How to choose a school in Portugal: area, rankings and type of school
This guide will help you draw up a realistic list of state, private and international schools, rather than choosing only by ranking position. By the end you will have several suitable schools, taking into account your child's age, language, area, budget and the likelihood of getting a place.
Work out the stage and language of teaching you need
First find out which ciclo de ensino (stage of schooling) your child needs: 1.º ciclo is years 1–4, 2.º ciclo is years 5–6, 3.º ciclo is years 7–9, and ensino secundário (upper secondary) is years 10–12. A school's name does not always show exactly which stages it covers: an Escola Secundária (secondary and upper secondary school) may take pupils from year 7, but you need to check the range of years on that particular school's page.
For a child with no Portuguese, ask about PLNM — Português Língua Não Materna (Portuguese as a non-native language). Find out how many lessons there are a week and how the child will be supported in other subjects. For the upper years, check the cursos científico-humanísticos (academic tracks) and the set of specialist subjects: exams and further study depend on them.
“My son went to an ordinary school, Escola Básica das Olaias, and there were no places in our area, so they gave us one in the next area over. The school itself isn't wow, but the teachers were mostly very engaged and supportive. To be honest, I wanted to move him after he finished year 7 (he started school in February), but by then he'd made friends with some of the kids, so we decided he'd stay until the end of year 9 and go somewhere else for year 10. I can't exactly recommend it as a school, the neighbourhood around it isn't great. But at the time it did its job: my son settled in, picked up some Portuguese and made friends. Now he's starting year 10 somewhere else”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkschoolinportugal03.09.2025
“My child goes to Escola Básica Luz-Carnide. I don't have much information yet, at first glance there's a nice atmosphere and a good teacher. There are two foreigners in the class - my son and a boy from america, the rest are Portuguese.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkschoolinportugal28.11.2025
Make a list of schools near your home
Find schools through Pesquisa da Rede Escolar (school network search) on GESedu and the websites of the Câmara Municipal (town council) and the Agrupamento de Escolas (group of state schools). Check not just the distance but the actual morning journey: transport, traffic, whether the child can walk and who will pick them up.
The state school you get will not necessarily be the nearest one. The application usually lists several preferences, and places are allocated according to free places and the priorities in force for that particular school year — for example, your address, brothers and sisters at the school and other circumstances set out in the rules. So make a main list and several back-up options in neighbouring Agrupamentos de Escolas (school groups).
If you have not chosen your home yet, compare the school networks of several areas first. Your address affects priority, but a flat near a school does not in itself guarantee a place at that school.
“Not quite. At the agrupamento in your area (you can look at the agrupamento de escolas map or ask at the nearest school) - that's where you need to go with the documents and apply, listing 5 schools you want in order of priority.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkschoolinportugal21.07.2026
Use the rankings as a filter, not as the final answer
The Público and Católica Porto Business School ranking based on 2024 exams shows average results on a 20-point scale. It is most useful for schools where enough pupils sat national exams; for pre-school and primary school such a ranking tells you almost nothing. The “place for excellence” indicator needs to be read separately: it compares a school with institutions of a similar type and social background, rather than simply putting all schools in a single line. Source: publico.pt/ranking-escolas/lugar-sua-escola.
The country's top ten by average score are all private schools. The leaders are Colégio Nossa Senhora do Rosário (Porto) and Grande Colégio Universal (Porto), both with an average score of 16.71; Colégio Efanor in Matosinhos — 16.35; Academia de Música de Santa Cecília in Lisbon — 16.25. Among the state schools listed, those that stand out are Escola Básica e Secundária D. Filipa de Lencastre in Lisbon — 13.44, Escola Secundária Infanta D. Maria in Coimbra — 13.20, Escola Secundária Dr. Joaquim Gomes Ferreira Alves in Vila Nova de Gaia — 13.10 and Escola Básica e Secundária Clara de Resende in Porto — 13.07.
Compare schools of the same type and in the same area. A high average score may reflect pupil selection, family resources and private tutoring, not just the work of the teachers. A low position does not prove that a particular class or teacher is bad either.
“[link] a site with a ranking of schools, private and state. In my case (and I applied at the end of August) they gave me schools that still had places. Of those, I put the ones higher in the ranking as my priority. Random or not, they gave us exactly the one I was counting on out of the ones available.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkschoolinportugal15.09.2023
Compare state, private and international schools
At a state escola pública (state school) there are no tuition fees for the national curriculum, but your choice of a particular school is limited by the allocation rules and the places available. You may also need money for meals, after-school care, trips, materials and clubs. Teaching is mainly in Portuguese.
You apply to a private escola privada (private school) directly. It may have its own deadlines, an interview, an entrance test, a registration fee and separate charges for meals, uniform, transport and activities. An international school usually offers a foreign curriculum and teaching in English or another language, but moving into the Portuguese system and recognition of the curriculum need to be discussed in advance.
Do not choose a private school just because of its high ranking. Ask whether it takes all children or selects pupils, how it helps those who are falling behind and whether everything you need is included in the stated mensalidade (monthly fee).
“it really depends which school the child goes to. A Portuguese private school + various clubs with meals will cost you 700 euros a month, an international one with the same package will come to up to 1700.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkleft4portugal23.07.2025
Check the school on criteria the rankings do not cover
Look at the website of the school and the Agrupamento de Escolas (school group), go to an open day or arrange a visit. Ask about class sizes, the timetable, PLNM, teacher shortages, cover for missed lessons, after-school care, meals, a psychologist, support for children with special needs and what happens in cases of bullying.
For primary school, the particular professor titular (main class teacher), the atmosphere and contact with parents matter most. For years 7–12, check the subjects, results in the exams you actually need, the tracks available and where pupils go next. Talk to several parents, but separate their experience of one teacher from their view of the whole school.
Pay attention to which year the school goes up to. If it ends after year 4, 6 or 9, your child will have to go through allocation again or choose the next stage.
“Escola secundária de Pinhal novo on paper there was a teacher but in reality she just wasn't there she didn't turn up or turned up for 15 minutes let us in put absences down and left. More than once the whole class wrote a complaint and not only us nothing happened they just accused us of it all being our own fault 🤷.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkHigherEducationPortugal16.06.2025
Check your chances of a place before you apply
For a state school, ask at the secretaria (school office) of the relevant Agrupamento de Escolas (school group) which addresses it covers, whether there are places in the year you need and which documents prove priority. Being told “the school covers your area” does not yet mean your child will be sent there.
At a private or international school, ask for a written breakdown of the full cost and the terms for refunding the registration fee or deposit. Check whether the place is confirmed or whether your child is still on the lista de espera (waiting list). If your child is moving into the upper years, send their school reports in advance: the school may ask for equivalência de habilitações (recognition of school qualifications) or additional documents.
“In the meantime you could go to Agrupamento Luís de Freitas Branco and ask about enrolment. It's a huge agrupamento, they've never had problems with places there, though who knows, everything's changing now)). Otherwise yes, you need to keep reminding them, write another letter, polite of course, but remind them that the matter is still unresolved and the child is very anxious, and so are the parents))). They know perfectly well what the law requires)). Back in the day I helped a friend get three children into school in Oeiras, and we were only given places after the third letter. But given that August has only just ended (holiday seas”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkschoolinportugal01.09.2025
Rank the schools on your application in your real order of priority
For state schools, you apply through the Portal das Matrículas (school enrolment portal) when the relevant campaign is open for the year you need. If online applications are not available or your child has arrived in the middle of the school year, go to the Agrupamento de Escolas (school group) where you live. The procedure and deadlines are published every year by the Ministério da Educação, Ciência e Inovação (Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation).
Put the schools in the order in which you are really prepared to accept them, and fill in all the available slots. Do not limit yourself to one popular school. After applying, keep the comprovativo de matrícula (proof of application) and check the status on the portal, by email and at the school office.
If you hear nothing for a long time or all the schools you chose are full, send a written reminder to the Agrupamento de Escolas (school group) and ask them to offer you an available place. In practice notifications are sometimes delayed, and the application has to be amended together with a member of the office staff.
“We were at the agrupamento today with the same question. We'd handed in the documents a week ago. We went up to the same person we'd left the documents with and found out from her which school we'd been placed in (good thing we went, because none of the five schools had places, so we had to sort it out on the spot, they offered us another school, the staff member amended the application on the website in front of us). So it's better to go in to them one more time and ask, because there were no emails and nobody called.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkschoolinportugal23.07.2024
What it costs, according to community conversations
| private school, meals and clubs | About €700 a month per child at a Portuguese private school with meals and clubs, based on experience in July 2025. | source |
| international school with extras | Up to €1,700 a month per child with meals and clubs, according to an estimate from July 2025. | source |
| PLA, printed materials | 20 euros | source |
What to bring
- The child's and the parent's or guardian's ID document
- The child's and the parent's NIF
- Comprovativo de morada (proof of address) accepted by the school or the portal
- School report, certificate of years completed or school-leaving certificate
- Translation of foreign school documents into Portuguese, if requested
- Equivalência de habilitações (recognition of qualifications), if it is needed for the chosen year or track
- Documents on guardianship or parental rights, if applicable
- Reports on special educational needs and the support required
- List of schools in order of priority
- Comprovativo de matrícula (proof of the application submitted)
Where people most often trip up
- Exam rankings are almost useless for nursery and the first years of school.
- An average score cannot be separated from pupil selection, the area and family resources.
- Living close by does not guarantee a place at the nearest state school.
- A highly ranked school may not offer the stage or track you need.
- Having PLNM says nothing yet about the amount and quality of language support.
- At a private school, meals, uniform, transport and clubs may not be included in the mensalidade.
- A place on a private school's waiting list is not the same as confirmed enrolment.
- The allocation notice may not arrive on time — you need to check the status yourself.
- Foreign school reports may need a translation or equivalência de habilitações.
- Reviews of one teacher or class cannot automatically be applied to the whole school.
How it went for people
How a family chose a school near home
A family was looking for a school in Leiria: first they found all the town's agrupamentos by hand, then checked the schools in each group on Google Maps and chose the 5 closest to home. When they applied, staff at their first-choice agrupamento helped them fill in the matrícula correctly, although it is usually submitted online. The child was accepted at the second school on the list; he has been going to Capuchos for two years now, and the family is entirely happy.
Why a child was taken out of a private school
At 10, a daughter was in year 4 at EITV on the Cambridge curriculum; the previous school year had gone excellently and within two months she was speaking English fluently. In October, after a row over a wet T-shirt, the child was isolated from her class for an hour, and four members of staff, without her parents present, tried to make her apologise. The family had a four-hour meeting with the management and an interpreter, but the school did not admit its mistake and put one-sided negative comments in her personal file. The child was taken out and enrolled at a new international school with a good reputation.
Three children got places after the third letter
Someone was helping a friend get three children into school in Oeiras. After the first requests no places were given, so they had to keep politely reminding the school that the matter was still unresolved. The children were only given places after the third letter.
Two cases of bullying sorted out by letter
A girl started year 1 in Portugal and for the first 2 months used her phone as a translator. Three years later she was reading, writing and speaking Portuguese fluently. When a classmate kept stopping her from playing and holding her in hugs, a letter to the teacher led to an apology, after which it stopped. In another case two year 1 pupils kicked her in the leg and spat in her face; after a letter to the form tutor their parents were called in, there was a talk and a group apology was arranged.
A state nursery without residence or the language
Two small children were accepted at an ordinary state nursery without residence or any Portuguese. The place was arranged through a migrant support centre on the basis of the parent's statement that they intended to become legal residents. Six months later the children were speaking Portuguese at the level of local children their age. The family paid only for meals.
Enrolment in the middle of the year dragged on until February
A family arrived in Lisbon in October and spent 1.5–2 months choosing an area and a home. The three nearest state schools had no places in year 1 and year 5, and the enrolment portal was closed in the middle of the school year until spring. The parents wrote to seven private schools, but only two had free places. The children only started school in February, and until then they studied remotely at a school in Moscow, while the older child learned Portuguese.
Retold in our own words from messages in open chats. The link leads to the full original message.