Education and training is compulsory for 10 years and covers the first cycle of education (primary and lower secondary education) and the first two years of the second cycle of education.

Therefore, at completion of the first cycle of education, students must continue their studies in the second cycle, which offers two different options:

• upper secondary education (scuola secondaria di secondo grado), which can be general, technical and vocational and falls under the responsibility of the State;
• vocational education and training (Istruzione e formazione professionale, IeFP), which is organised by the Regions.

Upper secondary education, both general and vocational, and has an overall duration of 5 years.

The following sections describe general upper secondary education. As for technical and vocational upper secondary education and IeFP courses, please refer to the relevant sctions.

Types of institutions

General upper secondary education is offered by institutions called licei (sing. liceo), which can be State institutions, State-equivalent schools (paritarie) or private institutes. Paritarie schools are independent institutions, owned either by public bodies or by private subjects, that meet some specific requirements and release the official certifications. 

There are seven types of liceo, each specializing in the following areas: arts (liceo artistico), classical studies (liceo classico), sciences (liceo scientifico), languages (liceo linguistico), music and dance (liceo musicale e coreutico), human sciences (liceo delle scienze umane), Made in Italy.

The liceo artistico offers the following six options: figurative arts, architecture and environment, design, audiovisual and multimedia, graphics, set designing. The liceo scientifico offers the mainstream path, the option in applied sciences and the option in sports, while the liceo delle scienze umane offers, beside the mainstream path, an option in social and economic studies. In all licei other experimental options may be available.

At present, the organisation of licei is regulated by DPR 89/2010.

Geographical accessibility

The Constitution of the Italian Republic (art. 33 and 34) establishes that the State must provide access to education to all young people living in the country, regardless of the geographical area they live in and of their individual social and economic situation. 

The central and branch administrations of the State, as well as regional, provincial and local administrations (municipalities) are responsible for achieving this goal. In fact, the Regions are responsible for the general planning of the educational offer and for the school network, so that resources can be more rationally and efficiently used.

Admission requirements and choice of school

Compulsory education lasts ten years and covers the first cycle of education (primary and lower secondary levels), and the first two years of the second cycle of education. Thus, students who have successfully completed the first cycle of education must enrol in the second cycle that offers State-run upper secondary general and vocational education and the regional vocational education and training (IeFP).

Parents are free to choose which school to send their children. Each school establishes its own criteria for the enrolment of students in case applications exceed the number of places available. During the months of January and February each year, parents submit the enrolment request through an online platform of the Ministry (Unica). At the submission, they indicate a school as a first choice and up to two alternative options. Parents receive an official communication once the first school has received the request of admission. In case the school rejects the request, this is re-directed to the other schools indicated by parents.

At enrolment, students and their parents sign a 'Joint responsibility agreement'. This document details the rights and duties (e.g. use of mobile telephones and electronic devices at school) of all stakeholders in the school community, i.e. the school staff, the students and their parents.

Age levels and grouping of students

General upper secondary education at licei lasts five years. It is generally attended by students aged 14 to 19 who are organised in groups (classes) according to their age. 

In the first grade, a class should generally have no fewer than 27 and no more than 30 students. The minimum required number of students in the following grades of upper secondary school is 22. These limits can vary by 10%. Usually, the maximum number of students per class lowers to 20, if there are students with disabilities (DPR 81/2009).

Class teachers are specialists in one or more subjects included in the curriculum (e.g. maths and sciences).

Organisation of the school year

The organisation of the school year falls under the responsibility of both the Ministry of education and merit and the Regions. 

The Ministry defines the annual calendar of the national holidays and the dates for the final examinations (D.Lgs. 297/1994). The Regions define the school calendar (start and end of school activities, length of breaks for national holidays, other holidays) to adapt it to the local needs (D.Lgs. 112/1998). Every year, the Ministry publishes on its website a summary table with all regional school calendars. The school calendars are also available in the Data and Visuals section of the Eurydice website.

The school year starts on the 1st of September and finishes on the 31st of August. Teaching activities are carried out Between the 1st of September and the 30th of June schools carry out the teaching activities that include a minimum of 200 teaching days, the periodic and final assessments and the CPD activities. The 200 teaching days are distributed over 33 weeks for a minimum of 5 days a week. Schools that operate 6 days a week, include lessons on Saturdays. For students’ evaluation purposes, each school can divide the period of teaching activities into two or three terms. 

The compulsory annual and weekly teaching time is established by central regulations for each type of liceo and for each subject (DPR 89/2010).

Organisation of the school day and week

Schools autonomously establish the daily organisation of lessons and distribution of activities across the days of the week. At this school level lessons are usually held on six days, including Saturday.

Lessons last 60 minutes, although schools can decide to have shorter lessons, providing that the compulsory annual amount of teaching time for each subject is met. Schools usually organise one or more 10-minute break at mid-morning.

At this level of education, out-of-hours provision is not common. However, schools may be open to welcome students participating in activities organised by the school or by other public and private bodies.

The table below presents a sample school week for a liceo scientifico:.