How do schools work in Portugal?

Portuguese children start compulsory school at 6 and stay until 18 or until they finish Year 12. The school year runs from mid-September to June, and you choose between free state schools, private Portuguese schools and fee-paying international schools.

How the system is organised

Children are placed by age, so a child arriving from the UK may be in a different year from their English year group. Attendance at state pre-schools, primary and secondary schools is free.

The school year

On the mainland, the 2026/27 year starts between 11 and 15 September 2026 for pre-school and Years 1 to 9 (each school chooses the day), and on 21 September for academic courses in Years 10 to 12. Easter holidays run from 22 March to 2 April 2027. Lessons end on 4 June 2027 for Years 9, 11 and 12, on 11 June for Years 5 to 8 and 10, and on 30 June for pre-school and Years 1 to 4. Madeira and the Azores set their own calendars.

Types of school

Enrolling at a state school

Enrolment (matrícula) is done online on the Portal das Matrículas, logging in with a Citizen Card, the Chave Móvel Digital or your Portal das Finanças password, or at the school office. For Year 1 in 2026/27, schools took applications from 22 April to 1 June 2026. Schools ask for proof of your address and, if it applies, of your workplace, because places at popular schools are allocated by national priority rules (Despacho Normativo 6/2018). Sort out your address as soon as you can.

• Year 1 is compulsory for children who are 6 by 15 September. Children who turn 6 between 16 September and 31 December can start if you ask and there is a place
• Documents schools ask for: the child’s and parent’s ID or residence permit, a photo, vaccination record, the child’s health user number (número de utente), social security number (NISS) and tax number (NIF), and proof of address. See How much tax will I pay in Portugal?
• If you arrive mid-year, contact the school cluster (agrupamento) for your address. Every child of compulsory school age is entitled to a place, though not always at your first choice

Portuguese support (PLNM)

Pupils whose first language isn’t Portuguese can take Portuguese as an additional language (Português Língua Não Materna, PLNM) instead of, or alongside, the normal Portuguese class. The school places them at a level (from “level zero” through beginner A1 and A2 to intermediate B1) and draws up a support plan. Newly arrived beginners can be brought into the curriculum gradually, with tutoring, clubs and sport to help them settle. PLNM pupils at A1 to B1 sit a PLNM test in Year 9 and a PLNM national exam in Year 12. Foreign pupils were 16.4% of state school pupils in 2023/24, so many schools have experience of this.

British and international schools

COBIS (Council of British International Schools) represents more than 400 schools and organisations worldwide; its directory is one way to find accredited British schools in Portugal. Fees vary a lot:

Expect extras: registration or entrance fees (often €500 to €5,000), annual re-enrolment, lunches, transport, uniforms and exam fees for IGCSE and IB. Ask each school for a complete fee schedule, and ask your employer whether it will help.

UK qualifications (equivalências)

To join the Portuguese system after studying abroad, a pupil may need an equivalence (equivalência) of their foreign schooling to the Portuguese year, under Decree-Law 227/2005. The Directorate-General of Education (DGE) handles requests and publishes the comparison tables for the UK. Under them, a pupil with grades A* to C (or the equivalent) in six GCSE subjects gets equivalence to Year 10 and can enter Year 11; otherwise they enrol in Year 10. Start early: you will need school reports and certificates, and the request form is on the DGE website.