International Schools in Coimbra

Aisling · #1 (**permalink**) 3rd November 2009, 01:16 PM

Hi,

Can anyone give me information in relation to International schools in the Coimbra area I will need to send my 15 year old to an international school. But we hope to send our youngest to a local school as he will only be 5 and we think it will be good for him??

Thanks

Aisling

Mr.Blueskies · #2 (**permalink**) 3rd November 2009, 07:56 PM

Hi Aisling,

Your 5 year old will fit in fine at portuguese school but it is very possible for the 15 year old to do so also. I have been living here for 15 months now. Initially we were not sure if we would stay, so for the first school term my girl aged 13 went to the international school in Marinha Grande (we are on the silver coast)

She knew though, that if we decided to stay that she would be going to portuguese school from September, which she does now. She is certainly a long way from being fluent in portuguese. They do give her some 1 to 1 tuition. Can't say that I am a fan of the international schools to be honest and they will only learn portuguese as a language lesson there (one hour a day)
Also because all lessons are in english, they do not even need to speak portuguese. The important point in my opinion, is that when it comes time for college, then will not understand sufficient portuguese to go to college here and will need to return to ireland. If you all remain here this may be a sad time.

Just something for you to think about.

Mr.Blueskies · #3 (**permalink**) 3rd November 2009, 08:01 PM

"Also, I do not believe that they have an international school in Coimbra ? Porto has several and may be the only option ? Silver coast and central portugal = 1 in Marinha Grande. After that, the only place where you will find them is in the Algarve.

John999 · #4 (**permalink**) 3rd November 2009, 08:23 PM

Hi Aisling
I do agree with Blueskies, you probably will have a problem finding the sort of school you want in Coimbra area. I have some information for you, I don´t think that is what you need, but this people might be able to help you finding some sort of solution
John999
International House World
IH Coimbra | School profiles | Recruitment | International House

Aisling · #5 (**permalink**) 3rd November 2009, 10:23 PM

Thank you, you have answered my next question, in relation to college, i wasnt sure if they thought in portuguese and part english or what happened and your perfectly right we would be absolutely heart broken if our eldest had to return to Ireland to study. Our move is for all of us, to improve our lifestyles and also a different approach to life for our children and I don't feel Ireland is the best place for this.

Would you recommend that we start getting our son portuguese lessons now while still in Ireland.

MASILVERCOAST · #6 (**permalink**) 3rd November 2009, 10:31 PM

Hi Aisling,

There are no international schools in Coimbra, and the closest location for you is Oporto, where they do exist.
Lisbon obviously has a variety of foreign schools, f.ex the Irish St. Dominic´s, English St. Julian´s , and the Frank Carlucci American school-
Torres Vedras also has an international school, but tuition is mainly in Portuguese.
Good Luck,
Marcus.

John999 · #7 (**permalink**) 3rd November 2009, 10:49 PM

If you can arrange that, that is a definitely yes. Year one in Portugal starts when children are 6 years old; in the UK they start with 5. Because Portuguese school will have to put him at the same school year he supposed to be over there, means that with 15 he would be at year 11 here, with 16 year 12, last year before university. Portuguese university access, (public school), is very hard to get. They classify the last 3 years grades, for the access. The same will happen with private Uni. But because you pay private the demand in grades is lower. Think you have to make some thinking about it before you make your final decision, and definitely, a lot of home work. The 5 year old will be just fine.
John999

MASILVERCOAST · #8 (**permalink**) 3rd November 2009, 11:08 PM

School in Portugal starts at 6 yrs, but by then most of the kids have been attending pre-school from the age of 3. This in fact means that if you want to put your kids in a competitive private/public school, they will be lagging behind from day zero. My now 7-year-old daughter, who is in her 2nd year, is going through this very unpleasant process, as nobody warned us, and we had no clue.

Mr.Blueskies · #9 (**permalink**) 4th November 2009, 12:07 PM

Hi Aisling,

The best thing to do now, is to probably buy one of those "learn portuguese cd's" for a start. There is one that costs around €400 and where you are even corrected and given the correct pronunciation. This one is probably best because the spoken word is very different to the written word. Make sure though that it is not Brazilian portuguese which is different.

If you can come here around May/June time when your children have just started their school holidays, this would enable you to get your son some 1 to 1 private tuition for the three month holiday period which will also be beneficial.

Something else that is worth saying, is that I know several people who were initially drawn to Marinha Grande to be close to the international school. Next, several bought houses again close to this school. The important point is that within a 12 month period they had ALL decided to put their kids into the portuguese public school system. Those who had bought, were now confined to Marinha Grande, where others could now move on to their location of choice.
Most people just get one shot at it Aisling, so you can see how important it is not to get it wrong.

JohnBoy · #10 (**permalink**) 4th November 2009, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Blueskies

The best thing to do now, is to probably buy one of those "learn portuguese cd's" for a start. There is one that costs around €400 and where you are even corrected and given the correct pronunciation.

Are you able to identify the Cd's you mentioned without breaking any forum rules please.