If you are moving to Portugal on a long-term basis and you have children aged from three to eighteen, you will inevitably have to consider the question of Algarve Schools. What are Portuguese schools like? What are the traditions and customs? Does Portugal have English-language schools like France or Spain, for example? Or you might be a schoolteacher yourself and looking for a job in Portugal.

Three options present themselves when thinking about schools in Portugal for your children. You could send them to a local state school, where lessons will be in Portuguese, and thus give them a (free) passport to the heart of Portuguese culture, a step up the ladder to learning the language and, consequently, improve your own chances of full integration into the community as you meet the parents of your children’s friends. Alternatively, you could send your children to one of the many fee-paying English language or multi-lingual schools in Portugal, of which there are a greater number in the popular ex-pat areas, or to boarding school in Britain or other country. This will be an expensive option no matter which private Algarve school you favour, but many ex-pats in Portugal do opt for this route, as they appreciate the wide range of extra curriula activities on offer and believe it is important to be educated in your own language. In the case of children who have already begun their education in English, this could be true as learning a new language at a later stage of education will take time. Young children who are just developing their language skills, however can quickly become bilingual if they speak English at home and Portuguese at school and tis could be very beneficial to them in later life.