The best international schools in Lisbon: fees, curricula, and how to choose

Choosing a school in Lisbon is usually the decision that fixes everything else about a move: whether you live in the city or out along the Cascais line, how long the morning run is, and how much of the year's budget is already committed. Greater Lisbon is unusually well served, with long-established British and American schools out toward the coast, subsidised French and German schools in the city, full IB continuum schools, and a new wave of modern campuses in Lisbon itself.

This guide covers the eight private and international schools a newly arrived family is most likely to shortlist. For each one you get the address, the real per-child fee range, whether there is a sibling discount, and the language and curriculum, because in Lisbon the language of instruction and the exam pathway are the decision, not a detail. If free Portuguese public school is also on your list, read the companion Schooling in Lisbon guide first; this one is about the fee-paying options.

A note on the numbers below: fees are the published annual tuition for 2025/26, taken from each school's own tariff. Almost every school adds a one-time application and registration fee, and several add a "capital levy" or building fund that is due before your child starts and is usually non-refundable. Treat each range as youngest child to oldest child, early years is the cheap end, the Diploma years the dear end, and confirm the exact figure for your child's year group with admissions before you budget.

St Julian's School: British and IB, the Carcavelos anchor

Where: Quinta Nova, 2775-588 Carcavelos (on the Cascais line, about 20 minutes west of central Lisbon). Language: English, with Portuguese compulsory to Year 9; a separate bilingual English-Portuguese stream is also available. Curriculum: the National Curriculum for England from Nursery, GCSEs in Year 11, then the IB Diploma or Career-related Programme in Years 12 to 13. Fees per child, per year: day fees run roughly €8,200 for the youngest classes up to about €19,365 in the senior years. Sibling discount: 15% off the third child, 25% off each subsequent child.

Founded in 1932 and the best-known British school in the Lisbon area, St Julian's is the anchor choice on the Cascais side and one of the most heavily subscribed in the country. The English pathway runs cleanly to GCSE and then the IB, a combination that travels well if you might move again, and the bilingual stream is a genuine option for families who want their child fully at home in Portuguese too. Budget for a registration fee of around €900 and a one-time capital levy of about €3,100 on top of tuition, plus lunch billed separately. Popular year groups fill early, so apply the moment your move is confirmed.

Carlucci American International School of Lisbon: the American track

Where: Rua António dos Reis 95, Linhó, 2710 Sintra (about 25 minutes northwest of central Lisbon). Language: English. Curriculum: an American curriculum leading to a US High School Diploma, with the IB Diploma available in the upper grades; an IB World School since 2002. Ages 3 to 18. Fees per child, per year: roughly €11,716 up to €22,736 depending on grade. Sibling discount: not published as a flat rate, ask admissions.

Known universally as CAISL, this is the American school of Lisbon, founded in 1956 to serve the diplomatic and business community and still the obvious choice for families on a US pathway or who want the option of Advanced Placement alongside the IB. It is a non-profit day school with a strong reputation and a genuinely international student body. The extras matter here: on top of tuition there is a €100 application fee, a one-time €600 registration fee, and a mandatory building fee of about €1,953 a year, payable for each of the first five years your child attends. Factor that building fee into your first years, not just the tuition line.

St Dominic's International School: Portugal's first full IB continuum

Where: Rua Maria Brown, Outeiro de Polima, 2789-518 São Domingos de Rana (between Lisbon and Cascais). Language: English. Curriculum: the full IB continuum (Primary Years, Middle Years, and Diploma), ages 3 to 19. It was Portugal's first IB continuum school. Fees per child, per year: roughly €9,700 in the kindergarten years, rising to around €12,000 to €12,800 through primary and about €14,400 to €18,000 in the senior and Diploma years. Sibling discount: yes, and it scales: 5% off the second child, 15% off the third, 25% off the fourth and each subsequent child.

Founded by Irish Dominican Sisters in 1975, St Dominic's is the pick for families who specifically want the International Baccalaureate the whole way through rather than a British curriculum that only becomes IB at sixth form. It is warm, mid-sized, and genuinely diverse, and its scaling sibling discount is among the friendlier ones in the area for families moving two or three children at once. Budget for a one-time capital levy of around €5,000 and an annual registration fee of roughly €1,120 to €2,050 on top of tuition, with IB exam fees billed separately in the final years.

Oeiras International School: small classes, strong IB scores

Where: Quinta de Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Rua Antero de Quental 7, Barcarena, 2730-013 Oeiras. Language: English. Curriculum: the full IB continuum (PYP, MYP, DP), ages 6 to 18. Fees per child, per year: roughly €13,980 to €22,406 depending on year group. Sibling discount: not published as a flat rate, ask admissions.

A non-profit, parent-founded IB school on a historic 17th-century estate with woodland and riverside grounds, Oeiras is the small-and-serious option: classes are capped at around 15, and its IB Diploma average of about 36 points sits well above the world average of roughly 30 and among the stronger results in Europe. Parents rate it highly for individual attention and genuinely committed teachers. It suits families settling on the Oeiras and western side of the metro area who want an intimate school rather than a large campus. Budget for a €250 application fee and an annual registration fee of roughly €1,260 to €2,068 on top of tuition.

Deutsche Schule Lissabon: the German school, to the Abitur

Where: Lisbon (central). Language: German, with Portuguese and English taught alongside. Curriculum: the German curriculum leading to the German Abitur. Fees per child, per year: roughly €8,141 to €9,238, among the most affordable international options in the city. Sibling discount: not published, ask admissions.

Partly subsidised by the German state, the Deutsche Schule is the natural home for German-speaking families and one of the lowest-priced international schools in Lisbon as a result. Instruction is German-medium throughout, so it is a real commitment if neither parent speaks German, but Portuguese and English are taught alongside, so pupils do not come out monolingual. The Abitur pathway keeps a clean route back into the German and wider European university system, which matters if you may move again.

Lycée Français Charles Lepierre: the French track, subsidised

Where: Lisbon (central). Language: French, following the French national curriculum, part of the AEFE network. Curriculum: the French national curriculum from nursery through the baccalauréat. Fees per child, per year: roughly €5,452 to €6,891 for EU, French, and Portuguese nationals, and about €6,097 to €7,536 for non-EU nationals. Sibling discount: French network schools often apply family reductions, so ask directly.

The largest of Lisbon's subsidised schools, with around 2,100 pupils, the Lycée is the obvious and affordable choice for French-speaking families or anyone wanting their child inside the French system with a clean path back to it. Because it is subsidised through the AEFE network, its fees sit well below where most of the British and American schools start, with tuition tiered by nationality. As a French-medium school it suits families who already speak French at home more than those hoping their child will pick it up from scratch.

Redbridge International School: multiple pathways in Campo de Ourique

Where: Rua Francisco Metrass 95, 1350-164 Lisbon (Campo de Ourique). Language: English and French, depending on the pathway. Curriculum: an unusually broad set of pathways under one roof, French, Portuguese, Cambridge International, and the IB Diploma, for ages 3 through secondary. Fees per child, per year: roughly €7,872 for the youngest classes up to about €15,545 in the upper Cambridge years. Sibling discount: not published as a flat rate, ask admissions.

Redbridge is the flexible, city-centre option: a single school in the well-liked Campo de Ourique neighbourhood offering French, Portuguese, Cambridge, and IB routes, which is useful for families who are not sure which system they will end up wanting, or who may switch. Its fees sit at the more affordable end of the private range. Budget for a non-refundable enrolment fee of around €3,000 on top of tuition. Being in the middle of the city rather than out on the coast is its main draw for families living in Lisbon proper.

United Lisbon International School: a modern city campus

Where: Avenida Marechal Gomes da Costa 9, 1800-255 Lisbon, next to Parque das Nações. Language: English, with Portuguese as a second language. Curriculum: an international pathway running through the International Early Years and Primary curricula, the International Middle Years Curriculum, and the IB Diploma Programme in Grades 11 to 12. Ages 3 to 18. Fees per child, per year: from about €12,300 in the early years, rising with year group; confirm the exact figure for your child's grade with admissions. Sibling discount: 15% off the third child, 25% off the fourth and each subsequent child.

The newest name here, United Lisbon is a purpose-built, technology-forward campus in the modern Parque das Nações district on the eastern riverfront, which makes it the most convenient international school for families living in central and eastern Lisbon rather than out on the Cascais line. Its curriculum is designed to lead into the IB Diploma, with a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship and digital skills. As a newer school it is still building its exam-results track record, but the campus and location are genuine draws for city families. A 2% discount applies if you pay the annual tuition in full by the June deadline.

How to actually choose

The honest shortcut in Lisbon: the first filter is language and pathway, not price or campus. English-medium is the crowded field (St Julian's, CAISL, St Dominic's, Oeiras, United Lisbon); German, French, and the multi-pathway Redbridge each serve a specific family. Decide whether you want your child taught in English, in another home language, or across a mix, and most of the list eliminates itself.

Then weigh three things the fee headline hides:

• The extras and the upfront hit. Registration fees, capital levies, and building funds (from a few hundred euros up to €5,000) are due before your child starts and are usually non-refundable. Two schools with similar tuition can differ by thousands in the first year once these land. Factor them in separately.
• Location and the commute. The coastal schools (St Julian's, CAISL, St Dominic's, Oeiras) suit families settling along the Cascais line and the western metro area; the city schools (Redbridge, United Lisbon, the Lycée, the Deutsche Schule) suit families living in Lisbon proper. A daily run from the city out to Carcavelos or Sintra is a real cost in time.
• Siblings. The confirmed discounts matter if you are moving more than one child: St Dominic's scales 5% to 25%, St Julian's and United Lisbon give 15% and 25% from the third child. Elsewhere, treat a sibling reduction as something to ask about directly and get in writing.

Finally, timing. The private schools run rolling admissions, and the established names, especially St Julian's and CAISL, fill their popular year groups well before September. If a specific school is the plan, start the application the moment your move is confirmed, ahead of finding somewhere to live. Where you can, visit in person: fees and curricula narrow the list, but a morning on campus is what actually makes the decision.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an international school in Lisbon cost per year? For 2025/26, tuition at the schools in this guide runs from roughly €5,500 a year at the subsidised Lycée Français up to about €22,000 to €23,000 at the top of the IB and American schools such as Oeiras, St Dominic's, and CAISL. Most families should budget for registration fees, a capital levy or building fund, and lunch on top of the tuition line, which can add anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand euros in the first year.

Which are the most affordable international schools in Lisbon? The two subsidised schools are the cheapest by a clear margin: the Lycée Français Charles Lepierre (from about €5,500 a year) and the Deutsche Schule Lissabon (from about €8,100), both because they receive support from their home governments. Among the English-medium schools, St Julian's and Redbridge start at the lower end of the range. The trade-off at the subsidised schools is language: instruction is French or German, not English.

Do my children need to speak Portuguese? Not to attend an English-medium international school, all of them teach in English and take children with no Portuguese, though most make Portuguese a compulsory subject up to a certain year. If you want your child genuinely bilingual, St Julian's runs a dedicated bilingual English-Portuguese stream. Free Portuguese public schools teach entirely in Portuguese and are covered in the companion Schooling in Lisbon guide.

British or IB curriculum, which should I choose? It depends on where you might go next. A British curriculum (St Julian's, and the Cambridge pathway at Redbridge) leads through IGCSE and is a clean fit if you may return to the UK system. The IB (St Dominic's, Oeiras, and the Diploma years at St Julian's, CAISL, and United Lisbon) is the most internationally portable and is well regarded by universities worldwide. Several Lisbon schools run a British or American curriculum in the lower years and switch to the IB Diploma for the last two, giving you both.

We are moving mid-year. Can our child start straight away? Usually yes. Lisbon's private schools admit on a rolling basis whenever they have a place in the relevant year group, so mid-year entry is normal, subject to availability. The established names fill popular years early, so contact admissions as soon as you can and ask specifically about your child's year group rather than assuming a space exists.

Where do most expat families send their children, the coast or the city? Historically the long-established schools clustered along the Cascais line (St Julian's in Carcavelos, CAISL in Sintra, St Dominic's and Oeiras between the two), which is why many expat families settle in Cascais, Estoril, and Oeiras. The newer city schools (United Lisbon in Parque das Nações, Redbridge in Campo de Ourique) and the subsidised French and German schools mean families living in central Lisbon no longer have to commute to the coast. Choose the school first, then the neighbourhood around it.

Use the school comparison below to line up fees, curricula, and verdicts side by side, then confirm the exact number for your child's year group with each admissions office. Published tariffs move every year, and in Lisbon the registration fees and capital levies are where the real first-year budget lives.