Nobel Algarve British International School - Almancil
Almancil, Portugal · est. 2020 · PrivateThe Almancil site stands on Caminho das Pereiras and opened in 2020 - the school calls it the only purpose-built school campus in the Algarve. It takes children from 3 to 18. Teaching follows the National Curriculum for England: pre-school, primary school, secondary school, Years 10-11 with IGCSE examinations and Years 12-13 with the International Baccalaureate Diploma and the BTEC Diploma. Lessons are in English: the school names English as its language of instruction, and every page for parents and pupils, the description of the stages and the admissions procedure are written in English. The school counts pupils from more than fifty nationalities across both of its campuses together. The buildings are spacious and the grounds green: a central quad, a sensory garden, play spaces, multi-sports courts and an astroturf pitch, a multi-media centre with a library, modern science laboratories, interactive whiteboards in the classrooms and a dining hall. The group's other campus, at Lagoa, has been working since 1972 and takes a different set of qualifications - A Levels and BTEC plus a separate Portuguese national curriculum pathway.
Key facts
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
COBIS · membershipCambridge · IGCSE, A-Level · authorised programmeIB · authorised programmePearson · authorised programmeGlobeducate · school is part of the networkWhat stands behind each entry
An association of British schools abroad with a quality inspection of its own. It has nine membership categories, and the word "accredited" appears in seven of them, although COBIS does its own inspection in one: in the rest it recognises an accreditation granted by somebody else.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to this organisation but has not been through its accreditation. The difference matters: membership is usually paid for and has no external inspection behind it. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Part of the University of Cambridge. It allows a school to teach the Cambridge programmes and to enter pupils for the exams. There are four stages and they are authorised separately: primary, lower secondary, IGCSE and A Level. If the stages are known they are named in the line below; if that line is missing, the school does not publish them, and the Cambridge registry does not show stages either - it gives only the name of the centre, the country and whether private candidates are accepted. Cambridge calls what it does registration rather than accreditation, and the network holds about ten thousand schools.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. 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 →A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What this status would mean. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The school is not in the organisation's register: the status comes from the school's own words. Which stage this school is authorised for - PYP, MYP, DP or CP - is not stated here.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →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 this status would mean. 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 school is not in the organisation's register: the status comes from the school's own words. Which Pearson qualifications this school is approved for is not stated here.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →A British vocational qualification from Pearson: not an academic course with an exam at the end, but a programme of practical assignments in a particular trade, from engineering and business to art and sport.
What this means for this school. Teaching and assessment work differently from A-level: instead of written exams there is a run of practical assignments marked by the school, while Pearson checks the school itself and samples the work. British universities do accept BTEC, but not all of them and not for every course: level 3 carries the same UCAS points as A-level, and that is what a family aiming at a particular university should look at. For a child who needs the classic academic route, BTEC is not a replacement for A-level but a different path.
A K12 education group bringing together bilingual and international schools as well as online programmes. The site names "65+" schools in 11 countries and 40,000 pupils, and on all the pages read these numbers agree. Whether the group owns the schools, manages them or passes on its methodology under licence is not said on the site; the year of foundation and the country of registration are not named.
What this means for this school. The network owns or operates the school. Its accreditation and programme authorisation the school obtains separately, in its own name.