Blog

Education in Portugal

13 May, 2024

Although public education in Portugal is considered to be of high quality, according to European norms and standards, there is no public educational offer in a language other than Portuguese. For this reason, for citizens from other countries, or simply for all those who wish to offer a bilingual education to their children, the choice will have to fall on the private offer.

All children, whatever their status before the law, have full access to education and therefore every right to attend school and enjoy everything like any other child.

To enroll in a school, it is necessary to:

Passport or Identity Card, or birth certificate;
Completed registration form, with a photograph. This document is provided by the school;
Vaccination card, health centre card and "link form". This form, filled out by the Health Centre, allows you to detect, right from the start, visual and hearing problems, for example. It is, therefore, very important that you register at the Health Centre in your area of residence;
Copy of a document from the Health Subsystem (SNS Card or health insurance).

In the public school of the area of residence, no enrollment can be refused, as long as it is within the compulsory education, unless all vacancies are filled. In this case, the school itself will try to refer the student to another school in the area and ultimately it is up to DGESTE to find the solution.

In the case of a child who has already attended school in the country of origin, it is possible to obtain equivalence and there is specific legislation for this purpose. The equivalence must be requested from the Director of the school in the area of residence or of the one you intend to attend, which is regulated by Decree-Law No. 227/05, of December 28. Interested parties must always present, among other documents, the certificate of qualifications translated into Portuguese and authenticated by the Consulate or Embassy of the country of origin in Portugal, or the Portuguese Consulate or Embassy in that country, or with the Hague Apostille.

If the choice falls on an international school, there are several possibilities to consider from North to South of the country. Below is a list of the main ones.

Lisbon

British School of Lisbon – Location: Central Lisbon/ Ages: 3 to 10 years/ Curriculum: English/ Languages of instruction: National Curriculum of England;
Park International School – Location: Alfragide, Cascais, Praça de Espanha, Restelo/ Ages: 1 to 18 years/ Curriculum: IGCSE International Baccalaureate (IB) Program/ Languages of instruction: English and Portuguese;
German School of Lisbon – Location: Central Lisbon and Estoril / Ages: 1 to 18 years / Curriculum: German / Languages of instruction: German and Portuguese;
Lycée Français Charles Lepierre – Location: Central Lisbon/ Age: 1 to 18 years/ Curriculum: French National Curriculum/ Languages of instruction: French and Portuguese;
International Sharing School Taguspark – Location: Central Lisbon / Ages 1 to 18 years / Curriculum: International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program / Languages of instruction: English;
International Preparatory School – Location: Alcabideche/ Ages: 1 to 11 years/ Curriculum: National Curriculum of England/ Languages of instruction: English;
Saint Dominic's International School – Location: Cascais/ Ages: 3 to 18 years/ Curriculum: International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program (DP)/ Languages of instruction: English;
Oeiras International School – Location: Oeiras/ Ages: 6 to 18 years/ Curriculum: International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP)/ Languages of instruction: English;
Carlucci American International School of Lisbon – Location: Sintra/ Ages: 3 to 18 years/ Curriculum: American Curriculum and International Baccalaureate (IB)/ Languages of instruction: English;
International Christian School of Cascais – Location: Cascais/ Ages: 3 to 18 years old/ Curriculum: American Curriculum and International Baccalaureate (IB)/ Languages of instruction: English;
St. Julian's School – Location: Carcavelos/ Ages: 3 to 18 years/ Curriculum: International Baccalaureate (IB), National Curriculum of England and National Curriculum Portuguese/ Languages of instruction: English and Portuguese;
Prime School International – Location: Sintra and Estoril/ Ages: 3 to 18 years/ Curriculum: Cambridge Curriculum/ Languages of instruction: English and Portuguese.

Harbor

Lycée Français International Porto – Location: Porto/ Ages: 3 to 18 years/ Curriculum: The French National Curriculum/ Languages of instruction: French;
Oporto British School – Location: Porto/ Ages: 3 to 18 years/ Curriculum: National Curriculum of England and International Baccalaureate (IB)/ Languages of instruction: English;
CLIP – Oporto International School – Location: Porto/ Ages: 3 to 18 years/ Curriculum: National Curriculum of England/ Languages of instruction: English;
German School of Porto – Location: Porto/ Ages: 3 to 18 years old/ Curriculum: German Curriculum/ Languages of instruction: German and Portuguese.

Algarve

Nobel Algarve British International School – Location: Lagoa and Almancil/ Ages: 3 to 18 years/ Curriculum: National Curriculum of England and National Curriculum Portuguese/ Languages of instruction: English and Portuguese;
Vilamoura International College – Location: Vilamoura/ Ages: 3 to 18 years/ Curriculum: Cambridge International Curriculum and National Curriculum Portuguese/ Languages of instruction: English and Portuguese;
Aljezur International School and Barlavento International Primary School – Location: Aljezur/ Ages: 3 to 18 years/ Curriculum: Early Years Foundation Internship (EYFS), National Curriculum of England/ Languages of instruction: English;
Colégio Santiago Internacional – Location: Tavira/ Ages: 5 to 18 years/ Curriculum: National Curriculum of England/ Languages of instruction: English and Portuguese;
Eufeeu Algarve International School – Location: Loulé/ Ages: 3 to 14 years/ Curriculum: Early Years Foundation Internship (EYFS), Cambridge International Curriculum and England National Curriculum/ Languages of instruction: English;
Vale Verde International School – Location: Burgau/ Ages: 5 to 18 years/ Curriculum: National Curriculum of England/ Languages of instruction: English and Portuguese;
Eden Montessori International School – Location: Albufeira/ Ages: 3 to 9 years/ Curriculum: Montessori/ Languages of instruction: English and Portuguese.

There are also international schools in the region of Setúbal, in the center of the country and in the Islands. If the household is made up of university students, below are the 10 best universities in Portugal, according to different International Rankings: