# Schools



## annique (Dec 7, 2014)

We are planning to move to Portugal sometime in 2015 and we have 2 boys(aged 2 and 4)We have bought in Caldas de Reinha but plan living in Lisbon for the first year as a transition period.I've been looking for schools and the ones I've found are between 7 and 10K a year. We are English speakers and I think a public school might be a bit of a challenge...can anyone recommend schools that are cheaper?? Any advice would be great!!!


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

About par for private education especially if you want English as language.


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## Janina k (Nov 30, 2011)

annique said:


> We are planning to move to Portugal sometime in 2015 and we have 2 boys(aged 2 and 4)We have bought in Caldas de Reinha but plan living in Lisbon for the first year as a transition period.I've been looking for schools and the ones I've found are between 7 and 10K a year. We are English speakers and I think a public school might be a bit of a challenge...can anyone recommend schools that are cheaper?? Any advice would be great!!!


Hello

We have friends here in Serpins and Gois who have children in normal Portuguese school and all the children are doing very well. It may be an idea to look ate just how schools are where you are planning to move to before you waste a lot of money on school fees. If you plan to move here permanent then your children need to be able to interact with other childen around them and the be able to speak with them.

Krystyna


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

Please think carefully about this. I have met untold numbers of people here who come with the dream and small children, only to find it does not work out. Just last Friday in the bank I was talking to yet another young woman who said that Central Portugal had been a disaster for their family as the children (ages about 4 and 6 I think) had been learning nothing. They are moving to Lagos where they have found an excellent school. Many people arrive with the idea that schools staff are going to bend over backwards to accommodate non Portuguese speaking pupils. It is just not the case, especially in the state system. Portuguese is a very difficult language to learn to speak compared with Spanish for example.


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## 2ctdiamond (Oct 11, 2014)

The state schools in Lagos are really good for non~Portuguese speaking children. I have a lot of friends who have put their children in these schools and they have never regretted it. Also the children in these schools are encouraged to help new children and , as most of them speak English too, the newcomers seem to settle in very quickly and do very well. One of my friends is a language teacher and always encourages people to use the state system


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

shame annique bought in Caldas da Rainha before asking question but may work related?


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

There are many expat english speaking children in the Caldas da Rainha area who have had no problem fitting into the state system. 

Your chldren are young and will have no problem adapting to a second language.

A state experiement in Canberra, Australia has proven that if a child learn a second language by the age of 5 it keeps a receptor in the brain open to enable the language learning ability to be ongowing.

They choose a different language for each of the sectors in the ACT and kindergarden children learnt in each sector a different language. Believe it or not Turkish, Japanese were two of the languages. It doesn`t matter what language...just that you have learnt another different to your mother tongue.


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Annique

You might also like to read through this thread where you might also get some thoughts.

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/po.../133713-portuguese-school-british-school.html


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## izian (Nov 21, 2013)

Hi,
We moved near torres vedras in March this year, so only a short drive from caldas, and have children now aged 6, 5 and 20 months. 
They have gone into a PT school and are just fine although my 5 year old struggled at first, but that's due to him having a speech problem anyway. 
I know of several expat families in and around caldas so in sure you'll find a good mix of English and pt speakers. 
Personally, I would move straight into caldas and not do a year in Lisbon, as children need stability and having to up root them again after a year might be confusing for them. A 30 min drive for us is a long way for kids! 
The other thing I've heard is that not all pt private schools are good so if you do go down that route, please research well first.
Good luck with your move. Feel free to message me if you'd like to know anythibg else as I've just done what you're planning x


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