Good international schools deliver happy expat families, says education expert

That’s according to the new head at one of the Algarve’s leading schools.

Chris Long, who has spent 20 to 25 years in international education, recently joined the Nobel Algarve British International School in Almancil, part of the Globeducate group.

And he believes affluent families and investors are putting schools and the happiness of their children right at the top of their must-have list.

Speaking at the recent Portugal Investment Forum in Quinta do Lago, he said: “I think the school place is absolutely fundamental.

“Previously, I was working at a school in Vigo, Spain where the European Fisheries Control Agency had its headquarters.

“They had a lot of people coming from abroad to work and settle there. Almost the second question after discussing their role and job conditions was ‘what are the local schools and good international schools?’.

“A strong international school is going to be able to provide some coherence and consistency for the family.

“The way a family can settle into that school is absolutely vital. If the family is not happy, if the children aren’t happy, that’s a tough landscape.”

Long added: “Schools provide a sense of place. When people come they feel like they are connected to a community. And that can help families settle.”

Education is a key part of the jigsaw for investors seeking to settle their family in Portugal to benefit from the opportunities the nation provides.

And with increasing demand, the sector is seeing its own growth too as international mobility becomes a key part of their business strategy.

The head teacher concluded: “The international education school sector seems pretty buoyant.”

And he sees new arrivals as good for everyone. Competition, he argued, lifts standards, and he cited what happened on Spain’s Costa del Sol. 

He explained: “As groups moved in, those schools began to become more professional, and the teaching and learning, the academic offering just improved and grew.”

He expects the same in Portugal. 

“You’ve only got to look in terms of some of the big players that are moving in, for example, Brighton College opening in Lisbon in 2027, that the level is going to improve across all of those schools,” he said.

That, he added, “will attract families, it will attract investments.”

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