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International schools in Portugal

Author: Yulia Vrublevskaia PUBLISHED ON: PUBLISHED IN: Education in Portugal

If you are arranging immigration to Portugal with children, then one of the very first questions for you will be choosing a school for your child. If we are talking about a complete secondary education, and you do not want to send your child to a Portuguese public school for the first time, then we recommend paying attention to international schools in Portugal. What are the international schools in the country, what are the prices, and what is the best school in Portugal? All these questions will be answered in detail in this article.

Why Portugal? Features and cost of private schools in Portugal.

Someone may ask: “What is the point of sending a child to an international school in Portugal if it is better to send him to study in Switzerland or France?” The answer to this question is in the summaries of annual statistics published on the International Schools Database website.

 

Below you can see a list of countries in Europe, sorted by the cost of studying at international schools in these countries for the year. We formed this list by its median values ​​(Median), and this is what happened. If, for example, the average cost of educating a child in an international school in Zurich is about $28,000, and in London, an average sum is $21,000 per academic year, then in Lisbon, on average, you will have to pay $11,000, which is almost 2-3 times less than in other European cities.

Add to these savings the excellent climate, the high standard of living, and the safety of Portuguese cities, and this will be precisely the benefits that both your child and you will receive by living and studying in Portugal.

By the way, it is essential to understand that when we talk about international schools in Portugal, we do not mean only primary and secondary schools. On the contrary, almost all such institutions in the country have preschool units, so your child can start attending such an international school in Portugal from a very young age.

In addition, almost all international schools in Portugal have a flexible discount system if you have 2, 3, 4, or more children. So for each subsequent child, you will have to pay less and less, although even without such a system of discounts, the cost of private Portuguese education is still one of the lowest in Europe.

 

Portuguese schools ranking

Every year in Portugal, ratings are presented by various publications, where you can easily see which schools are the best in the country. At the same time, private and public schools are analyzed according to the same criteria, namely, the criterion of the average score of students.

The most famous is the rating of the Portuguese edition of Observador, where you can quickly analyze the best schools in a particular city or region. Interestingly, the top 50 positions of the best Portuguese schools are occupied exclusively by private schools. Although many people speak very positively about public schools in Portugal, there is an indisputable fact - the students of private schools get the highest marks in national exams. And this is another argument in favor of sending the child to a private school.

 

Best international schools in Portugal

And what about the ranking of international schools? Let's check it based on the same tool, the Portuguese edition of Observador.

On the first page of the ranking, we see the first school, which can be called the best international school in terms of GPA in Portugal. This school is called Colégio Luso-Francês. It is located in the city of Porto and ranks 13th in the ranking of the best schools in Portugal.

Cost of education: in the 2021/2022 academic year, in addition to the application payment (30 euros) and the registration fee (250 euros), 10 monthly fees are charged, which can vary from 300 euros (pre-school education) to 450 euros (secondary education).

 

Also, if we continue our search by ranking for "International" or in Portuguese "Internacional", we will see 4 more international schools in Portugal.

 

2 schools have confirmed themselves exceptionally well among them, namely St. Peter's International School, which is ranked 29th in the country and is located next to Setúbal.

Cost of education: on the school website, it is indicated that they can provide information on the cost of education during a personal visit of the parents to the school. However, it can be assumed that the price of studying at this school will not differ much from other private international schools that we have characterized in this article.

 

The international college Colégio Internacional de Vilamoura is in the 34th place in the ranking of Portuguese schools

  • School: Colégio Internacional de Vilamoura
  • City: Loulé (Algarve region)
  • Official website: https://www.civ.pt/

Cost of education: in addition to the registration fee in the region of 250-300 euros, the annual cost of education ranges from 4,810 to 11,075 euros per year (depending on the class).

The international school Nobel- International School Algarve is a little lower, on the 98th line of the rating of schools in the country.

Cost of education: in addition to the registration fee of 200 to 750 euros, the annual cost of education ranges from 4,900 to 12,800 euros per year (depending on the class and campus, because this school has two of them and the prices are very various).

And with a slightly lower GPA, Escola Internacional de Torres Vedras is in 283rd place in the ranking of Portuguese schools.

  • School: Escola Internacional de Torres Vedras
  • City: Torres Vedras (near Lisbon)
  • Official website: https://www.eitv.pt/

Cost of education: on the school website, it is indicated that they can provide information on the cost of education through personal communication. However, it can be assumed that the price of studying at this school will not differ much from other private international schools in Portugal.

Well, this is what the list of the best (by GPA) private international schools in Portugal looks like. But in fact, there are much more international schools in Portugal, and that is why in the next part of our article, we will provide a short list of other schools that, for different reasons, were not included in the rating of the Portuguese edition of Observador.

 

List of main international schools in Portugal

The choice of a school for your child will depend on many factors: your place of residence, your budget, what foreign languages ​​should be the main ones for your child, etc. That is why the best option for choosing a school can only be a comprehensive analysis of each educational institution and then a personal visit to the school you like. Therefore, to simplify your search, we offer you a short list of the main international private schools in various regions of Portugal.

International schools in Portugal in the Lisbon region

Comments: This school is considered one of the most expensive private schools in Portugal. Its main languages ​​are English and Portuguese.

  • School: PaRK International School
  • City: there are various branches of the school in Lisbon and in Cascais
  • Official website: https://www.park-is.com/

Comments: The main languages ​​of the school are English and Portuguese.

 

Comments: this is the school of the famous American network, so it is focused much on American education. The main language of the school is English.

Comments: The school's main language is Spanish, and the Spanish Ministry of Education runs this school.

Comments: The main language of the school is French, and all practicum takes place according to the French educational program.

Comments: The school's main language is German, and the school follows the German Ministry of Education program.

Comments: The school's main language is English, and the school is based on the standards of a British educational system.

 

Comments: The school's main language is English because the school follows the American curriculum and US education standards.

  • School: International Christian School of Cascais
  • City: Cascais
  • Official website: https://icsc.pt/

Comments: The main languages ​​of the school are English and Portuguese.

International schools in Portugal in the Nordic region

Comments: we have already written about this school in detail in the first part of our article because according to the country ranking, this international school has the highest position in the Portuguese ranking among equal schools.

 

Comments: it is one of the oldest international schools in Europe, and the main language is English.

Comments: The main language of the school is English.

Comments: The school's main language is French, followed by Portuguese and English.

 

Comments: The school's main language is German, in parallel with Portuguese.

International schools in Portugal in the Central region

  • School: Colégio Luso-Internacional do Centro
  • City: Marinha Grande (near Leiria)
  • Official website: http://www.clic.edu.pt/

Comments: The main language of the school is English.

Comments: The school's main language is English, along with Portuguese and other additional languages.

International schools in Portugal in the Algarve region

  • School: Colégio Internacional de Vilamoura
  • City: Loulé (Algarve region)
  • Official website: https://www.civ.pt/

Comments: we have already written about this school in more detail in the first part of our article.

Comments: we have already written about this school in more detail in the first part of our article.

  • School: Vale Verde International School (VVIS)
  • City: Montinhos da Luz (near the city of Lagos)
  • Official website: https://www.vvis.org/

Comments: The main languages ​​of this school are English and Portuguese.

 

International schools in Portugal on the islands

  • School: The International School of Madeira
  • City: Funchal, Madeira island
  • Official website: https://ismadeira.com/

Comments: The school's main language is English; Portuguese is also taught in parallel.

Sending your child to an international school in Portugal is a great idea

Sure, this is a good idea, given the appropriate financial capabilities. After all, studying in an international school allows getting an education following the highest international standards for a child. Furthermore, most of these schools in Portugal assemble their program following the IB (International Baccalaureate) requirements, which means that if you decide to move in the future, the child will not have problems transferring to a school in a new country.

You or your child may have already decided in which country you will get higher education, and therefore, you can choose a school with a specialized foreign language (for example, English, French or German) to facilitate admission to a university in another country in the future.

 

Whichever international school you choose for your child, remember that even the most expensive private school in Portugal will cost you much less than comparable international schools in other European countries. Add to this the warm climate, the high quality of life, and the most beautiful natural landscapes - and the decision to immigrate to Portugal, even from another European country, will suggest itself.

We hope that choosing an international school for your child will become easier after reading this article. Finally, we wish you simple and pleasant immigration and educational success for your children! 

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