← Back to homeColégio Santiago Internacional
Tavira, Portugal · est. 2012 · Private
Illustration · Tavira
The school opened its doors in September 2012 and occupies a 15th-century building in the centre of Tavira, a genuine historical landmark. It has 130 students among whom twenty-seven nationalities are represented, and it serves both the international community of the Algarve and Portuguese families who want an international education. Teaching is bilingual: English is the primary language of instruction, while Portuguese is maintained at grade level for native speakers and taught as an additional language to the others, so that the goal is proficiency in both. The curriculum is the National Curriculum of England and examinations are taken through Edexcel from Pearson. Year 1 starts at age four with the late Early Years Foundation Stage, followed by Key Stage 1 and 2, the junior secondary from Year 7 to Year 9, IGCSE in Years 10 and 11, and the Sixth Form with A levels in Years 12 and 13. A class holds no more than 18 students, and the staff is 17 teachers, 2 classroom assistants and 6 support staff. Legally the school operates as Sílabas & Números, Lda.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $5 640–8 850 a year
4 855–7 618 EUR
Programmes
Pearson Edexcel · IGCSE, A-Level
Languages of instruction
English, Portuguese
Students
130 учеников, 27 национальностей
Admissions The school calls itself independent, coeducational and open-admission: it serves not only the international community living in the region but also Portuguese families seeking an international education. Admission of a new student is decided by the Directors against previously established criteria, and children whose brothers, sisters or family members already attend have priority in enrolment. At registration the office hands over the enrolment form, the fees and services list, the uniform policy, a medical questionnaire and the school calendar.
Stages and year groups Grades Year 1 - Year 13. Year 1 takes children from age four and teaches the late Early Years Foundation Stage, followed by Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, the junior secondary from Year 7 to Year 9 (ages 11-14), IGCSE in Years 10 and 11, and the Sixth Form with A levels in Years 12 and 13 (ages 16-18).
Address Praça Zacarias Guerreiro, nº 29, 8800-391 Tavira
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Pearson · IGCSE, A-Level · authorised programmeschool is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
PearsonPearson Edexcel, a British exam board
It gives a school approved centre status: that means Pearson exams can be sat in the school itself. What is checked is the premises, the equipment, the secure storage of papers and the presence of trained invigilators.
What the badge means for this school. The school can run Pearson exams on its own premises. The status says nothing about teaching, about results or about the school itself: any school able to run an exam securely holds it. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: IGCSE (ages 14-16), A-Level (ages 16-18). IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate. A-Level is the senior years, and their results are what British and many other universities admit on.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Exam results The school publishes a results table from 2014 to 2024. In 2024, 95 percent of students passed IGCSE and 74 percent earned grades A to C; all passed A level, with 81 percent at A to C. In 2020 every IGCSE and A level result was between A and C.
Where leavers go: California State University Long Beach · UCFB Wembley
The first student to complete A levels at the school, in 2013, was admitted straight to California State University in Long Beach and took a degree in aerospace engineering there. Other graduates went on to a sport and sports law programme at UCFB in Wembley, to pilot training at the ATF flying school in Spain, and some were accepted into universities in Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Portugal, which the school does not name.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Art studio
Campus: The school sits in the centre of Tavira in a 15th-century building regarded as a local historical landmark. It holds 16 classrooms, among them a science laboratory, a music studio, a radio station, a computer room, an art room and a canteen. A school bus runs for 180 euros, and every student has a locker.
Clubs and activities: Tenis Club · Ballet · Portuguese · Arts & Crafts · Egyptian Arabic Classes · Homework Club
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
The school has 17 teachers, 2 classroom assistants and 6 support staff; a class holds no more than 18 students. All work in the school, the school says, is differentiated according to each child's ability so that every pupil reaches his full potential during these years.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The internal regulation declares a zero-tolerance policy for bullying and refers to the school's internal policies, and behaviour expectations apply both on and off the school premises. All enrolled students are covered by school insurance.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)85 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data75 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data76 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country