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Aprendizes

Cascais, Portugal · Private

Illustration · Cascais

A full-day school in Cascais, not far from Oeiras and Lisbon: it carries a child from the age of three to eighteen and keeps two curricula at once - the Portuguese national curriculum in the pre-school and primary stages and the Cambridge international curriculum from the middle school, with IGCSE examinations in Grades 9 and 10 and A-Levels in Grades 11 and 12. The language of lessons changes with the stage, and the school says so plainly: in the pre-school and primary stages Portuguese is the main language of instruction while the children hear and use English every day; from the middle school English becomes the main teaching language and Portuguese is taken as a subject, as a first or second language, alongside Spanish and French. It works by active learning, High-Scope, Waldorf and Nordic methods, is recognised as a UNESCO Associated School, feeds its pupils vegetarian and organic food and keeps a no-phone rule. It is open from eight in the morning to half past six in the evening, with an extended day from five to six. The school states its Cambridge examination results as pass rates: 83 per cent at IGCSE at grade C or above and 93 per cent at A-Level. Places are currently full and the school says honestly that pre-registration does not guarantee them; from Grade 7, on entering the Cambridge curriculum, an English test is required. The fee amounts are set out in a separate price list, and the enrolment pages name only the kinds of payment: a registration fee, an admission fee, monthly tuition, insurance and the extended day. Siblings are given discounts of 10 and 20 per cent. For child protection the school has a separate address for enquiries.