FAQs

The school is open from 8.00 am to 7.00 pm (extension starts at 6.00 pm at an additional cost). The school offers a Breakfast Club for students from Primary School onwards, between 7.30am and 8am.

• Nursery: 9.00 am to 4 pm
• Kindergarten: 8.30 am to 4 pm
• Primary School - Secondary School: 8.30 am to 4.00 pm

The school is closed to students during the month of August. However, services related to national exams, the application process for higher education, and administrative matters, will continue to function throughout the year.

This school year, we have enrolled 1,500 students from over 40 nationalities.

The exact number of learners is dependent on the school year. From Grade 2, we have, on average, 25 students per class and the number of classes per year varies. At present, the School educates 1 Nursery class, 2 Kindergarten classes, 3 Primary School classes, and 4 or more classes from Junior School onwards.

80% of our students are Portuguese and 20% are international learners. Currently, there are 44 nationalities represented in the school.

We follow the full Portuguese curriculum from Grade 1 to Grade 12, and also offer the international curriculum from Grade 1 onwards, including Cambridge Lower Secondary, IGCSE and the IB Diploma Programme.

In general, most students speak Portuguese on the playground. Children who enter the school as non-Portuguese speakers, quickly learn it. You may also hear Mandarin or English being spoken in the playground.

We offer optional certifications in English, German, Mandarin and Spanish.

The school has fantastic facilities for sports practice, including: football, basketball, volleyball, rugby, tennis, gymnastics and athletics. Students can enjoy horse-riding, swimming, golf, surfing and go-karting led by external practitioners very close to the campus.

Starting in Primary School, our students receive homework every day. The expected time allocated to homework exercises varies, from 20 minutes in Primary School, to 60 minutes in Secondary School.

Portuguese National Exams, IGCSE (Cambridge), IB Diploma Programme Exams, in addition to language certifications.

Our graduating students enter the best universities across Portugal and abroad.

The student community at St. Peter's is used to welcoming newcomers and, in general, they are very friendly. The Heads of the different sections ensure that new students have a buddy to show them around, and inform them of how everything works. However, the time taken to settle into a new routine and setting depends on the attitude of the new student and their willingness to make new friends during participation in school activities.

Yes, we opened our Boarding residence in the 2021-22 academic year. For more information, please visit our page: Boarding.

During field trips, travelling students are accompanied by schoolteachers who plan the visit and are assisted by educational assistants. The number of supervising adults on trips depends on a ratio between the number of students and the number of staff required. This will change with each age group.

Open Days allow students in the 9th grade and Grades 10 to 12 of Secondary education to contact Portuguese and foreign universities in the public and private sectors and military education establishments (army, navy and air force) in a face-to-face meeting. Institution representatives set up stands and provide information about the courses they offer.

At a University Open day or Higher Education events, students will also learn more about entry requirements, scholarships and other important information they may need to note to make considered choices. Each college may present their provision in a presentation to provide more in-depth guidance.

These career opportunities are a school-led initiative to help with student’s vocational orientation, both for Secondary education and for Higher education. Up-to-date comprehensive information on higher education institutions allows students the chance to fully understand their options and make an informed decision based on thorough research.

International Day is a traditional event in our school, organised annually in close collaboration between the school and the families. It promotes conviviality within the entire school community in an informal, fun, and thematic manner. 

Fluency in English is not a compulsory requirement of learners who wish to study the Portuguese curriculum. International curriculum applicants must complete an English language examination so that we are able to ascertain the candidate's level of speaking, reading and writing.

We aim to make the Admissions process as simple and as enjoyable as possible. Firstly, prospective candidates are required to submit an application form via our website or by contacting the Admissions team directly (admissions@stpeters.pt).

Please adhere to the process with care to include all necessary documents. Each step in our Admission process is outlined on the website.

Our team receives school applications throughout the academic year, and places will be allocated if we can ensure our School is suitable for your child’s needs. Although we cannot guarantee enrolment at the time of application, if the student is pre-enrolled, we will contact parents and guardians after the current student re-enrolment period in January, or as soon as a place is guaranteed.

You can enrol your child at any time but official registration takes place each year between the 15th of April and the 15th of June. The School may offer enrolment dates, which we will publish on the website.

To access a list of what registration documents are required, please consult our Admission Process

Registration refers to the first enrolment in Preschool or the compulsory education system for entry in Grade 1 of Primary, any other year, in the case of transferring students who wish to join the School from the international education system.

Renewals of registration occur when a learner progresses from one academic year to the next after enrolling at the School. When renewing registration, supporting documents will need to be present for verification to validate the school place.

Grades 2 to 9 and Preschool registration renewals will be finalised by the 3rd working day after the student’s registry is resolved.

For those accessing the Secondary School curriculum, the School will finalise registration and/or renewal of Secondary School entrants by the 3rd working day after the student’s registry is resolved.

This process will fall under the renewal of registration process, as it enables the transfer of School. We will finalise the transfer process 3 working days after the student’s school status has been confirmed.

Requests for the renewal of registration are easy to submit online via the computer application available on the Registration Portal. As an official document, Registration requests can only be made by the parents or legal guardians of the student, after which, the process will be completed with documents acquired from the child’s previous educational establishment.

Parents may present documents supporting a renewal of registration at the School if online renewal is not possible.

Formal cancellation of registration only applies to Preschool students and learners who are due to turn 18 years of age and do not wish to complete the 12th year of schooling.

In Grades 1 to 12, students who wish to leave the School are required to formally do so by transferring their registration in the process outlined above. Please do not hesitate to contact the School for further support with renewals or registration requirements.

Any prerequisites for the 2022-2023 academic year can be found here. Higher Education institutions should be consulted beforehand so that they may provide information of their respective prerequisites prior to application.

Higher Education institutions will invite applicants to sit an entrance examination specific to the course of interest. The outcome of the examination may determine admission to the proposed course of study at the University. Information regarding entrance examinations is published on the Direção-Geral do Ensino Superior website which can be found here.

Specific dates for the registration of national Secondary School final examinations are published each year according to guidelines which outline legislation found on the DGES website.

Students with active registration will be provided with an ENES form produced and submitted after the active publication of the 12th-grade examination guidelines. Entrants who wish to sit exams but have yet to obtain registration for the school year may request an ENES form, according to the terms and dates released annually, according to the applicable legislation.

Qualification certification will be produced and delivered after 12th-grade studies have concluded.

Past students who no longer attend the school and wish to obtain a 2nd copy of the certificate detailing their qualifications must complete an application form.

A password request must be made to submit your application to a Portuguese Public University here.