Schools in Portugal: French lycées, international or state schools?

Avenida Engenheiro Duarte Pacheco, Lisbon, 8.20 in the morning. Cars stop in double file outside the Lycée français Charles-Lepierre, children call out to each other in French, slip into Portuguese mid-sentence, then into English for a friend. For many French families who move here, finding a French school is the first box to tick among all the schools in Portugal, before even the flat.

But it is far from the only option. Between the French network, the international schools and the Portuguese state school, each choice affects your budget, your child's language and sometimes the neighbourhood you will live in. Here is how to find your way.

Where can you find a French school among the schools in Portugal?

The Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) lists four schools in Portugal accredited by the French Ministry of Education. Accredited (homologué) means that teaching follows the French curriculum and that the classes are recognised as they would be in France: a child can return to a school in France without an entrance exam.

The French lycée in Lisbon, Charles-Lepierre, is the largest, with just over 2,000 pupils according to the AEFE. It is run directly by the agency, which makes it one of the most solid schools in the network. It is near Amoreiras, and many families choose their neighbourhood around the school run: our article on the neighbourhoods of Lisbon will help you weigh things up.

The French lycée in Porto, officially the Lycée français international de Porto, has about 1,300 pupils near Serralves park, in the west of the city. If you are settling in the north, our guide to living in Porto covers the nearby neighbourhoods.

Elsewhere, the map is empty. The AEFE directory shows no accredited school in the Algarve, in the Centre region or in Madeira. For families who still want schooling in French outside Lisbon and Porto, there is distance learning, for example with the CNED (the French state distance-learning centre), often combined with a local school.

How much does the French lycée cost, and are there grants?

French schools abroad charge fees. Each school publishes its tuition fees every year; they vary by level (nursery, primary, lower secondary, upper secondary) and sometimes come on top of a first-enrolment fee. Expect several thousand euros a year per child, and check the school's fee scale for the year you are aiming at.

If you are moving from France, you can apply for an AEFE scholarship, the bourse scolaire. The conditions are precise:

• the child has French nationality and is at least three years old in the year school starts;
• the child and the parent applying are on the register of French nationals living abroad (registre des Français établis hors de France);
• the child attends an accredited school;
• household income falls within a scale that takes account of tuition fees and the cost of living in the country.

You apply through the consulate or on the Scolaide platform, and the application is renewed every year. A grant is never guaranteed in advance: submit your file in the first application round after you arrive.

One last point, often underestimated: places. In the younger classes especially, there are waiting lists. Contact the school as soon as your plans take shape, sometimes a year ahead.

Should you choose one of the international schools in Portugal instead?

This is the other big family. Lisbon and Porto have several private international schools, often English-speaking, which follow the British or American curriculum, or the International Baccalaureate (IB). Among the best known are St. Julian's School in Carcavelos, the Carlucci American International School of Lisbon in the Sintra area and, in Porto, the Oporto British School and CLIP.

Their strengths: teaching in English, a very international population and diplomas recognised for higher education in many countries. Their main drawback is the price, generally much higher than the French lycée. International schools in Portugal suit families who often change country or whose children already speak English.

There are also private Portuguese schools (colégios), sometimes bilingual, cheaper than the international schools. They teach the national curriculum, which means your child will follow lessons in Portuguese.

Is the Portuguese state school a good option for a French-speaking child?

For many families, especially outside Lisbon and Porto, this is the route they take. And it is not a choice by default.

Schooling is compulsory from 6 to 18 in Portugal. The Portuguese state school takes every child who lives in the country, whatever their nationality. Pre-school, which is optional, is open from age 3. Children start the first year of primary school in the year they turn 6.

For newcomers, the system provides Português Língua Não Materna (PLNM), Portuguese as a non-native language: a test sets the pupil's level, and the pupil takes this course instead of the standard Portuguese class. Young children learn the language surprisingly fast. For teenagers, the step is higher: a 13-year-old who arrives without a word of Portuguese can go through one or two difficult years. Starting the language before you leave makes a real difference, and our tips to learn Portuguese give ideas for the whole family.

What surprises French-speaking parents: timetables that vary from school to school, canteens that are not always up to the hoped-for standard, and a paid ATL system (after-school activities) in many municipalities. What they like: classes that are often small in the smaller towns, and social integration that is much faster than in an international bubble.

How do you enrol your child in one of the state schools in Portugal?

To enrol your child in school in Portugal in the state system, there are two routes:

1. Online, on the Portal das Matrículas, the national enrolment portal, with your Portuguese login details.
2. In person, at the office of the school or school group (agrupamento) in your area of residence.

The calendar is published every year, and enrolment takes place before the summer for the September start. If you arrive during the school year, go straight to the school: compulsory schooling applies as soon as you settle.

For a child coming from the French, Belgian or Swiss system, the school asks for an equivalence for the years already completed. Prepare school reports and certificates of attendance and, for secondary school, the details of subjects and marks, with a translation into Portuguese. According to the official guide for migrants, enrolment is only final once the equivalence has been granted.

For the French lycée or an international school, the logic is different: each school has its own file, possible tests and calendar, often much earlier than in the state system.

French school or local school: how do you decide?

A few simple questions will help you decide:

• How long are you staying? For a posting of two or three years with a planned return to France, a French school in Portugal guarantees continuity. For a long-term move, the Portuguese school opens the doors to the local university and to the life of the country.
• How old is your child? Before 8 or 9, the switch to Portuguese usually happens without drama. In the teenage years, schooling in French or English secures the path.
• Where will you live? Outside Lisbon and Porto, the question is quickly settled: there is no accredited school.
• What budget? The fees of the French lycée, and even more those of the international schools, weigh heavily over several years, grant or no grant.

Many families combine: nursery at a Portuguese school to dive into the language, then the French lycée for secondary school, or the other way round. Among the schools in Portugal there is no perfect choice, only the one that fits your plans and your child. If you are still hesitating over the city, our comparison Lisbon or Porto sets out the other criteria.