Portugal Schools Atlas

Showing 1791 schools

Portuguese school levels: Creche 0 a 3 · Pré-Escolar 3 a 6 · 1.º Ciclo grades 1 a 4 · 2.º e 3.º Ciclos grades 5 a 9 · Secundário grades 10 a 12

📖 Glossary: Portuguese school terms every foreign parent needs

Freguesia: The civil parish, Portugal's smallest administrative unit. Your address belongs to one, and it drives residency paperwork and public school catchment areas.
Concelho: The municipality that contains the freguesias, such as Lisboa, Cascais or Sintra.
Creche: Nursery for ages 0 to 3.
Pré-Escolar (Jardim de Infância): Preschool and kindergarten, ages 3 to 6. Free in the public network from age 3, subject to available places.
1.º Ciclo: Grades 1 to 4, ages 6 to 10. The primary years.
2.º e 3.º Ciclos: Grades 5 to 9, ages 10 to 15. Public schools covering these are often named EB 2,3.
Ensino Secundário: Grades 10 to 12, ages 15 to 18, ending in national exams that matter for university entry.
Escola Básica and Escola Secundária: Public school names: Básica covers the ciclos, Secundária the upper grades.
Colégio and Externato: Traditional names for private schools. An externato is a private day school.
Agrupamento de escolas: A cluster of public schools run together under one head school. Public enrollment usually goes through the agrupamento, not the individual school.
Contrato de associação: A contract where the state pays a private school to provide tuition free places, just like a public school, in areas the public network does not reach. Schools with the gold badge in this atlas hold one, meaning private education at no tuition cost for families in the right area.
Ensino particular e cooperativo: The official term for the private and cooperative school sector.
Matrícula: Enrollment. Renewed every year as the renovação de matrícula.
Encarregado de educação: The registered parent or guardian who represents the student in everything the school does.
Prolongamento (AAAF and CAF): The extended day: supervised care before and after class hours, essential for working parents.
PLNM: Português Língua Não Materna, the public school support programme for children learning Portuguese as a new language.
IB (International Baccalaureate): A global curriculum framework taught in over 150 countries, built on inquiry based learning and recognised by universities worldwide.
IB inquiry based: The IB teaching philosophy: children learn by asking questions, investigating, and building understanding themselves rather than memorising, with the teacher guiding the inquiry.
IB World School: A school officially authorised by the IB organisation to run one or more IB programmes. The brackets on a card show which ones, for example IB World School (DP).
Full continuum (PYP, MYP, DP, CP): The school runs the entire IB pathway from early years through graduation, so a child can stay in one system from age 3 to 19.
PYP: Primary Years Programme, the IB stage for ages 3 to 12.
MYP: Middle Years Programme, the IB stage for ages 11 to 16.
DP: Diploma Programme, ages 16 to 19: the flagship IB qualification that universities worldwide accept for entry.
CP: Career related Programme, ages 16 to 19, combining DP academic courses with professional and vocational study.
CIS accredited: Accredited by the Council of International Schools, a rigorous whole school evaluation covering teaching, safeguarding, and governance at international schools.
NEASC accredited: Accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the respected US accreditor that many American international schools hold.
COBIS: Council of British International Schools, the membership and accreditation body for British schools overseas.
AEFE: The French state network that homologates French schools abroad, guaranteeing they follow the official French curriculum.
ZfA: The German federal office that recognises and supports German schools abroad.
Cambridge (CAIE): Cambridge Assessment International Education, the exam board behind the international British pathway.
IGCSE: The international version of British GCSEs, usually taken around ages 14 to 16 on the Cambridge pathway.
A Levels: The British upper secondary qualifications, taken around ages 16 to 18 and used for university entry worldwide.
Waldorf (Steiner): An arts rich, rhythm based pedagogy that introduces academics gradually, keeps screens out of early years, and follows the same teacher through the primary years.
Montessori: Mixed age classrooms where children choose hands on work at their own pace, guided by specially trained teachers and prepared materials.
João de Deus method: The historic Portuguese pedagogy built around the Cartilha Maternal reading primer: structured, early, and methodical literacy in the country's oldest private school network.
Forest / nature school: Learning happens largely outdoors, whatever the weather, with nature as the classroom and risk taking as part of the curriculum.
Pestalozzi inspired: Whole child education through head, heart, and hands: intellect, character, and practical skills developed together.
Piaget based: Teaching sequenced around children's developmental stages, favouring discovery and reasoning over memorisation.
Schoenstatt: A Catholic educational movement emphasising character formation, personal ideals, and Marian spirituality.
Therapeutic pedagogy: Schooling and therapy integrated in one setting for children who need clinical support alongside their education.
Learning differences / Neuro Developmental Support: Schools built specifically for children with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and other learning profiles, with specialist staff and adapted classrooms.
Specialized: Our type label for schools organised around special educational needs or one dedicated focus rather than the general curriculum.
Alternative: Our umbrella type for schools outside mainstream pedagogy: Waldorf, Montessori, forest schools, and other non traditional approaches.
Public Military: State run schools in the military college tradition, like the Colégio Militar: uniforms, discipline, and the national curriculum with a cadet structure.
Private with Language Support: Private schools that add structured Portuguese or English support so newly arrived children can join mainstream classes.
Bilingual (PT/EN): Genuinely dual language instruction, with subjects taught in both Portuguese and English rather than English as a single class.
Artistic (Music/Dance): The ensino artístico especializado track: public conservatório style schools where music or dance is studied alongside the national curriculum.
Vocational: The ensino profissional route in secundário: professional and technical courses combined with academics, leading to level 4 qualifications.
Cooperative: A school owned and governed cooperatively by its teachers or families rather than a company or the state.
Progressive: Child centred, project based teaching where curiosity leads and subjects blend, in the tradition of modern progressive education.
Integrated education: Mainstream and special needs children educated together in the same classrooms with shared support.
Expat Pick 🌟: Our own badge: the schools American and international families in the Families Go Abroad community choose most often.

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