International Schools in Madeira: Best Education for Foreign Residents

Choosing a school is usually one of the more consequential decisions you’ll make when relocating to Portugal, and for international schools in Madeira, that choice is constrained by scale.  

Class sizes are small, year groups fill early, and the curriculum you pick will shape how easily your child moves into a university system later.  

International schools are concentrated in Funchal, the island’s capital, and what suits a family settling permanently is often not what suits a family expecting to move again in three years. 

Two schools offer a full international education: The International School of Madeira, which teaches the Cambridge curriculum to children aged 3 to 10, and the International Sharing School of Madeira, an IB World School that serves students aged 3 to 18. Both teach in English alongside Portuguese. 

Two further options sit alongside them. Escola da APEL is a Portuguese school authorized to deliver the International Baccalaureate Diploma at upper-secondary level, and Brave Generation Academy runs a Funchal hub on a hybrid model for older students.

Madeira’s international schools are all located in Funchal, which puts them within reach of most foreign families settling in or near the capital.  

The island holds only a small share of the international schools in Portugal, and you’re choosing between two full international schools rather than the 50 or more you’d compare on the mainland. 

Class sizes stay small, and admissions staff know applicants individually, but places at the upper grades are limited, and there’s little room to switch if a school turns out not to suit your child. 

For a broader context on how Portugal performs as an educational destination, our Global Intelligence Unit ranked the country 25th in its Global Education Report, which also recorded more than 6 million students studying abroad in 2023 and projected that figure to surpass 10 million by 2030. 

International School of Madeira (ISM) 

The International School of Madeira is a bilingual Cambridge school in Funchal, teaching children from ages 3 to 10. It follows the Cambridge International Early Years syllabus for ages 3 to 5 and the Cambridge Primary program for ages 6 to 10. 

Children work in both English and Portuguese from the start, with the balance between the two shifting as they move up the school.  

If you’re searching for a Cambridge school in Madeira and want your child to hold both languages rather than treat Portuguese as a subject, this is the option that does it. 

ISM keeps class sizes small, so teachers work closely with individual students. The constraint worth planning around is the age ceiling: The school only caters for children up to the age of Grade 4.  

Families who start at ISM will need to move their child elsewhere at around age 10, whether to ISSM, a Portuguese school, or a school abroad. 

International Sharing School of Madeira (ISSM) 

The International Sharing School of Madeira offers the island’s only continuous international education, taking students from ages 3 to 18. It’s accredited by the International Baccalaureate Organization and runs all three IB stages: The Primary Years Program, the Middle Years Program, and the Diploma Program. 

It opened in September 1980 as the British School of Madeira, founded by Susan Farrow to serve English-speaking families on the island.  

It earned IB World School status in 2017, becoming the second school in Portugal authorized to run both the PYP and the MYP, and adopted the International Sharing School name in the 2018/2019 academic year. 

In February 2026, the school relocated to a new campus at the Seminário da Encarnação in central Funchal. Classes are capped at 20 students, the community draws on more than 35 nationalities, and the school is non-denominational. 

For families expecting to move again, or who want their child to finish on a qualification that universities everywhere recognize, ISSM is the only school on Madeira that can carry a child the whole way through without a transfer. 

Other options: Escola da APEL 

Escola da APEL isn’t an international school in the usual sense. It’s a Catholic secondary school in Funchal, rooted in the Portuguese education system, and most of its students are local. 

What makes it relevant is its certification as an IB World School, authorized to deliver the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. The two-year program is taught in English and prepares students for universities abroad. 

For families with older children, APEL sits between the two systems: A Portuguese school environment with an international qualification at the end.  

It won’t provide continuity from early years through graduation, but if your child is heading into the final two years of school and aiming for higher education overseas, it’s a serious alternative to ISSM at a lower cost. 

Other options: Brave Generation Academy 

Brave Generation Academy runs a hub in Funchal, primarily for secondary-age students. The model is hybrid rather than conventional: Students work through accredited online course material and attend the hub in person, where learning coaches supervise progress rather than teach classes in the traditional sense. British, American, and Portuguese curricula are available. 

If your child is self-directed, if you’re on the island temporarily, or if the two main schools have no space at the grade you need, it’s worth a conversation. 

Tuition at Madeira’s international schools ranges from roughly €5,300 per year at the lower end to €13,140 for the final year of the IB Diploma. The range depends on the school, your child’s age, and how many years you expect to pay. 

International School of Madeira 

For the 2025–2026 academic year, ISM charged annual tuition ranging from €5,300 for nursery (ages 3 to 4) to approximately €5,900 for Grade 4.  

Fees for 2026–2027 hadn’t been confirmed against the school’s own published schedule at the time of writing, so treat these figures as a guide and request a current quote directly from the school.

International Sharing School of Madeira 

ISSM publishes a full fee schedule by grade for the 2026–2027 academic year. New students pay a one-time enrollment fee, and returning students pay an annual renewal fee of €300. The enrollment figure varies between published sources, so confirm the current amount with the school before you budget for it. 

Tuition covers school supplies, including books, stationery, and art materials, as well as access to the school’s digital platforms for both students and parents.  

From Grade 4 onward, students provide their own laptop. Meals, transport, and after-school activities such as sailing, robotics, or music are not included in the base fee. 

How the fees compare 

The gap between the two schools widens as children get older. At age 4, the difference is a few hundred euros a year. By the Diploma years, ISSM’s fees have more than doubled since the Early Years level, and ISSM is no longer an option because the school stops at Grade 4. 

Public schools follow the Portuguese education system and provide a solid standard of education, particularly at the primary level. For families settling permanently, they’re often the better choice.  

Children acquire Portuguese quickly, they build friendships in the community they’ll actually live in, and the qualification at the end gives direct entry to Portuguese universities. 

The difficulty is the arrival age. A six-year-old placed in a Portuguese classroom will be fluent within a year or two. A fourteen-year-old arriving with no Portuguese has to absorb the language and the subject matter at once, at exactly the point where grades start counting toward university admission.  

The older your child, the harder that transition gets. 

International schools remove language barriers and follow transferable curricula. If you move again, a child partway through the IB or a Cambridge program can continue elsewhere without losing ground.  

If your child is aiming at a university outside Portugal, the qualification is already in a form that admissions offices recognize. What you pay for is that portability. 

How to weigh the two 

Consider public schools if you’re committed to staying in Madeira long-term, your children are young enough to absorb Portuguese without academic cost, and you want them integrated into the local community rather than a separate expatriate one. 

Consider international schools if you expect to relocate again, your children are arriving at secondary age without Portuguese, or you’re planning on university abroad and want a qualification that travels. 

Some families use international schooling for the first year or two while a child settles and builds Portuguese, then transfer into the public system.  

That works best with younger children, and it depends on securing an equivalence certificate from Madeira’s Secretaria Regional de Educação, so check the requirements with the school before you commit to a sequence rather than a single choice.  

Both ISM and ISSM accept applications year-round rather than running a single admissions window, which helps if your relocation date doesn’t line up with the September start.  

The constraint isn’t the deadline; it’s capacity. ISSM caps classes at 20 students, and the island’s total international provision is small, so the grade you need may simply be full. 

Schools typically ask for previous school records, identification documents, and proof of address. Entrance assessments or interviews are common for older children, particularly where the school needs to judge whether a student can handle an English-medium curriculum.  

Expect a one-time registration or enrollment fee in addition to tuition, and confirm the current amount at the time of application rather than relying on a published figure. 

Contact the schools before you move, not after you arrive. If a place isn’t available at your child’s grade, that changes which part of the island you settle in, or whether Madeira works as a destination at that point in your child’s education at all.  

Finding out in August that the only continuous international school has no space in Grade 9 is a problem with very few solutions. 

Evidence and practical checks 

A few things are worth confirming directly with each school rather than taking from any published summary, including this one: 

• Current fee schedules for the coming academic year, including enrollment, renewal, and administrative charges, are revised annually 
• Actual availability at your child’s specific grade, rather than general admissions status 
• Which curriculum stage would your child enter, and whether their existing school records map cleanly onto it 
• What the school does if your child arrives mid-year or partway through a two-year program, such as the IB Diploma 
• Whether transport, meals, and after-school activities are included or billed separately 

Ask the same questions of each school and compare the answers side by side. School websites present programs rather than answering the specific question of whether your child can start in January in Grade 7, which is usually the deciding factor. 

Madeira offers two full international schools. Mainland Portugal has more than fifty, spread mainly across Lisbon, Porto, Cascais, and the Algarve, covering a range of national curricula. 

If the island’s provision doesn’t fit your child, it’s worth knowing what the alternative looks like before ruling Portugal out entirely. 

British curriculum: British international schools follow the UK National Curriculum through Key Stages 1 to 4, preparing students for GCSEs and A-levels. This is the most widely available option in Portugal and the easiest to transfer into from a UK school. 

International Baccalaureate: IB World Schools run the Primary Years, Middle Years, and Diploma Programs. The Diploma is recognized by universities worldwide and is the most portable qualification if you expect to apply outside a single country. On Madeira, ISSM and Escola da APEL are the two IB-authorized options. 

American curriculum: American schools provide a liberal arts education with standardized testing such as the SAT and Advanced Placement courses. This is the route that maps most directly onto US college admissions, and it’s the usual choice for Americans moving to Portugal who expect their children to return to the US for university. 

German curriculum: German international schools deliver the full German curriculum, with an academic structure and assessment pattern that leads toward the Abitur. 

French curriculum: French international schools follow the French national curriculum, ending in the Baccalauréat. The program emphasizes the humanities, sciences, and languages, and is structured to facilitate progression into the French higher education system. 

Religious schools: Most international schools in Portugal are secular, but some carry a religious affiliation. A number of Catholic and private schools have expanded English-language instruction in recent years, particularly in Lisbon and Porto, and some now offer international qualifications alongside the Portuguese curriculum. Escola da APEL is Madeira’s example of this pattern. 

Method schools: Portugal has a growing number of schools built around alternative pedagogies such as Montessori or Waldorf. Several run bilingual English-and-Portuguese programs and hold international accreditation, though they don’t always describe themselves as international schools. Check the qualifications a child leaves with, since those vary more than elsewhere.