In recent years, the Algarve has changed a lot and one of the results has been that "there is considerably more demand for international education in the region and the school here has grown from around 500 to over 1,000 students," said Paul Brewster, the Head of School, told The Portugal News.


Furthermore, "we're pretty tight. That's why the Globeducate family took the decision that, given the market conditions and the success of the school so far, we would really like to expand the campus and spread out a bit more, but also to take on a few more students in the future. We want the school to become bigger and better," he said.


In the year that the school celebrates its 50th anniversary, these new works will breathe new life into the school. "There's also a new preschool that will have four classrooms, there will be a new canteen, which will be a great improvement. We'll have a good-sized indoor sports pavilion, which will be very important for us," he added.

Credits: TPN;

As for the sports facilities, they want to put it to benefit of the local community. “As a school, we are keen to share the facilities we have. Obviously, our students go first, but there will be times when the school is not in season, during holidays, where we can open up the sports facilities for local use”.

Credits: TPN;

Attracting skilled workers for the Algarve

When a young couple decides to move, one of the major concerns is where will their kids go to school and especially when your main language is not Portuguese, having an international school is quite important. “I think we are doing more than anything else to attract and retain highly qualified professionals in the district. It’s a very important thing for the district. In Portugal, some of the top international schools tend to be in Lisbon”.

Credits: TPN;

Portuguese side

According to the Head of School, the Portuguese part of the school also benefits greatly from the growth of the international part. "Our Portuguese section has a great reputation, but the two sides of the school support each other. And the stronger and better the international section is the stronger and better the Portuguese section will be. And that's fantastic for the local Portuguese population because it's an opportunity for them and their children. Everyone wins. This €23 million investment will enable a lot of that"


In addition, "a really good international school can put your head at the top of the world of international schools".

Credits: TPN;

Human resources

Paul Brewster stressed that, despite the importance of this major investment, human resources, the school's values and its internal rules are just as important as modernising the space.


“The school is not just a building. We are quite dedicated to doing a great job as educators. Schools are not just made of buildings. The work the people develop is further the more important. I’m happy that Globeducate are taking both sides of this seriously and helping us to update and modernise the school”, he added.

Credits: TPN;

Construction work will be carried out in phases. Some parts of the new campus will begin to be used in September this year, others in 2025 and others perhaps not until 2026.


When the building is ready, the school will become a large campus and will allow for a better division of students by age. "We're thinking that we'll actually have students of different ages in different parts of the campus, so that students don't have to travel from one place to another, and we'll reuse these old buildings, but we haven't made any decisions on that yet”, Paul Brewster stated.

Author

Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins