required to enrol in a school in Turin?

Law 119/2017 makes ten vaccinations mandatory for children up to 16, including measles, mumps, rubella, polio, tetanus and diphtheria. For nursery and preschool, being up to date is a condition of enrolment. Bring your child's full vaccination record, ideally with an Italian translation, so the school can check it before the first day.

Can my child join an international school in Turin in the middle of the year?

Yes, if the year group has a place. International School of Turin, Vittoria International School and World International School of Torino all teach up to age 18, and entry during the year is usually easiest in the primary years. It is much harder in the two IB Diploma years, because the course runs over two years, so ask early about Grade 11 and 12 transfers.