Getting a School Place in Cascais: Waiting Lists and When to Apply

Finding a school place is often the first real worry when a family plans a move to the Cascais coast. Is there room? When do we need to apply? And what happens if the school is full?

This guide answers those questions using what each school says on its own website. It covers 22 international schools, plus a short section on bilingual colégios and nurseries. For the 14 Portuguese private colégios in our guide, see their profiles and our open days calendar. Where a school’s website says nothing on a point, we write “not stated”, and we never fill the gap with a guess.

For open-day dates, see our open days and enrolment dates page. This page goes deeper into waiting lists, deposits and timing.

Last checked: 22 October 2026, on each school’s official website. Policies and fees change, so please confirm with the school before you decide. We’re an independent guide, not a school, and we’re not linked to any school or nursery.

How hard is it to get an international school place in Cascais?

It’s hard in popular year groups and easier in others. St. Julian’s says the “vast majority” of its 2026/27 classes are full. Oeiras International School says it is “over-subscribed in most year groups”. Meanwhile CAISL, TASIS Portugal, IPS Cascais and St. Dominic’s take applications all year, subject to space. So check availability by year group, not just by school.

Of the 22 international schools we checked, 14 mention limited places, full classes or a waiting list on their websites. No school publishes how long its list is, or what your chances are.

When should you apply?

Apply 9 to 12 months before your start date if you can: for a September start, between September and January. St. Julian’s says there are usually very few places left after March. TASIS Portugal asks for complete applications by early to mid-January for priority. Most other schools have no deadline, so applying earlier simply gives you more choice.

A few schools work to fixed dates:

• Kairos Montessori answers applications received by 15 March on or before 30 March, then admits on a rolling basis if places remain. Because of “very high demand”, its Children’s House (early years) has two admission windows: end of September and end of March.
• Deutsche Schule Lissabon has opened Kindergarten pre-registrations for 2027/28. It processes them from November to January and sends offers in February. The order you register in doesn’t decide who gets a place.
• Instituto Español Giner de los Ríos has one short application window a year. For 2026/27 it was 4 to 11 March 2026, with final lists on 1 June. The 2027/28 dates hadn’t been published when we checked.
• TASIS Portugal’s January priority date is worded for 2026-27 on its website. It may change for 2027-28.

Already open for 2027/28: St. Julian’s (for 2027/28 and 2028/29), Redbridge, and Deutsche Schule Lissabon’s Kindergarten. Aprendizes says its admissions start in the autumn before the year of entry.

School by school: applications, waiting lists and deadlines

What each school says on its own website, checked on 22 October 2026. “Time to accept” is how long the school gives you to accept an offer and pay its entry fees. “Not stated” means we couldn’t find it on the school’s site. Fees are for 2026/27 unless we say otherwise.

Sapienti International School doesn’t publish admissions dates, waiting-list rules or fees. Its website asks families to book a meeting with its admissions officer.

How do waiting lists work at Cascais and Lisbon schools?

Each school runs its list differently, so ask how yours works. TASIS Portugal and CAISL use “wait pools”: when a seat opens, they look at every complete application again. TASIS says its pool “is not ranked”. ISS Lisbon, by contrast, works first come, first served, and St. Dominic’s offers places by availability and application date.

Here’s what the schools say in more detail:

• Pools that are reviewed again. TASIS weighs gender and language balance, siblings and readiness. CAISL offers places in this order: re-enrolling students, US government families, children from American schools, then English-medium schools, then others. CAISL also says, “It is impossible to predict when or if a place will become available.”
• Lists by date. ISS Lisbon and St. Dominic’s look at the date you applied. Lisbon Montessori School lists date of registration as one of its criteria, after siblings, age and language.
• Lists by points. Giner de los Ríos scores each application (Spanish connection, curriculum fit, siblings) and keeps a reserve list in points order.
• Lists that don’t roll over. CAISL’s and Redbridge’s lists only cover the school year you applied for. If you’re still waiting at the end of the year, you’ll need to apply again.
• A paid waitlist. ISS Lisbon is the only school we found that charges to join its waitlist: €1,200, non-refundable, under its 2026/27 admissions policy. If no place comes up that year, your child gets priority for the next grade the following year, and the €1,200 then counts towards the enrolment fee.

Several schools give priority to siblings, including IPS Cascais, Oeiras International School, ISS Lisbon, Deutsche Schule Lissabon and Redbridge. Some also give priority to staff children or partner organisations. Our CAISL and TASIS comparison covers both American schools in more detail.

Can my child join mid-year?

Often yes, but rarely in exam years. CAISL says it welcomes “students at any time, subject to space availability”, and SAIS takes children when their year group has room. ISS Lisbon only takes mid-year joiners up to Grade 9, and St. Julian’s generally not into the final IGCSE or IB years. Near exam age, plan for September.

A few more limits worth knowing:

• St. Dominic’s only takes Grade 11 students mid-year, and Grade 12 students, if they come from an IB school with a good subject match (policy dated 2022/23).
• Deutsche Schule Lissabon says Grade 12 entry is generally not possible.
• Lisbon Montessori School starts CASA children in September or January.

Our open days and enrolment dates page has a short timeline for a September 2027 move.

What do you pay to apply and to hold a place?

Expect up to three payments. First comes an application fee: the ones we found run from €100 to €250, and none is refundable. Then, once you’re offered a place, a one-off registration or capital fee. Then the first tuition instalment. St. Julian’s, for example, asks for €750 plus a €5,000 capital levy within 10 working days of an offer.

More examples, all for 2026/27 and all from the schools’ own pages:

• CAISL: €600 registration, plus a €1,953 building fee each year for the first five years your child attends (charged from Grade 1), plus a quarter of the year’s tuition.
• TASIS Portugal: a €5,000 Campus Enhancement Fee when you accept, or a €3,000 deposit for Pre-K.
• Oeiras International School: a €5,000 capital levy (€7,500 for two siblings), plus an annual registration fee.
• IPS Cascais: no application fee is stated. You pay €4,000 registration and a €950 enrolment fee once you accept a place.
• King’s College School, Cascais: the 2026/27 fee PDF lists €3,000 (Early Years 1 to Year 6) and €5,250 (Year 7 to Year 13), but the school’s FAQ page shows €2,000 and €5,000. The school’s FAQ and fee PDF differ, so check with the school.
• St. Dominic’s: an annual registration fee plus a capital levy. The amounts appear only in an image on its fee page.

Deutsche Schule Lissabon’s €355 pre-registration fee is refunded if your child isn’t admitted. We found no other refund of this kind. If your first-choice school might offer a place later, ask any school you accept whether its fees are refundable (most say they’re not).

Our guide to international school fees in Cascais and Lisbon covers tuition and the other costs.

Which documents do you need?

Have them ready before you apply. Most schools ask for passports or ID for your child and parents, school reports from the last two or three years, and vaccination or medical records. Some also want a photo, test results, or educational-psychology and learning-support reports. CAISL and ICSC ask for documents not in English to be translated.

What some schools list:

• CAISL: the last three years of school records, any standardised test results, and translations where needed.
• ISS Lisbon: two years of school reports, passports, and any medical or psychological reports.
• Prime School: passport, two years of reports, medical and vaccination records, and parent ID.
• The Lisboan: passports, vaccination record, latest report and a photo.
• Redbridge: a photo, two school reports, IDs and a non-debt declaration.

What assessments and interviews to expect

It depends on the school and your child’s age. St. Julian’s assesses children from Year 4 and interviews every applicant. King’s College Cascais is academically selective, with an online entrance test for Years 3 to 6, followed by an academic interview. Oeiras International School uses a placement test with no pass or fail. TASIS Portugal interviews every family.

Not every school tests. Prime School’s trial day comes with “no assessment · no testing”, and The Lisboan says it doesn’t require entrance exams. PaRK uses an interview with a psychologist from Grade 1 and a CAT4 test from Grade 5. ISS Lisbon tests English from Grade 5 for children who aren’t native speakers.

Curriculum matters too. Our IB schools guide explains which schools offer the IB Diploma.

Your chances by year group

Places are hardest to get in the busiest year groups, and exam-year entry is mostly closed. TASIS Portugal says it expands class sizes in Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 9 and Grade 11, so those intakes have more seats. No school publishes its odds or how long its list is, so ask the school directly about your child’s year group.

Age cut-offs also decide which year group your child applies for, and they differ between schools:

• Portuguese schools: children who turn 6 by 15 September start 1.º ano that September. Children who turn 6 between 16 September and 31 December can start a year early, conditionally, if parents ask and there’s a place. So 31 December is the end of that optional window, not the main cut-off.
• CAISL and TASIS Portugal: 1 September.
• St. Julian’s (British programme) and The Lisboan: 31 August.
• St. Dominic’s and the Lycée Français: the calendar year (1 January to 31 December).

Our school year and age-to-grade guide shows how Portuguese, British, American and IB year groups line up.

What to do if you’re waitlisted

Apply to three or four schools at the same time. If a school you’re happy with offers a place, take it, and stay on the other lists if you like. Keep every application complete, because TASIS and CAISL only consider complete files. CAISL and Redbridge lists don’t roll over, so reapply for the next year if you need to.

Stay in touch with each admissions team, too. St. Julian’s says it keeps “regular contact with families while they remain on the list”, and TASIS says spaces “commonly” open during the year as families relocate.

The public-school fallback

A Portuguese public school is a real fallback. For 2026/27, enrolment on the Portal das Matrículas ran from 22 April to 1 June for pre-school and 1.º ano, and 15–22 July for 10.º and 12.º ano. Children with schooling from abroad can enrol outside these windows if a class has room. Teaching is in Portuguese.

What the official sources say:

• Enrolment from abroad. The 2026/27 enrolment despacho says children with schooling from foreign schools can enrol outside the normal periods, and acceptance “depends only on there being a place in classes already formed” (Despacho n.º 4472-A/2026, point 8).
• Equivalence is free. You can request equivalence (equivalência) for your child’s previous schooling at any time of year. It’s free, and enrolment is conditional until it’s done (DGE).
• Changing school during the year. Transfers are allowed until the 5th day of classes of the 2nd term, unless the family moves house (gov.pt).
• Help with Portuguese. Children who are new to the language can take Português Língua Não Materna (Portuguese as a non-native language) instead of the standard Portuguese subject, after a placement test (gov.pt).

We haven’t checked how many places individual public schools in Cascais have. Ask the school or the Portal das Matrículas.

Relocating before you have a place

Try not to sign a long lease near one school until you have a confirmed place. Rent short-term somewhere within reach of several schools, keep a public-school enrolment as a backstop, and budget for the chance of paying a school’s entry fees before your first choice comes through. Places do open mid-year, but none is guaranteed.

Our guide to the best areas to live in Cascais with children shows which schools sit near which towns, and which buses the schools say they run.

Bilingual colégios and nurseries

Portuguese private colégios and small nurseries publish less about admissions. Usually you fill in a free pre-registration form and visit, and the school then decides based on its criteria and the places it has.

Your next steps

You don’t need to have everything sorted at once. Start with the dates that matter for your child, and take it one step at a time:

1. Shortlist three or four schools that fit your curriculum, budget and commute. Our schools directory and Lisbon schools guide list them all.
2. Email each admissions team and ask whether your child’s year group has space for your start date.
3. Ask how the waiting list works: by date, by priority or unranked, whether it rolls over, and whether there’s a fee.
4. Check the age cut-off for each school, so you apply for the right year group.
5. Gather documents now: passports, two or three years of reports, vaccination records and any support reports, with translations if needed.
6. Apply early and pay attention to priority dates, such as TASIS Portugal’s in January and Kairos Montessori’s on 15 March.
7. Know your deadline to accept. The schools that say so give between 3 and 15 days, so have the entry fees ready.
8. Keep a backstop. Note the Portal das Matrículas windows, and remember that families with schooling from abroad can apply outside them.

Starting early gives you the most choice. And if your first choice is full, it isn’t the end of the story: schools say places open as families move, and a visit to your second choice may surprise you. You know your child best, so trust what you see.