International schools in Cascais: curricula, ages and 2026/27 fees

Cascais families have eight full-time international or bilingual schools inside the municipality and four more within reach in Oeiras, Sintra and Lisbon. Published 2026/27 tuition runs from €8,385 a year at the Deutsche Schule Lissabon and about €11,000 for the youngest pupils at the English-language schools to €27,500 for the final years at King's College School Cascais. The main changes as of September 2026 are King's new campus, opened in September 2025, and the closure of the Deutsche Schule Lissabon's Estoril campus from the 2026/27 school year.

Which international schools serve Cascais families?

The table lists the full-time schools, with the curriculum and age range each one publishes for 2026/27. Fees are annual tuition from the school's own fee sheet; they usually exclude one-off registration fees, the capital levy, school buses and, at most schools, lunch. Where a school does not publish readable figures we say so rather than quote third-party estimates.

All fees are for 2026/27 and come from the schools' own pages or fee sheets, accessed 28 September 2026. For King's College School the figures were read from a fee PDF whose text layer is hard to parse, so confirm the band for your child's year with the school. Aprendizes publishes monthly fees; the annual totals are our multiplication by eleven.

How do you choose between British, IB, American and bilingual schools?

Start from where your child is likely to finish school, then choose the curriculum, then the school run. Changing systems is easiest at the natural break points: after primary, and before the final two years.

• British (English National Curriculum or Cambridge International): IGCSE at 16, then A-levels or the IB Diploma. King's College School, Prime School, IPS Cascais and St George's follow this route; St. Julian's teaches the British curriculum to IGCSE and then offers the IB.
• International Baccalaureate: St. Dominic's and Oeiras International School teach the full IB sequence from primary (PYP) through the Diploma. St. Julian's, CAISL and TASIS offer the Diploma in the last two years, and King's is preparing it as a candidate school; St. Julian's also runs the IB Career-related Programme.
• American: CAISL awards a US high-school diploma alongside the IB Diploma; TASIS combines an American primary and middle school with IGCSE and the IB; the International Christian School of Cascais follows an American-style programme with the University of Nebraska High School.
• Portuguese bilingual: Aprendizes combines the Portuguese national curriculum with Cambridge exams; St. Julian's runs a bilingual section for ages 6–14; St George's and St James' describe themselves as bicurricular; King's offers a bilingual option up to Year 5.

On the IB at King's: as of September 2026 the school's own website describes it as a candidate school for the IB Diploma Programme that is pursuing authorisation as an IB World School. Its first Year 13 is due in September 2027, so ask the school whether authorisation is in place if the IB Diploma is decisive for you.

Which Cascais areas are near which schools?

The schools sit in three clusters: the Carcavelos–São Domingos de Rana corridor, Cascais town and Estoril, and the inland belt from Bicesse to Linhó. Choosing the area after the school is the usual order.

• Carcavelos: St. Julian's is in the parish, at Quinta Nova on Av. Jorge V; St. Dominic's is a short drive inland.
• Parede: between St. Julian's and St. Dominic's, with its own station.
• São Domingos de Rana: St. Dominic's at Outeiro de Polima; Oeiras International School in Barcarena is the next IB option to the east.
• Estoril & Monte Estoril: Prime School International at Alapraia, about five minutes' walk from Estoril station.
• São João & São Pedro do Estoril: Prime School in Estoril and St. Julian's in Carcavelos, both along the same railway line.
• Cascais town: King's College School's two sites, and St George's, St James' and Aprendizes on Rua dos Depósitos de Água.
• Birre & Quinta da Marinha and Guincho, Areia & Malveira: the nearest schools are those in Cascais town.
• Alcabideche: IPS Cascais at Bicesse and the International Christian School on Av. de Sintra; CAISL and TASIS in Linhó (Sintra municipality) are about 15–20 minutes from Cascais.

School buses help. St. Julian's uses a door-to-door operator with three zones, from €549 to €682 per term one way; St. Dominic's runs routes for Cascais and for Estoril, Alcabideche, Parede and Carcavelos; Prime School charges €3,504 a year return; CAISL €3,632 a year return; Oeiras International School €840 per term both ways (2025/26 price). TASIS says transport is not included and families should ask admissions. Our guide to where to live in Cascais also compares the areas on price and train times.

Are there waiting lists?

Only St. Julian's publishes a statement: "The vast majority of our classes for the 2026/27 school year are now full", and it keeps waiting lists for full year groups. No other school on this list publishes a waiting-list statement, which does not mean places are free; ask each admissions office about your child's year group before you sign for a home.

What changed in 2025 and 2026?

• King's College School Cascais opened in September 2022 on the former PaRK IS Cascais campus and inaugurated its new campus in September 2025: about 40,000 m², a stated investment of €75 million, a 25 m pool and a boarding house for up to 50 pupils aged 13 and over. It adds one year group a year, so 2026/27 runs to Year 12 and Year 13 is due in September 2027. PaRK International School no longer has a campus in Cascais.
• Deutsche Schule Lissabon closed its Estoril campus (R. Dr. António Martins 26) from 2026/27. Until 2025/26 it housed a kindergarten and primary classes up to Grade 3; all grades are now taught at Largo Willy Brandt in Telheiras, Lisbon.
• IPS Cascais started its first IGCSE Year 10 cohort in September 2025 and has announced a new secondary campus nearby, advertised for September 2026. As of September 2026 we could not verify that it has opened, or where; ask the school.
• Oeiras International School opens Year 1 for 2026/27.
• St. Julian's has announced a €50 million "Second Century" building project, with a first phase planned from summer 2026.

What about Portuguese public schools?

State schools in Cascais are organised in 11 school clusters (Agrupamentos de Escolas), such as AE Carcavelos, AE Parede, AE São João do Estoril and AE Cascais, according to the Ministry's network list of February 2026. Places are allocated by home address, lessons are in Portuguese, and the Câmara does not publish catchment maps, so ask the cluster serving your future address before you buy.

Getting to school is cheap: pupils and students aged 4–23 can use the free navegante sub23 pass on public transport across the Lisbon metropolitan area, and holders of the Viver Cascais card ride MobiCascais buses free. Some private Portuguese schools add English certification, for example the Salesianos do Estoril, which introduced Cambridge English certification for all pupils from 2025/26; this is not a bilingual programme.

What are the options for French-speaking families?

There is no full-time French school in Cascais municipality. The nearest is the Lycée Français Charles Lepierre on Av. Eng. Duarte Pacheco in Lisbon, run directly by the AEFE, the French state network for schools abroad, from maternelle to lycée. In Cascais, La Petite École Française offers French classes for children aged 3–10 that follow the French national programme; it operates inside Aprendizes and is a supplementary school, not a full-time or AEFE-accredited one.

Fees change every year: what should you check?

Treat every figure on this page as a 2026/27 snapshot and check the school's own fee sheet before you budget. Fees rise year by year, and the one-off items often matter as much as tuition.

• Capital levy or building fee: €5,000 at St. Julian's and at Oeiras International School (one child), €3,800 per family at Prime School, €1,953 a year for five years at CAISL, €5,000 one-off at TASIS.
• What tuition includes: food at King's College School and Aprendizes; lunch, materials and clubs at TASIS; at most other schools lunch and buses are extra.
• Sibling discounts: King's gives 10% for the third child and 25% for the fourth and later.

If schooling decides your search, tell us your brief with the school and year group, and we will shortlist verified homes within a realistic school run.