Skip to content
Golden sandstone cliffs and turquoise sea at Praia da Marinha, in the Algarve

Schools guide

Schools in the Algarve

Public, private and international schools in the Algarve: free state school groups by municipality, plus fees and curricula from each private school.

Photo: Klugschnacker / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

This is our Algarve page. We are building it school by school, so it grows over time. Private and international schools are checked against their own websites. Public schools are taken from the Ministry of Education’s official school list. Each profile shows when we last checked it.

Today it lists 60 schools: private and international schools from Lagos and Lagoa in the west to Loulé, Almancil and Albufeira, the public school groups of all 16 Algarve municipalities, and a first set of private nurseries and colégios. Where a private school publishes its fees, the profile shows them, with the school’s own fee page linked. Where it doesn’t, the profile says so and tells you to ask the school.

Public schools in Portugal are free of tuition. Their pages are short on purpose: which schools are in each group, and where they are. They do not rate teaching quality. Nurseries are taken from the government’s social register and checked on each school’s own website; more will follow. A school that is missing has not been checked yet, not ruled out.

Looking beyond the Algarve? See the full list of schools, or the pages for Lisbon, Cascais and the Ericeira area.

International and English-medium options (11)

  • A school building at Colégio Internacional de Vilamoura seen from the grounds

    International school

    Vilamoura

    Colégio Internacional de Vilamoura

    • IB DP
    • Portuguese national
    • Cambridge Primary
    • Cambridge Lower Secondary
    • IGCSE

    Ages 3 to 18, on a Portuguese national pathway or an international pathway · Ages 3–18

  • An aerial view of the Vale Verde International School campus

    International school

    Luz

    Vale Verde International School (VVIS)

    • IGCSE
    • A Levels

    Ages 5 to 18, Year 1 to Year 13 · Ages 5–18

  • Pupils gathered on the grounds of Aspire International School, among pine trees

    International school

    Almancil

    Aspire International School Algarve

    • English National Curriculum
    • IGCSE
    • A Levels

    Ages 3 to 18, Preschool to Year 13 · Ages 3–18

  • The Nobel Algarve Almancil campus building under a blue sky

    International school

    Almancil

    Nobel Algarve British International School, Almancil campus

    • English National Curriculum
    • IGCSE

    Ages 3 to 18 · Ages 3–18

  • The Nobel Algarve Lagoa campus grounds and buildings

    International school

    Lagoa

    Nobel Algarve British International School, Lagoa campus

    • English National Curriculum
    • IGCSE
    • A Levels
    • Portuguese national

    Ages 3 to 18, with a British and a Portuguese pathway · Ages 3–18

  • The Montalvo International School building in Loulé

    International school

    Loulé

    Montalvo International School, Algarve

    • IGCSE
    • A Levels

    Secondary school: Year 9 to Year 13, with Edexcel iGCSEs and AS and A levels

  • Wooden Montessori learning materials on a shelf beside a plant

    International school

    Albufeira

    Eden Montessori International School

    • IB DP candidate
    • Montessori

    Children's House (ages 3 to 6) and Lower Elementary (ages 6 to 12) · Ages 3–12

  • The Aljezur International School building with its logo painted on the wall

    International school

    Aljezur

    Aljezur International School

    • English National Curriculum
    • IGCSE
    • A Levels

    Secondary only: ages 11 to 18 (Years 7 to 13) · Ages 11–18

  • The Barlavento International Primary School building under a rainbow

    International school

    Luz

    Barlavento International Primary School

    • English National Curriculum
    • EYFS

    Primary only: ages 3 to 11, Foundation Stage to Key Stage 2 · Ages 3–11

  • International school

    Loulé

    Educan Algarve International Learning Centre

    • English National Curriculum
    • IGCSE

    Year 1 to Year 11, with Years 12 and 13 on request · From age 5

  • Bilingual colégio

    Luz

    Colégio São Gonçalo (Luz)

    • Bilingual PT/EN
    • Portuguese national

    Nursery, creche, pre-school and 1st cycle (primary)

Portuguese private colégios (5)

  • The yellow Colégio Bambino building with its playground

    Portuguese private colégio

    Lagos

    Colégio Bambino

    • Portuguese national

    Berçário, creche, pre-school and 1st cycle, ages 4 months to 10 years · From 4 months to age 10

  • Portuguese private colégio

    Portimão

    Colégio do Rio (Portimão)

    • Portuguese national

    Creche, pre-school and 1st cycle (primary)

  • Portuguese private colégio

    Portimão

    Colégio João Paulo II (Portimão)

    • Portuguese national

    Creche, pre-school and 1st cycle (primary)

  • Portuguese private colégio

    Faro

    Colégio Oficina Divertida

    • Portuguese national

    Creche, pre-school and 1st cycle (primary)

  • Portuguese private colégio

    Portimão

    Colégio Externato Ti-Té

    • Portuguese national

    Berçário, creche, pre-school and 1st cycle (primary)

Public schools (39)

Nurseries and pre-schools (Portuguese-speaking) (5)

  • Nursery & pre-school

    Vilamoura

    BabyMoura – Creche e Jardim Infantil de Vilamoura

    • Portuguese national

    Creche (4 months to 3 years) and pre-school (3 to 6) · From 4 months to age 6

  • Nursery & pre-school

    Vilamoura

    Clube do Bibe – Creche e Jardim de Infância

    • Portuguese national

    Berçário (4 to 12 months), creche (12 to 36 months) and pre-school (3 to 6) · From 4 months to age 6

  • Nursery & pre-school

    Portimão

    Colégio A Flor

    • Portuguese national

    Berçário, creche and pre-school, with after-school care (ATL), ages 4 months to 10 years · From 4 months to age 10

  • Nursery & pre-school

    Faro

    Creche Cantinho do Bebé

    • Portuguese national

    Creche, 4 months to 3 years · From 4 months to age 3

  • Nursery & pre-school

    Faro

    SuperEscola – Creche e Jardim de Infância

    • Portuguese national

    Creche (4 months to 3 years) and pre-school (to 6) · From 4 months to age 6

Frequently asked questions

Which schools do you cover in the Algarve?

60 schools so far. Ten are private or international schools: Colégio Internacional de Vilamoura, Vale Verde (Lagos), Aspire and Nobel (Almancil), Nobel (Lagoa), Montalvo (Loulé), Eden Montessori (Albufeira), Aljezur International, Barlavento Primary (Luz) and Educan (Loulé). Eleven are private nurseries and colégios in Faro, Portimão, Lagos, Luz and Vilamoura. The rest are public school groups from the official list. We are adding more.

Are public schools in the Algarve included?

Yes. We list the public school groups (agrupamentos de escolas) of all 16 municipalities, taken from the Ministry of Education's official school list. They are free of tuition. Each page shows the head school and the schools in the group. We have not yet added websites and addresses for every group.

A school I know is missing. Why?

It has not been checked yet, not ruled out. We add schools region by region and publish a profile only once its details are confirmed on the school's own website or an official register.

Newsletter

School dates and open days for Cascais, Lisbon and the Ericeira area

Open days, enrolment deadlines and new guides. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.