Best international schools in Portugal: from Lisbon to the Azores

Portuguese residents, citizens and foreigners can get primary education in the country. In most schools, students learn Portuguese, one of the most widely spoken languages ​​in the world. Pupils also get education through international programs.

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The system leans toward academics rather than practice. In general, classes can be large with a heavy workload in class and at home for children. The quality of education is high.

School types. There are two types of schools in Portugal: public, where they teach in Portuguese, and international, with programs in English. The cost of education depends on the school’s prestige and the teachers' composition: the more foreign teachers, the more expensive the education.

Program. In elementary school, children study Portuguese, mathematics, science, music, drawing, and physical education. English is taught from the third grade. Children of foreigners can attend additional free Portuguese lessons.

If the parents believe that the child needs the help of a psychologist to adapt, the school allocates a specialist free of charge. To apply, please contact your class teacher.

Another plus of Portuguese schools is that you do not need to buy textbooks and diaries. The administration issues a QR code, according to which parents pick up textbooks in the school library or a specialised store. Journals are also free. Parents pay only for backpacks and stationery.

Portuguese schools usually consist of several buildings. Students under the age of 10 study separately from high school students.

Schedule and school calendar. Lessons last 90 minutes. Classes are held from 9 am to 5 pm, but parents can bring their children to class by 7:30 am. The pupil can stay for an after-school between 5 pm to 7 pm.

The school year begins in mid-September. There is no fixed date: the Portuguese Ministry of Education recommends when to start studies, for example, between the 15th and 20th of September. The school administration independently determines the date of the first classes.

Vacation dates are also not fixed. At the beginning of the academic year, they are approved by the Portuguese Ministry of Education.

Pupils rest for two weeks at Christmas and Easter. Classes are closed for a week from late February to early March, when the Mardi Gras carnival occurs.

The most extended holidays are in summer: they start in early July.

Schooling takes 12 years in Portugal. However, it might take more if a child goes to preschool classes. A child can graduate from school at the age of 15, after the ninth grade, or continue studying in high school to prepare for university.

Pre-school, 1—3 years. Children from three to five years old are accepted into preparatory classes. Their training is optional.

Primary school education takes nine years, from 6 to 15. Primary school is divided into three stages:

1. Ensino Básico, 1º ciclo, or grades 1—4. Children start going to school when they turn 6. Pupils take Portuguese, maths, science, and art lessons during the first four years of school. Children start learning English in the third grade, but you can often take English classes earlier as an extracurricular activity.

2. Ensino básico 2º ciclo, or grades 5 and 6. At this stage, children of 10 to 12 years old learn Portuguese, English, history, the geography of Portugal, maths, sciences, PE, visual education, information technologies, and music.

3. Ensino Básico 3º ciclo, or grades 7 to 9. The teenagers from 13 to 15 years old continue taking Portuguese, English, maths, history, geography, chemistry, physics, and PE classes. At this stage, pupils usually start learning a third foreign language.

High school, 3 years. Students study according to the general program for the next three years if they want to enter universities or according to the specialised program if they plan to work immediately after school.

Final exams. Pupils take final exams at the end of the 12th grade. Subjects depend on the speciality chosen by the student.

The maximum score on exams is 20 points. Students who score 18 or 19 points pass the entry threshold in most universities.

Middle schools use a grading scale from 1 to 5:

1. The lowest grade, fail to pass.

2. Unsatisfactory.

3. Satisfactory.

4. Good.

5. Excellent.

High schools use a grading scale that goes up to 20, where 1 is the lowest, but the minimum pass mark is 10.

Entry order. Children enrol in a school if they turn six before September.

School enrollment opens in May. Information on the number of free places can be found on a school website or administration.

Parents must submit an online application to enrol a child in a school. They attach the following documents:

1. Copies of parents’ and child’s passports.

2. A medical certificate with vaccination information, translated into Portuguese.

3. A father’s or mother’s individual tax number.

4. A student’s personal file.

5. Two photos for a personal file.

6. Documents confirming the residence address. For example, a property deed for an apartment or a lease agreement.

International students. Families who move to Portugal from other countries need to prepare documents in advance and certify them with an apostille.

If a student is transferred from a foreign school, they need to get their personal file with information on subject progress. Based on the personal file, the student is enrolled in the appropriate class.

Dona Filipa de Lencastre Primary School for children aged 6 to 10
Source: Escola Básica e Secundária D. Filipa de Lencastre

Portuguese public schools follow the generally accepted secondary education program — the International Baccalaureate or the IB Diploma Programme.

The lessons are in Portuguese. If the child does not know the language well enough, the school provides additional classes for free.

In public schools, classes are re-formed every year, and the number of pupils regularly changes. The school administration ensures that students from the same parallel get to know each other and quickly adapt to their studies.

The Observer newspaper and the Nova SBE business school named Escola Secundária Infanta D. Maria the best public educational institution in Portugal. They compared the average students’ grades in the final exams in 539 private and public schools. The higher the performance, the higher the place of the school in the ranking.

➕ The Portuguese certificate of secondary education is recognized in all EU countries. Despite problems with teachers, the level of education in public schools in Portugal is not inferior to private ones.

➕ Public schools are free for the country’s citizens and families who have received residence permits in Portugal.

The family only pays €70—90 per month for after-school and school lunches. A child can take a free school bus if parents can’t bring them to classes. The bus driver will pick up the child in the morning and bring them home after school.

Children from low-income families can get financial help. The student is allocated monthly money for the purchase of notebooks and pens. The payment amount depends on the parents’ income. Free lunches are provided as well. Children from low-income families are given laptops and free Internet with a monthly limit of 2 GB. The rule applies to citizens and foreigners.

➖ The main disadvantage of public schools is that you cannot choose where the child will study. Children are enrolled in schools at the place of residence of parents or relatives who look after them.

➖ The lack of teachers is another disadvantage of public schools. Classes may be postponed for several months if there is no teacher.

Private schools teach according to the British GCSE and A levels, which meet the UK education standards.

Parents can choose a regular or boarding school where children study and live for the entire academic year. There are boarding schools with separate education for boys and girls.

The Nova SBE business school and The Observer newspaper named the Colégio Sagrado Coração de Maria the best private educational institution in Portugal. The college provides high-quality education in mathematics, physics and chemistry.

➕ Unlike public schools, where they teach in Portuguese, private schools teach in English, German, French and other foreign languages.

➕ International schools offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities, even niche subjects like creative writing, chess, theatre and dance.

➕ Smaller classes are one of the biggest advantages of international schools in Portugal. They usually include 10 to 15 children so that the teacher can devote enough time and attention to everyone.

➖ Portuguese citizens and foreigners pay for International and private schools. The cost of studying varies from €200 to €10,000 per month.

➖ Strict admissions process. Private schools take past school records into account. They also usually have entrance exams, and sometimes an interview is required. For example, Colégio Nossa Senhora do Rosário hold interviews with future students.

Colegio Moderno de Lisboa. The students of Moderno College get the highest grades of 15 points on average.

Another feature is that its graduates speak English at the CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English) level, which allows them to freely communicate on any topic and read and write complex texts. Students take the Cambridge ESOL English language proficiency exam to obtain a certificate.

St. Julian’s School. Students who study English and plan to enter a university in the UK choose St. Julian’s School. The school accepts children from 3 to 18 years old. Children study according to the British curriculum. The annual tuition fee is between €10,000 and €15,000. Lunch is additionally paid for €1,400 per year, and admission to exams costs €1,000.

Carlucci American International School, accredited by the Middle States Association Commission, welcomes students aged 3 to Grade 12.

The only school in Portugal supported by the Department of State, CAISL collaborates with the Office of Overseas Schools and its Regional Education Officer. With a diverse student body of over 50 nationalities and nearly 60% of faculty from English-speaking countries, the school prepares students for global university admission.

There is no application fee; the annual tuition fee can depend on the grade. Parents additionally pay for lunches and bus services.

Salesianos de Lisboa. If foreign languages are not the sole priority, parents can choose a school based on the abilities and interests of the child. For example, Salesianos is the best school in humanities. The PUBLICO newspaper and the Catholic Business School say that Salesianos has the highest level of teaching history and philosophy. Lessons at Salesianos are taught in English and Portuguese.

College Sacred Heart of Mary is suitable for those interested in the exact sciences. The primary bias in the program is in mathematics, physics and chemistry. The school is among the top three in Portugal in these subjects.

Colegio Moderno de Lisboa ranks in the top three best private schools in Portugal
Source: Colégio Moderno

Colégio Nossa Senhora do Rosário is the best Portuguese private school in Porto. The school was established at the premises of the IRSCM Institute in 1849.

Teaching is held in English and Portuguese. Students take Cambridge ESOL exams to confirm their knowledge of the English language. Pupils receive an FCE (English First) certificate after the 8th grade, a CAE (Certificate of Advanced English) certificate after the 10th grade, and a CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English) certificate after the 12th grade.

Children can choose extra-curricular activities: a robotics club, dance and drawing schools, a sports studio and a chess club.

You must apply on the website and attach documents to enrol a child in the college. After reviewing the documents, parents will be invited to a personal meeting. The final stage is an interview with the child to check whether his knowledge matches the accepted level.

Colégio Luso-Francês is one of the top 10 schools in Portugal. The college cooperates with European institutions.

College students win international competitions in biotechnology, history and mathematics.

Psychologists help school children with career guidance and the choice of subjects.

Classes at the school are conducted in French and Portuguese. Pupils also study Spanish and German.

Colegio Nossa Senhora do Rosario is recognized as the best private international school in Portugal
Source: Colegio Nossa Senhora do Rosario

Aljezur International School. Training is conducted according to the IGCSE program of the University of Cambridge. All students study English, as well as 4 to 13 subjects from five groups: foreign languages, science, mathematics, art and design.

Grades are on a scale from A to G. The final grade in the subject is influenced by the points accumulated during the training, the results of tests and term papers.

A child is classified as an excellent student if grades from A to C predominate. Grades from D to G are considered satisfactory.

Aljezur International School is the leader in student achievement in the Algarve. In 2020, 36% of students received the highest score on the IGCSE test. Every year, the school arranges kayaking and open-air theatrical performances. Another feature of the Aljezur is that it is located in a large farmhouse.

Nobel International School is located in the Algarve and is the oldest and largest private school in the south of Portugal. Students from 41 countries study here.

The child can be left on full board if the family lives far from the school. In this case, schoolchildren live in a dormitory in double rooms, and their parents take them on weekends and holidays.

The school is equipped with a swimming pool, a sports ground for football and volleyball, a theatre group and a music studio. The school is divided into two campuses: national and international. Nationally, students are taught according to the Portuguese program by the Ministry of Education, and internationally — according to the program of the University of Cambridge.

Students of Aljezur International School hold exams under the IGCSE program of the University of Cambridge
Source: Aljezur International School

The International School of Madeira is the most prestigious on the island. Training takes place in English and Portuguese. One of the advantages of the school is that there are no more than 10 students per class.

Education is paid; the cost depends on the age of the child. Children from 4 years old are accepted to preparatory classes; the tuition fee is €4,250 per month. The first grade begins at age 6, and the monthly fee for a first-grader is €6,270. The maximum monthly tuition fee for children from 15 years old is €9,330.

To enrol a child in the International School of Madeira, you must complete an application on the website and pass an interview.

International Sharing School is another prestigious school on the island. Children study under the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, which operates in 2,718 schools in 125 countries. The program’s primary goal is to prepare students for admission to the best universities in the world.

Children from 5 to 11 are taught under the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (PYP), and schoolchildren aged 11 to 16 are taught under the Middle Years Program (MYP). Each program assumes that students choose from 3 to 5 disciplines for in-depth study. For each subject, 240 study hours are allocated; for the rest — 150 hours.

In addition to English and Portuguese, students can choose up to five foreign languages: German, Spanish, French, Chinese or Russian.

At the International School of Madeira, lessons are taught in Portuguese and English
Source: International School of Madeira

Manuel de Arriaga Public School was founded in 1853. It is the only school in Horta, on the island of Faial.

The building was damaged twice by earthquakes in 1926 and 1935. In September 2007, the school moved to a new building and is now considered one of the best in Europe in terms of equipment.

There are 36 classrooms, seven laboratories, two computer science rooms, six workshops, a gym, and a 25-metre heated swimming pool.

Manuel de Arriaga Public School is the oldest in the Azores. It has been operating since 1853 in Horta
Source: Manuel de Arriaga Secondary School (Escola Secundária Manuel de Arriaga)

Portuguese school graduates get an opportunity to learn foreign languages ​​and enter universities in the UK, USA and EU countries.

The main advantage of schools in Portugal is the high level of education and accessibility. Not only citizens but also holders of a Portugal residence permit study for free.