If you’re embarking on a global move, getting to grips with a different schooling system can be a challenge. To help, we’ve unpacked the international schools market to bring you everything you need to know about a child’s educational journey in Brazil: find out more below, then read our
insider reviews to compare and contrast schools across the South American nation and the rest of the world.
Brazil is not widely known for its excellence in education, and the government is on a drive to improve the quality and equality of its educational system and reduce the illiteracy rate. However, the country does offer some superb independent and international schooling options.
Schools in Brazil are largely broken down into two categories:
State schools (known as
. Most students in Brazil (up to 80 per cent) enrol in a state institution. There is no cost but the quality of education is relatively low, and some schools are so oversubscribed that they divide their days into morning and afternoon sessions, with pupils attending one session per day. There are few or no extracurricular activities offered.
Independent and international schools (known as
. Given the challenges of the state system, these fee-paying schools are the first choice for expats and wealthy Brazilians. They provide a high-quality education, offering international curricula, small class sizes and wide co-curricular programmes alongside state-of-the-art facilities.
THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS MARKET: KEY POINTS
The international schools market in Brazil is growing fast, with new options opening every year.
There are currently more than
40 international schools in Brazil. Due to the high standard of education at these schools, Brazilian families usually make up over half of the student body.
The vast majority are located in the state of
São Paulo, followed by
Rio de Janeiro and
Brasília (the three cities with the highest concentrations of expats). International schools can also be found in other important Brazilian cities including Salvador, Curitiba, Recife, Manaus, Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte.
Most international schools in Brazil are
co-educational. Most are
non-denominational, but there is usually at least one Christian international school in each big city.
International schools usually run according to the
northern hemisphere academic calendar (as opposed to the Brazilian academic calendar, which typically begins in February and ends in December).
Fees at international schools are significantly higher than in Brazilian independent schools, with some costing as much as
R$12,000 (about £1,900/$2,280) per month.
THE EDUCATIONAL JOURNEY
compulsory from the ages of four to 17, but many children start attending a daycare centre or pre-school before they are four.
The Brazilian educational path consists of three key sections:
- Early-childhood education (ages four to five)
- Elementary education (six to 14)
- Secondary education (15 to 18)
Brazil’s well-established international schools and leading independent schools tend to have long waiting lists. Many Brazilian families put their children’s names down as soon as they are born. That said, expats tend to be given admissions priority at international schools – and many offer a rolling admissions process to suit these families’ transient lifestyles.
It’s worth noting that pupils arriving from a school that runs on a southern hemisphere calendar (including those in Latin America, Australia and South Africa) may need to repeat six months of their studies in order to join the northern hemisphere academic year, which is widely followed at international schools in Brazil.
International schools have varying cut-off dates by which children must be a certain age to enter a certain grade level. Typically, it might be 1 January for French schools, the end of June/beginning of July for British schools or September for American schools (for example, at the American School of Brasilia children must be 6 years old by September 1st to enrol in Grade 1 for that year), so it’s important to do your research well ahead.
Most international schools assess pupils’ language and maths skills as part of the admissions process. Many also require an enrolment fee, which is usually the equivalent of the monthly school fee. Some ask for a one-time donation on enrolment, which could be as high as US$15,000 (about £12,500).
The lion's share of international schools in Brazil are American, but you’ll also find British, French, Swiss, Japanese, German, Spanish, Italian and Canadian schools. Each typically follows the curriculum of the country it is affiliated with, combined with certain parts of the Brazilian national curriculum and – in some cases – an international curriculum such as the IB.
All pupils take lessons in Brazilian studies and culture. Portuguese is also taught in all schools, and while some offer daily lessons, others are fully bilingual, teaching half in their affiliated language and half in Portuguese.
International schools tend to prepare students for entry into overseas universities, with students going on to higher education in the US, Canada or Europe. Some choose to stay in Brazil to attend the country’s top-tier universities – and more and more Brazilian universities are starting to accept the IB diploma as part of their entrance requirements.
Boarding is not readily available, except for in dedicated military or Catholic schools. These tend to be scattered across the country and away from the big cities.
Security is a big issue (particularly in cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo), and it’s not unusual to find closed campuses, guards at the entrance and heavy CCTV around a school’s perimeter. As some of the country’s wealthiest families send their children to international schools, expect to find teams of drivers, nannies and bodyguards at the entrance – with some pupils even arriving by helicopter.