Portugal · Carcavelos

St. Julian’s School, Carcavelos, English and bilingual paths to the IB

The process fees are public. The annual tuition sits in charts on the fees page. We will not guess the missing euros.

dagschoolgemengdOnderzocht 31-8-2026

Officiële website Lissabon Portugal gids

Dit portret staat nog in het Engels. De andere talen komen school voor school.

Curriculum zoals de school het publiceert:National Curriculum for England, then IGCSE/GCSE, then IB DP or IB CP · Portuguese national curriculum bilingual path ages 6–15

Onderwijstalen:English, Portuguese

St. Julian’s is a not-for-profit British international day school in Carcavelos, ages 3–18. The Head, Paul J. Morgan, dates it to 1932 and calls it Portugal’s leading British international school — that is his sentence, not a ranking we are making. The campus sits between Carcavelos beach and Lisbon, around an 18th-century palace, gardens, woodland, sports grounds and sea air. The school serves “a Portuguese and international community representing over 60 nationalities.”

It is a day school. A FAQ heading asks whether St. Julian’s offers boarding. Do not assume a house. If you need one, ask admissions in the first email.

Two pathways share the same grounds and, later, the same IB. That is the first decision, and it is not a brochure flourish. The English path is the National Curriculum for England, then IGCSE/GCSE, then the IB Diploma or the IB Career-related Programme. The bilingual path follows the Portuguese national curriculum in Portuguese and English from 1º to 9º ano (about ages 6–15), then a one-year IGCSE, then the same IB choice. Portuguese is part of the English-path core through Key Stage 3.

The school is CIS accredited and authorised for the Portuguese national curriculum from 1º to 9º. It offers both IB DP and IB CP; the Head says St. Julian’s was first in Portugal with the Diploma, and the IB page says it is the first in Portugal with students actually enrolled in the CP (from September 2025). COBIS and HMC are on the awards page. In 2025/26 the Head writes that Spear’s again placed the school in a European top 10 of private schools, and Carfax in a top 15 of international schools — fourth year running, he says. Those are index placements the school chose to print. We are not adopting them.

Who it is for

Families who want a British-section life in Greater Lisbon, or a genuine Portuguese-English bilingual track that still ends in IGCSE and IB. Families who can reach Carcavelos every morning. Families who can pay a €5,000 capital levy on offer, before the annual tuition the school will send you.

It is not a last-minute IB shop. “Generally, we do not accept applications for the final years of the IGCSE or IB DP/CP programmes.” At research time, the vast majority of 2026/27 classes were full; 2027/28 and 2028/29 were open. Most new students start in September. Mid-year is possible if a seat exists.

It is also not a state agrupamento with an English club. The Board is the St. Julian’s Association: up to nine governors, three of whom must be British citizens, elected at a General Meeting, unpaid, terms up to nine years, meeting at least six times a year. They appoint the Head and the Bursar. Fees, the Head writes, are reinvested in the school because it is not-for-profit.

A Community Scholarship exists for students in the Portuguese state system at 9º ano who cannot otherwise access private education: fully funded, merit and school-life, joining in Year 11 / 10º ano for three years through the IB Diploma. Expressions of interest for the current cycle closed Friday 22 May 2026. That is a named programme, not a general bursary you assume at enquiry.

The campus you can actually picture

The palace is the postcard. The Prep School page is more useful. Drop-off from 07:45. Classes from 08:20. The day ends at 15:00 Monday to Thursday and 13:30 on Fridays. From Year 2 / 1º ano, lunch is in the Palácio Dining Hall with teachers. Year 6 may use the School Café at lunch and after school. Morning fruit is provided. Weekly primary assembly. Forest School, a mud kitchen and pond-dipping are on the homepage for the youngest; surf, rugby, football, cricket and athletics are the outdoor list the school wants you to hear.

Ask to see an ordinary Year 4 classroom and the dining hall on a wet Tuesday, not only the gardens.

The FAQ list includes a bus service, lunches, class-size maxima, school times, and religious ethos. Ask for the current answers in writing. We are not inventing a cap or a bus map.

How the day is organised

Pre-Prep, ages 3–4, then Prep, about 5–10, then Secondary, 11–18, with the bilingual section running 6–14 (1º to 9º) alongside.

English section, Key Stage 3 (Years 7–9, ages 12–14). Core: Maths, English, Portuguese, Science, History and Geography. One additional modern language, French or German. Six practical or creative subjects: Art, Computer Science, Creative Arts, Design & Technology, Music, PE. Health & Citizenship. Year 7 has Opening Minds, an interdisciplinary programme; Years 8–9 have Enrichment. Every KS3 student is given an iPad.

Key Stage 4 (Years 10–11). Two-year IGCSE/GCSE with Cambridge International and Edexcel (Pearson). Examined core: English Language and Literature, Science as Triple or Double Award, Mathematics, and a language — Portuguese, German or French. Non-examined: PE, Critical Thinking, Outdoor Education, Health & Citizenship, a Research Project. Year 9s choose options including Art, Business Studies, Computer Science, Design Technology, Drama, Geography, History, ICT, PE and Music.

Year 11 from 9º ano. Students who have finished 9º and want a one-year GCSE in Year 11 need a final average of at least 3.75. Students already in the first year of IGCSE elsewhere, or in the final year of the IB Middle Years Programme, are “generally not eligible.”

Key Stage 5 (Years 12–13). IB Diploma or, from September 2025, IB Career-related Programme. The DP cohort is “just under 200 students” across the two years, the IB page says, “with more subjects than any other school in the country” — the school’s claim. The CP is “typically only available to our current students who are transferring from Year 11.” External CP entry is not the default. The Diploma begins with a five-day residential introducing TOK, the Extended Essay, CAS and the Learner Profile.

Bilingual section, 1º–9º. Portuguese national curriculum taught in Portuguese and English, authorised by the Ministry. Art, Music, PE and other named subjects are taught in both languages across the school. Assessment follows the Portuguese structure. After 9º, bilingual students take a bespoke one-year IGCSE, then IB DP or CP. Joint classes, sport and arts with the British section are part of the design.

Portuguese on the English path is compulsory through the KS3 core. If you want a child who can live in Portugal rather than only commute through Cascais, this is the paragraph to test on a tour.

How a child actually gets in

Five steps: register interest, visit, formal application, interview and assessment, decision.

1. Interest. The Admissions Office sends availability, fees and next steps. Call +351 214 585 300 (press 1) or write admissions@stjulians.com.

2. Visit. About 30 minutes, children welcome if you want them. Online if you cannot come. A visit is information, not an offer.

3. Formal application. Online form plus €250, one-time, non-refundable. Date of birth sets the year group. Apply early; “very few places remaining after March” is the school’s own warning.

4. Interview and assessment. The Admissions Committee, chaired by the Head, chooses who is invited. Interviews are compulsory and expected on site; online if needed. They start in September for the following academic year and run through the year. Year 4 and above sit an Admissions Assessment just before the interview. If the child cannot come, the Office will try to arrange a supervised assessment at the current school.

5. Decision. The Head decides. On offer: sign the Parent School Agreement and pay, by bank transfer within 10 working days, the Registration Fee €750 and the Capital Levy €5,000. If there is no place, you may join the waiting list; the Office says it will stay in touch.

IB Diploma entry, from the school’s own minimums (these are for candidates coming through IGCSE, including St. Julian’s own):

At least grade 4/C in six or more IGCSE subjects (needed for Portuguese equivalência), including English Language (first or second) and Mathematics.
Higher Level: recommended 6/B in that subject at IGCSE.
Standard Level: recommended 4/C.
Mathematics HL: recommended 8/A.
New subjects (HL Economics, HL Psychology): recommended 6/B in English Language.
HL Environmental Systems and Societies: recommended 6/B in Biology, Geography, or Double Award Science.
Ab initio languages: no IGCSE requirement.

If a subject was available and not taken, the Head of Department has to be convinced. That is a conversation, not a form tick.

Money, as the school printed it

Process fees are public and in euros:

Fee	Amount	When
Application	€250	With the formal application; non-refundable
Registration	€750	Within 10 working days of offer
Capital levy	€5,000	Same deadline

The fees page exists for 2026/27 and still shows 2025/26 as a reference. Both are charts. The enquiry step is also how the school sends “current availability, fees.” We are not inventing an annual tuition from a picture or from a directory.

A first-year child is not “about the tuition.” It is application + registration + capital levy + the annual figure in the chart + bus if you need one + the residential IB trip + whatever the lunch FAQ actually says. We will not add a total without the tuition chart as text.

The Board has a Discounts & Bursaries subcommittee. That is governance, not a published percentage. Ask.

Leaving routes

IGCSE/GCSE at 16, then IB DP or IB CP.

The Diploma is the portable university document. Almost all IB graduates, the school says, continue to universities in the UK, Portugal, Europe, Canada and the US, with a Student Futures Team of three counsellors. That is the school talking about destinations. We are not turning it into your child’s offer list.

The CP, from September 2025, combines Diploma courses with career-related study. The school names three onward paths: higher education, internships, or work. It is new. Ask how many students are actually on it this year, and whether an external applicant can join.

Portuguese equivalência after IGCSE is a real local extra if you might later need the national system. The six-subject 4/C bar above is the school’s own statement of what that requires. Confirm with the IB office and, if needed, with the Ministry — not with a parent WhatsApp.

What to ask on the stairs

Ask which pathway, in which year, and whether a move between them is still possible after Year 6. Ask how much Portuguese an English-path Year 8 actually speaks in the corridor. Ask whether 2027/28 still has a seat in this year group, not “applications are open.” Ask whether Year 11 or IB 1 is even eligible. Ask to see the fees chart as a PDF. Ask what “just under 200” in the Diploma means for class size in Higher Level Maths. Ask how the CP would look for a child who is not already in Year 11. Ask about the bus, the lunch, and the class-size maximum — the FAQ headings exist, the numbers did not travel with them.

If you might stay in Portugal, ask the equivalência question twice: once for IGCSE, once for what an IB Diploma does at a Portuguese public university.

What we are not claiming

We are not saying St. Julian’s is the best school in Lisbon. We are not guessing a waitlist beyond the school’s own “mostly full for 2026/27.” We are not inventing annual tuition. We are not treating Spear’s or Carfax as our ranking. We are not assuming boarding from a FAQ heading.

Read the live admissions process and write to admissions@stjulians.com before you resign a flat in another country. This is a map. Carcavelos still has to be the right Tuesday.