Choosing a school near Cascais: St. Julian’s and St. Dominic’s

Both schools serve ages 3–18 and both lead to the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, but they are not interchangeable.

St. Julian’s School in Carcavelos offers British and bilingual pathways before the senior years. It provides both the IB Diploma Programme and the career-related IB CP. Portuguese study remains part of the programme through 9º. St. Dominic’s International School, in São Domingos de Rana, offers the IB continuum from primary through the Diploma.

Choose between them by examining the route your child needs before the Diploma. Ask St. Julian’s which pathway and language balance applies in the proposed year. Ask St. Dominic’s how a pupil arriving from a British, Portuguese or other national curriculum is placed.

Day school, not boarding

Both profiles describe day schools. Do not infer residential provision from a school’s international intake. If boarding is essential, neither should remain on the shortlist without explicit confirmation of a new arrangement.

The locations also create different daily journeys. Test Carcavelos and Rua Maria Brown in São Domingos de Rana from the home and workplace you are actually considering. Include the collection time after activities, not only the morning drop-off.

Ask for comparable current fees

St. Julian’s official fee material for 2026–27 is presented in charts, while its admissions process supplies availability and fees during an enquiry. Request a written schedule for the child’s year. Separate application and enrolment charges, capital levies, tuition, meals, transport and activities.

St. Dominic’s page in our review did not publish a current euro tuition table. It did mention dates and an early-payment discount. Ask for the full schedule and the conditions of that discount before comparing it with St. Julian’s. A missing public price is an unanswered budget question, not evidence that one school costs less.

For either school, confirm availability for the intended start date and the support offered in English and Portuguese. If the family expects to stay, also compare a Portuguese school rather than assuming an IB continuum is automatically the better long-term route.

See the Cascais hub and Portugal guide. Detailed profiles link to the official sources.

Friendly orientation, not formal admissions advice. Always confirm dates with the school.