Quick answer: what bilingual schools are there in Naples? Naples has two kinds of bilingual option: Italian-English bilingual schools that follow the Italian curriculum with half the day in English and cost roughly EUR 5,000 to 10,000 a year, and English-medium international schools in the city and at Lago Patria that offer IB or Cambridge programmes at EUR 10,000 to 18,000. Choose by how long you plan to stay and where you will live.
Last reviewed: September 2026 by Catherine from ISA. Fee ranges are indicative; always confirm with the school.
Bilingual schools in Naples serve a mixed community that most people do not associate with the city: NATO and US Navy families based at Lago Patria and Capodichino, academics and researchers at the universities, executives at the port and in the growing aerospace sector, and Neapolitan families who want their children fluent in English. The result is a small but real choice of bilingual and international schools spread between the smart residential hills of Posillipo and Vomero and the coastal plain north of the city. This guide explains the two models on offer, profiles the schools, sets out fees in euros and helps you decide which fits your family.
Why bilingual matters in Naples
Naples is an Italian-speaking city in a way that Milan or Rome are increasingly not. Outside the international schools, daily life, sport, medicine and bureaucracy happen in Italian, and children who arrive without the language find friendships harder in the first year. A bilingual school that teaches genuinely in both languages gives an expatriate child a route into local life and gives a Neapolitan child fluent English without leaving the Italian system. That dual role is what makes the bilingual sector in Naples distinctive.
Geography splits the market in two. The city schools sit in Posillipo, Chiaia and Vomero, the hillside districts where most professional families live, and are reachable on foot or by funicular. The Lago Patria and Giugliano schools, 25 kilometres north-west, grew up around the NATO Joint Force Command and the US Naval Support Activity and serve families living in the villa communities along the coast. Commuting between the two zones through Neapolitan traffic is slow, so most families choose the zone before the school.
Bilingual and international curricula available in Naples
- Italian-English bilingual, Italian curriculum: scuola paritaria status, recognised by the Italian Ministry of Education, with roughly half the timetable taught in English and Italian state exams at the end of each cycle.
- Cambridge International: English-medium primary and secondary programmes leading to IGCSEs, usually alongside Italian language and culture lessons.
- International Baccalaureate: the IB Diploma and, at one school, the full continuum, taught in English with Italian as a strong second language.
- American curriculum: US-style programme with Advanced Placement courses at the school serving the NATO and US military community.
Bilingual and international schools in Naples
Anglo-Italian School
The Anglo-Italian School is a Montessori-inspired bilingual school in the city that runs from nursery through primary with a genuinely balanced Italian-English timetable and native-speaker teachers in both languages. It holds scuola paritaria recognition, so children can move seamlessly into the Italian secondary system, and it is a common choice for mixed Italian-international families in Chiaia and Posillipo. Fees sit in the lower band for bilingual education in the city.
International School of Naples
The International School of Naples is an English-medium school offering the IB Diploma and an American-style programme to a mixed community of international, military and Italian families. Italian is taught to all students and the school is proud of graduates who leave fluent in both languages. It is the natural shortlist entry for families on two or three year postings who want an internationally portable qualification.
Teodoro Monticelli International School
Teodoro Monticelli International School combines the Italian curriculum with Cambridge International programmes, giving students the option of Italian state qualifications, IGCSEs or both. It appeals to Neapolitan families who want an international dimension without abandoning the Italian route to university, and to expatriate families who intend to stay long enough for their children to become fully bilingual.
International School of Lago Patria
Located next to the NATO base north-west of the city, the International School of Lago Patria serves the alliance community and local families with an English-medium international programme and Italian language teaching. Its location makes it the practical choice for families living in the coastal villa communities of Lago Patria, Varcaturo and Licola, and its community is unusually international for the region.
Bilingual school fees in Naples: what to expect in 2026
Indicative annual tuition for 2026-27 in euros:
- Italian-English bilingual schools (nursery to lower secondary): roughly EUR 5,000 to 10,000.
- International schools, primary: roughly EUR 9,000 to 14,000.
- International schools, secondary and IB Diploma: roughly EUR 12,000 to 18,000.
Extras to budget for: a registration fee of EUR 150 to 500, a one-off enrolment fee of EUR 500 to 2,500 at the international schools, lunches at EUR 1,000 to 1,600 a year where compulsory, uniforms or school kit at EUR 150 to 400, a school bus at EUR 1,200 to 2,500 for families outside the immediate district, and IGCSE or IB examination fees of EUR 400 to 900 in the final years. Tuition at recognised schools is exempt from Italian VAT.
A hard fact worth knowing: Italian tax residents can claim a 19 percent deduction on school fees paid to recognised Italian schools, including scuole paritarie, up to a cap of EUR 800 per child per year. The deduction applies to the Italian bilingual schools but not to foreign-curriculum international schools that lack paritaria status, which slightly narrows the real cost gap between the two models.
Practical tips for choosing a bilingual school in Naples
Match the model to your time horizon. Families staying two or three years generally do best at an English-medium international school where the qualification travels. Families staying five years or more, or with an Italian parent, often find the Italian-English bilingual schools give a deeper integration and a lower bill, with the option of the Italian maturita or a switch to an international sixth form later.
Ask what bilingual means in hours. Some schools teach 50 percent of the week in English with native speakers; others offer a few hours of enhanced English on top of an Italian timetable. Ask for the weekly schedule by subject and language before you compare fees.
Visit at pick-up time. The mix of families at the gate tells you whether the school is genuinely international, mostly Neapolitan, or built around the NATO community, and each of those has different implications for your child's friendships and for how long classmates stay.
Compare Naples schools side by side
Use the ranking of the best international schools in Italy on International School Advisor to compare Naples schools with each other and with options in Rome and Milan.
More guides to schools in Naples
- How to choose an international school in Naples
- International school fees in Naples: 2026 cost guide
- Ranking of international schools in Italy
Frequently asked questions about bilingual schools in Naples
What is the difference between a bilingual and an international school in Naples?
A bilingual school in Naples follows the Italian curriculum with scuola paritaria recognition and teaches roughly half the week in English, leading to Italian qualifications. An international school teaches in English following the IB, Cambridge or an American programme, with Italian as a subject, and leads to internationally recognised qualifications. The bilingual schools are cheaper and integrate children into Italian life more deeply.
How much do bilingual schools in Naples cost?
Italian-English bilingual schools charge roughly EUR 5,000 to 10,000 a year, while English-medium international schools charge EUR 9,000 to 14,000 at primary and EUR 12,000 to 18,000 at secondary. Add registration and enrolment fees, lunches, transport and exam fees. Italian tax residents can deduct 19 percent of fees at recognised Italian schools up to EUR 800 per child.
Can a child with no Italian join a bilingual school in Naples?
Yes at nursery and early primary, where children absorb the language quickly and schools expect mixed starting points. From around age eight or nine, bilingual schools following the Italian curriculum usually expect some Italian because half the timetable, including Italian state assessments, runs in the language. Older children without Italian are better served by the English-medium international schools.