St Julian’s School
Carcavelos · British curriculum (IGCSE) and IB Diploma, plus a Portuguese section · ages 3-18 · about 1,250 pupils, 59 nationalities · founded 1932, not-for-profit
Reputation and results
The school Portuguese families name first. IB Diploma average 34.5 in 2025 (world average 30.6), 97% pass rate, 94 candidates; 52% of IGCSE grades at A*/A in 2025. University offers in 2025 included UCL, King’s, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Warwick, Trinity Dublin, Sciences Po, Amsterdam and Maastricht; Oxford, Cambridge and MIT in earlier years. Average class 19-21, 12 in IB classes. A Portuguese section runs the national curriculum alongside the English side, which is why local families value it: children can later sit Portuguese university entrance with the school’s support.
Admissions reality
Five steps: register interest, tour, formal application with school reports, assessment (CAT4-based) for Year 4 and above, interview, then a decision by the Head’s committee, usually within 2-3 weeks. The school states that the vast majority of classes for 2026/27 are full and invites families to the waiting list. Year 9 entry means the son sits the assessment; the daughter enters Year 3 without a test. Offers require signing the parent agreement and paying registration and capital levy within 10 working days.
Fit for each child
Son, Year 9: strong. IGCSE options start in Year 10, so a Year 9 entry lands one year before subject choices, with a structured options programme and Morrisby profiling. Maths and science depth is a known strength. Daughter, Year 3: good, with one caution: the primary side is academically paced and English support exists but is not the school’s main pitch; ask what EAL hours a Year 3 entrant receives.
True first-year cost for this family (2026/27 fee table, 2027/28 will be 3-6% higher)
- Tuition, Year 3
- about EUR 18,000 (published range EUR 12,693 nursery to 29,970 IB)
- Tuition, Year 9
- about EUR 24,000
- One-time per child
- application EUR 250, registration EUR 750, capital levy EUR 5,000 (non-refundable)
- Lunch
- EUR 9 per day, about EUR 1,600 per child per year
- Bus from Cascais
- ask; typically EUR 1,500-3,000 per child
- Year one, both children
- about EUR 58,000-62,000
Above the stated budget for the 13-year-old. If St Julian’s offers him a place, the decision is whether EUR 24,000 a year for five years is worth the Portuguese-section pathway and the name. For most families it is; it should be a decision, not a surprise.
Daily logistics
Carcavelos, two minutes from the Lisbon-Cascais train line and the beach. Families in Carcavelos and Parede walk or cycle; from Cascais it is 15 minutes by car or train plus a walk. Term 1 runs early September to mid-December.
What we confirm by phone: whether Year 3 and Year 9 have places for September 2027 or only a waiting list, where a new application lands on that list, whether siblings are considered together, the EAL provision in Year 3, and the current bus routes and prices. Named admissions contact added to the paid report.
CAISL, Carlucci American International School of Lisbon
Linhó, Sintra, 20 minutes north of Cascais · American curriculum with the IB Diploma · ages 3-18 · about 755 pupils, 50+ nationalities · founded 1956, not-for-profit foundation, the only US-embassy-assisted school in Portugal
Reputation and results
The other school families name first, the choice of American, diplomatic and many Portuguese families who want a US pathway. IB Diploma average 34 in 2026 with a 100% pass rate (34.3 in 2025, 36.6 in 2024), 54-58 candidates a year; 24-46% earn the bilingual diploma, which tells you how seriously Portuguese is taught. Offers in 2025 included Georgetown, Boston College, Northeastern, Cambridge, King’s, Warwick, IE, ESADE, McGill, RWTH Aachen, Nova and Católica. Average class 20. Portuguese is a required subject for every pupil through Grade 9.
Admissions reality
Rolling admissions: pupils enter at any point in the year, which suits a family arriving in September but not sure of the exact date. No entrance exam below high school; an English-language assessment applies only to High School entrants, so the son, entering Grade 8, is not tested. The school states that waiting lists in many grades are quite long. Decisions follow a file review and a family interview. Registration EUR 600 and application EUR 100 on acceptance.
Fit for each child
Daughter, Grade 2: the best fit on this list. CAISL runs formal EAL (English as an additional language) and PAL (Portuguese as an additional language) programmes, and the elementary school is used to children arriving with developing English. Son, Grade 8: good. Grade 8 is the last middle-school year; the American system’s continuous assessment suits a strong maths and science pupil who has not yet specialised. AP courses and the IB Diploma come in Grades 11-12.
True first-year cost for this family (2026/27 published table)
- Tuition, Grade 2
- EUR 14,060 (Grades 1-2 band)
- Tuition, Grade 8
- EUR 17,756 (Grades 6-8 band)
- Building fee
- EUR 1,953 per child per year for the first five years from Grade 1
- One-time per child
- registration EUR 600, application EUR 100
- Lunch and bus
- lunch EUR 1,212 per child; bus EUR 1,816 one way or EUR 3,632 round trip per child
- Year one, both children
- about EUR 46,800 with round-trip bus and lunch; after-hours care for the daughter EUR 340-1,200 extra
Inside the stated budget for both children. Sibling discount applies only from the third child.
Daily logistics
The campus is in Linhó, between Sintra and Cascais, on a large green site with no train access. Almost every family uses the school bus; the route from Cascais and Estoril takes 20-30 minutes. After-hours care runs for Grades 1-5. The school year is in four quarters.
What we confirm by phone: whether Grade 2 and Grade 8 have places for September 2027, the length of each waiting list and how it moves, whether an earlier start (January or April 2027) would secure a place, the EAL hours in Grade 2, and this year’s bus timetable from your intended street.
St. Dominic’s International School
São Domingos de Rana, Cascais · IB continuum: Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma · ages 3-18 · about 1,100 pupils · founded 1954, IB, NEASC and CIS accredited
Why it is the realistic third
The only school on the Cascais side that takes both children into one IB system from Grade 2 to the Diploma, with a long record of mid-year arrivals from international families. Less selective than the two above and more often able to say yes for a given year group. Results are respectable rather than headline: a full IB school with Diploma averages typically in the low 30s.
Admissions reality
Application with reports, a visit, and an assessment for older entrants; decisions are usually quick. Capital levy of EUR 5,250 per child is paid on enrolment and is the one number families underestimate.
True first-year cost for this family (2026/27 published table)
- Tuition, Grade 2
- about EUR 14,500 (K3 is EUR 13,328; grades step up yearly to EUR 23,166 in Grade 12)
- Tuition, Grade 8
- about EUR 18,500
- One-time per child
- capital levy EUR 5,250
- Lunch and bus
- about EUR 2,000 per child combined; ask
- Year one, both children
- about EUR 47,500; about EUR 37,000 from year two
- Location
- 10 minutes from Carcavelos and Parede, 15 from Cascais
What we confirm by phone: places in Grade 2 and Grade 8 for September 2027, whether the capital levy can be paid in instalments, and EAL hours in the Primary Years.
