We had our children at St. Dominic's (ISDS) for 18 months from 2017 but choose to move them to International Sharing School in Taguspark, Oeiras where we are much happier. I won't repeat what the other 1 star reviews has listed of numerous issues at ISDS. We agree with those and would like to add that when we took our children out ISDS presented us with a bill for the next term (90 days) claiming that that was the notice period. We have consulted several lawyers here who has advised us NOT to pay the 90 days as it is illegal here in Portugal. ISDS are allowed to have a notice period of 30 days and that is also what is common practice at other int. schools here. To top it off ISDS refused to give our children their school reports until we have paid the 90 days even though the reports were for the term they were at ISDS. Again that is against the law here in Portugal. School reports are to be given to any student no matter any financial issues involved because school in obligatory in this country. I can only recommend you to look for alternatives.

St. Dominics is a profit school and runned as a business. Here is why we strongly recommend any new family to stay away from St. Dominic’s if they want a safe and healthy environment where their voice will be heard and not where money is the main focus. Facility and Safety: No access to a playground for 2-5. graders. 2-5 graders are only allowed on the running track and there are no toys or any other activities they can do while on the running track. The only game they can play is tag. The reason why the small and old playground is now only for the smallest classes is because the school has accepted too many students compared to what is responsible. Not enough toilets: if you look at the Ministry of Education in Portugal guidelines there are supposed to be a toilet for every 20. students. That is not followed. Class rooms are also not big enough according to the rules by the Ministry of Education and many have no direct sunlight. Safety is also an issue at the school. There is only one security guard for all buildings. I find it impossible for him to recognise all students and their families. No one is required to show ID and we don’t have badges or any kind of school ID. I have had family members or friends into school to pick up my child. No one has stopped them or asked who they were. 3rd Grade and up have to change to PE clothes at school but there are no places for them to change in privacy. The toilets are often very dirty. Management/owners: There are only two people in the Management team with an educational background (Mr. Blackburn who used to be a PE teacher and Mr. Dunbell who arrived in Sept. 2018 and who is now on long sick leave). The current Principal, Diana Abreu (Pt nationality), has previously worked for a FMCG company and has no experience as an educator. That is against the Portuguese law where it is required that a Principal has an educational background. Catarina Formigo, one of the owners, admitted that they give the food/lunch supplier ca. 3 euro per meal while parents are charged with 6/6,5 euro at the school refectory. Many parents find this unethical. Pls. note that C. Formigo gives ISDS a google review herself with top recommendation. Because money talks in all decisions, you can always get into ISDS because there is no assessment test and they take in everyone. This means that teachers have to handle more students with special needs or no english skills. The PTA team resigned in protest before time in 2018 because all their efforts to suggest improvements were ignored by management. One of the owners (Mr Filipe Pinhal) have been convicted of fraud but is still in the school's board even though that is not allowed according to Pt law. No Transparency: in regards to academic results and finance info. Any recent kind of accounting/balance sheets (the one on the website is from 2015) or surveys done at the school. Nothing recent is published. Treatment of staff: withholding salary, not giving teachers training for them to stay updated, a big turnover in staff. Staff are afraid to raise any questions about salary for instance because the person in charge of that area is the owner's son (Mr José Formigo) so they don't feel safe to do so. The conditions at ISDS are extremely bad in our view. We have had our children at 4 different international schools around the world so we think we can compare.

Many parents and teachers lost the trust in IB, NEASC and CIS because of the bad conditions of this school. It’s a waste of time and money to have kids there.

I have my kid in this school, and he is happy, loves his friends (who are also pleased) and is developing really well, showing competence in different areas. Love the IB programme and everything that encompasses. I don't feel that my kid is, in any way, negatively affected by the concerns/comments here. I understand that many schools (all have problems) have many improvements to do. But this school, for me, has the most crucial element in education - great teachers. In addition, and more importantly, he (and his thoughts and opinions) are valued by them. Not just the scores and achievements. This gives him and catalyses life skills, courage, confidence and many other 21st century skills that are way more important than finishing with 8s in every subject. His colleagues feel the same way. Please, do not get me wrong, as I still value achievement; but it is merely to say that the focus is not just a final grade, making it richer. Finally, it is also important to note that there are many other parents with whom I had the opportunity to speak, and they are also delighted to have their kids in the school. Unfortunately, we humans tend to express more negativity than positivity. I hope this review acts in favour of the latter.

This school is a complete sham. This school loves to sell itself on being inclusive. This translation means the school has no admission policy so everyone and anyone can come here. My child was in a class with some kids two years older than him, kids who couldn’t speak English, kids with special learning needs and kids with behavioral problems. But don’t expect the school to have the teachers, support staff or school management equipped to support this business model. Your best option is local schools or homeschooling if all the decent international schools are full. Parents won’t complain anymore to the school for fear of revengeful retribution.

This is our fifth country and international School. We were warned by many parents not to come to this school but there were no places at the other schools. This has been our worst experience at an International School. The school is as bad as all the other reviews warn you it is. The part that I’ve found really hard to understand is the schools denial of problems. Many parents choose to just accept the terrible conditions as they dont want to change schools knowing in one ormtwo years they will leave countries again. This is how the school continues to stay open. I could not subject my family to another year of this stress and luckily a new IB school have accepted registrations for next year so i could move my kids from this disastrous school.

It makes me angry that people can lie on a review to say everything is good at this school. To say is happy place and that they took the portable cabins away. This is not true. My experience of this school is terrible. I don’t feel enough care is taken for the safety for the children. Only one security guard for a whole school and no one checking who is entering and leaving the school. Impossible for one guard to know everyone. My daughter doesn’t like to toilet because they are smelly and not clean. I had to stop the refectory food because it was so poor quality. Many parents complain but school always tell parents ‘you are first complaint we have’ Always same answer to parents for all problems. No space for kids to play. Even PTA gave up because school does nothing to change to parents complaints. I feel important for parents to know this school is not equal to other international schools. Locals tell me it’s better to go to local Portuguese school.

I have had my child enrolled at St Dominics for 2 years and I have never seen a school that has so many problems. First of all, in my case, my child’s tutor did not pay attention to him at all. At a school where the tutor plays a pivotal role in the child’s education, my child when he had a problem and he told her, was simply ignored. ¨His problem wasn’t an issue¨. They took his cellphone when he desperately needed it in school in order to contact me and my wife. The only thing they know how to do well is to deceive parents and promise that the students will learn and that St Dominics is the best school, but unfortunately it isn’t the case. This school focuses on making money and does very little to support students and teachers. In addition to this, there is a little number of teachers that are “good”, the other part are horrible teachers that have satisfactory effort and education skills. Having bad facilities like no toilets, limited space and decaying science labs is another one of the school’s problems. At St Dominics they have children who cut themselves, abuse drugs, and put low effort into their work. St Dominics is willing to accept everyone into the school, lowering their IB points. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend St Dominics. It is a horrible school with multiple grave problems.

It would seem that a school accredited by the IB, NEAS&C CIS can pass inspections and pretend to hold minimum standards. In my opinion this is a highly profitable business that successfully cuts costs at every turn. The fact that it just happens to be a school and children & teachers who come to this facility pay the price for it every day is the tragedy here. The school Principal has no educational pedagogy and can’t speak English to the standard one would expect for an English speaking International School. The school facilities are poor, bordering on unhygienic. The junior school has no green areas for play and the only shaded play ground had containers dumped on the space to accommodate more children despite the lack of space. Grades 2 to 5 are left to occupy themselves on a tarmac running track in the full sun. Teaching staff leans towards a majority of Portuguese and 50% of all the teachers have less than 5 years experience. Most parents leave after realizing the school simply does not function. It’s over capacity, under resourced and no money is being invested on teachers training or resources in the school like library books and classroom resources. Within one to two years you realize that your children’s academic progress is being compromised and complaining serves no purpose. Complaints are either met with apathy or with complete ignore. Trying to change schools becomes a challenge as schools will always take children outside of the country first, so in most cases your children will always be in the back of the queue. It becomes a desperate situation. The perception is that other International schools become hesitant to accept children from this school as the academic level is not where it should be. The school proudly justifies its 31% failure rate for 2018 as its ‘inclusive status’ of allowing every student to do the IB Diploma Progamme. Talk to any parent who left the school 5 years ago, and the complaints current parents have are exactly the same. Having 150 unhappy parents and children leave each academic year seems to be a bonus for this school as it just means new enrollments year after year with a non refundable 3700€ capital levy per child. Perhaps unhappy parents is their money generating strategy after all. My advice to any parent is to avoid this school at all costs.

A lot of parents are removing their children from this school. And many more are looking for places at schools. Horrible

We´re very satisfied with the school. An IB school that strives to balance academic rigor with a less rigorous approach on "old school" discipline. Of course it has issues, but the measure of a school is how it addresses those issues, not whether they exist or not, as they exist in all schools. As for the 1 star comments around here: harsh. I wonder what the rating would be for a public school in a less privileged neighborhood. Anyway, it´s a new era, online haters rejoice!

Horrível, atendimento ótimo mas matrícula 0.

This school needs to be investigated. Accreditation questionable. Sub standard facilities. Lack of teaching resources. Qualified leadership ????? Classroom space cramped and without sufficient light. Poor playground space. Academic results of DP dismal. A very sad experience.

I don’t usually leave reviews, but I felt moved to in response to some very negative comments here. I always try to be fair and objective. I feel recently a small number of parents have been arguing with the school and behaving in a surprisingly aggressive manner. Yes, there were temporary, high quality, porta-cabins for a few months during expansion building work, which have now gone. Truthfully the food could be better. But the school is a very happy place with good teachers. As a parent here, I can honestly say my children and all the others I meet are very happy. It is a very inclusive school and everyone is kind to each other. Academically both of my children are interested and doing well particularly in science. Of course, There are other schools to consider but I would not discount St Dominic’s, it has a good history and I hope these few people do not have a negative impact upon it.

The 5 star reviews are largely written by the admin staff of the school, Google their names and you will see they are listed openly on the website of the school. Make your own conclusions why they feel the need to rate their own school. Key members of the PTA recently resigned and it no longer functions properly, parents are withdrawing their children for multiple reasons. Porta cabins were placed onto the school playground area at the start of this academic year as there was not enough regular classroom space, the whole of year 3 student population was placed into them. This school charges similar prices to highly rated schools like Saint Julian's , IPS or The American International School yet has much less resources and facilities. Many parents enroll their children in Saint Dominic's as they know no better about schools when arriving and the huge increase in demand for International Schooling allowed the school to easily mop up newly arrived expats who are yet to learn about the real educational landscape in Lisbon and Cascais. Research heavily into schools do not enroll your kids without talking to both teachers and parents who know the realities here on each school in the local community. This school has had recent educational, safety and security related issues voiced by parents. Some teachers are leaving to join new schools expanding or opening in 2019 in and around Lisbon. Again do your own research and ask why ! Read about the ownership of this school and others to establish how resources are allocated, invested and retained, some are run like charitable trusts, whilst others purely privately run with different priorities, this is critical to know so as a client of the school you know if you are getting value for money and proper economies of education for your children. New schools are opening in 2019 find out about them.Finally do an on site visit of this school and others, compare sports, it, classroom, musical and playground facilities so you get an accurate balanced objective picture. Do not forget research into the management record for each school and how they listen to parents and teachers.

Este colégio recebeu muito mais alunos que sua estrutura permite e/ou se preparou para tal fim e enfrenta agora muitos problemas por isso. O valor das mensalidades faz acreditar que se trata de um estabelecimento de excelência, mas a decepção é grande ao se deparar com a total desorganização gerencial, economia em questões básicas e falta de pessoal. Cuidado também com alguns comentários aqui listados que dão 5 estrelas, entretanto são de membros do corpo administrativo do colégio.

PROFITS BEFORE EDUCATION Dysfunctional school. The IB embarrassment of Portugal. Educationally bankrupt !! Profits made with the high building levy, after school activities, paying teachers in green slips, even making money on the disgusting canteen food Unhappy teachers, desperate parents and children at risk in a school that has no academic credibility or leadership Unacceptable facilities and zero respect for their customers the parents for the high fees you pay The don’t live the principles of the IB Disorganized, zero transparency and poor communication Complaints are either ignored or parents/teachers who voice an opinion are bullied and intimidated

Alerta aos pais: não caia nesta armadilha!!! Não é sem motivo que este colégio é o único internacional em que se encontra vagas tão facilmente... desconfie!

Before registering your kid in that school research about the Principal and Coordinators curriculum, facilities and level of happiness of the teachers, students and parents. Don´t trust in the certificates they use to sell the school.

A funcionária Julieta que, supostamente, têm como função gerir o playground exibe uma enorme falta de educação, arrogância e prepotência, revela incapacidade de ter um comportamento e atitudes correctas na comunicação mas, o pior, é a extrema inutilidade que demonstra, pois nem sequer informações úteis que são do seu domínio, sabe prestar. É inútil, inconveniente, incompetente e desagradável o que desprestigia a escola. - (menos) 20 estrelas para esta "personagem" !!!

Escola focada nas aparências. A nível de segurança, a nível logístico, a nível de estacionamento e de preocupação com as crianças deixa muito a desejar. Com bastantes funcionários/as incompetentes e desagradáveis, o único que se destaca, pela positiva, é o segurança /porteiro sempre cordial e bem-educado. Um espaço grande, mas que a ganância estragou, reduzindo o playground e aumentando salas de estudo que são contentores. Qualidade muito inferior para os preços elevadíssimos que pratica. O ensino é confuso e deixa muito a desejar . #SóParaInglêsVer

What a sadness in my heart that I trusted my kids into this circus of a school, very thankful to be able to leave. Very grateful for TASIS Portugal for opening.

This school has alot of turnover year to year because they are very disorganised and the administration fail to lead very well. My daughter was not unhappy but many of her friends left and we see they are happier and more important getting much better academic results in other schools and now she is left not very proud of this school with no reason to stay. The teachers are kind and try very hard but one can see they are also not happy. It feels like teachers are only given very basic things from school to teach. Nothing expensive. The food at the refectory is disgusting but school dont change despite many complaints. Talking to other parents its a school that parents think kids are happy so they are happy but there is no strength or demands on academic level. For junior school can be ok because we want our kids have fun but senior school academic is important and I see many parents in senior school desperate for other school places. Principal of the school talks alot but does nothing to improve this school. Senior school kids many have bad attitudes, and there is no discipline in school as long as parents pay fees, so we decided we cant wait any more for improving. The school is very old more than 40 years so really we cant accept anymore excuses for so many aspects of school to be so poor During Covid 19 helped me see Im paying so much money for something i can get much better at another school and i discovered many parents will do the same Ciao

This place is like a cheap summer camp drop and go facility. Some parents are looking for other school places and the ones who stay, it can be because 1. They are not paying so much of attention to the schools super low educational standards 2. Their kids have many problems with academics learning or behaviour and other schools require entrance evaluation 3. They like no one to bother them about kids learning 4. They are dumb

They grew up my first daughter and they kept her as beautiful as she was. Now they are taking car of my Coco, and they are doing fine. So far I am grateful to them.

I removed my children from this abominable place, after witnessing their academic decline and a marked change in their behaviour. The senior school is the worst I have ever seen. There is no respect, the children walk around like sloths who can barely lift their heads from staring at their phones. The language you hear from senior students is appalling and the school has no interest in improving anything. I´ve yet to meet a teacher who was genuinely happy to be there. The sloppiness of everything from academics to school communication to school uniforms was more than I could handle . This is not a school of international standards.

Terrible. Poor standards. Needed tutors at new school for my kids to learn after two lost years at this place. Bullying, stories of senior kids drinking at cafes during school hours. Most miserable experience in Portugal because of this school.

St Dominic’s has for the many years lived on its past good reputation but that is fast coming to an end. It is a for profit school that is now full of locally hired teachers, many with poor English and also with no IB or international teaching experience. Some can even be questioned if they have any teaching qualification. The owners employ many family members in key positions to keep tight power. There are many stories from past teachers of poor treatment of staff and unfair labour practices relating to salaries and compensation My advices is to scratch the school off your list.

To read the defensive position of the authors of the five star reviews is laughable. They are not defending the school. They are defending their decision to remain in a school that is no longer respected by the community nor by parents of children who have moved to more credible schools. No great school needs defending. In my opinion the many parents who removed their children did so because the school has been and continues to be poorly managed and the school has been on a steady downward trend since the school was bought from the Nuns.

Goodness me, having just read the reviews here you would be forgiven for thinking that I must be a dreadful person for sending my two bright, kind, creative and generally wonderful children to this school! I'm not usually one for this kind of thing but I must speak out in defence of St.Dominics. Let us be clear, I am not a member of staff nor in any way connected to any of the owners of the school but I am a parent, with 2 children currently at the school, one in junior school and one in the senior school and we are just entering our third year here. There are some factual points that cannot be disputed; the school is sadly lacking in green spaces or playing fields, there has been student and staff turnover as new International Schools have opened and the results of the school are not definitely not topping any league tables right now and desperately need to improve. However, in my opinion, the school has a great Head of the Junior School who seems to be universally liked and respected and a great new Head of the Senior School who is British and is full of good ideas. The school is making changes to address the use of space, there are sparkling new facilities and an incredibly sensible plan to improve the academic results going forward. Yes, St. Dominics is non selective and yes, there are children with special needs but why isn't that a wonderful thing in a world where we could all do with being a little more patient and kind to each other? Why does sharing your class with someone who is a little different mean that you can't excel? The world that our children will be entering is going to require a whole lot more than a handful of academic qualifications to succeed in. Flexibility, adaptability, emotional intelligence, creativity and above all the ability to communicate with all sorts of people are going to be essential skills and I am a huge fan of a school that is prepared to welcome everyone. Please don't mistake me for someone that doesn't have high expectations for her children. My kids are academically very able and in some subjects able to work 2 grades above their year group. We have high aspirations of the results that they should attain and so we work with the school to make sure that they are stretched where necessary. Education is a partnership, I don't believe that you should expect to hand your children over to a school and get them back a few years later with top grades and no input from the parents. There have been times where we have had concerns and raised them and we have always had a response quickly to resolve the situation with senior members of the team who have then checked back to see if we are happy with the result. I'm not sure that I can ask for more than that? Right now, as an International School, St. Dominics has a very strong British Headmaster in charge of the Senior School, a long established and respected Australian Headmaster in full control of the Junior School, an exceptional British teacher who is coordinating the MYP, a new focus on SEN, new facilities and buildings and a really good and positive energy which I hope will only grow. Is it perfect? No. Is any school perfect? Of course not! We have come from the public school system in the U.K. where schools have breathtaking grounds and seemingly never ending facilities but that isn't all that education is about. It's surely about our children learning that with a positive attitude, a good team and hard work anything is possible. That their dreams are all achievable. That there is nothing to hold them back. And perhaps, with this new leadership, the new teachers and parents and children who want St. Dominics to be the successful and amazing school that it has the potential to be, we can make that happen too.

If you are looking for a school that gives strong academic foundation or progress for your children, this is not the place to look. Its below average. Will children be happy here? Oh yes. A school without rules, standards and expectations - usually quite hard to find children who don't like this Can you compare this to the standards of the International Schools that all have waiting lists ? Absolutely not. There are great schools, average schools and then schools like St Dominics that are below average and below standard. But that works for some people. If you are not expecting university entrance for your children and have very low standards for them this place will work.

Our son is at Saint Dominic's since 2 years and he is happy there. The education level is very similar to the other international schools he has been at. Some teachers are better than other, but this is normal. The results of the school seem to be within the average of international schools. A comment to the 1 * ratings: I find it very strange that nearly all of them have just one rating posted in Google, this looks like they have just been created to bring the school rating down. Please have a look yourself. Definitely 1 * is not correct or fair.

I felt adequate to update this review. I just graduated from SDIS, and after 8 years of school I can safely say it is not a place I'd recommend for anyone. The teachers, more often than not, do the best with what they have, but they are overworked and under payed. The massive income that the school receives from tuition fees seemingly disappears into thin air, as the school is rarely renovated and when it is, it's done so cheaply. Teachers receive little to no support in their classes and are not indicated to take a course into teaching IB, being thrown directly into an unfamiliar system. Most do a relatively fantastic job, but that's to their own praise, not the school. SDIS has no filter in it's admissions, resulting in less than decent people joining the school. The few people with a moderate amount of common sense and education, are often pushed into acting different by the large majority of.. delinquents. Most, if not all, students face some extent of depression, and once more the school does not have the adequate counseling to aid them. The refusal of the school to acknowledge it's shortcomings is one of the main reasons why they are so lacking. Many of the 5 star comments made in this very website are made by staff members who seek to increase the average rating of the school. This is false advertising, last time I checked it is illegal. In summary, if you are looking for a nice place to put your kids into as to aid them into preparing for life, DO NOT put them into SDIS. They'll come out worse off for it.

just writing to say I am flabbergasted by some bad reviews left here. Is the school perfect ? No Does it deserve one star ? No The school have already started a major overhaul of their installations in the last couple of years, have pulled out from the ground the new senior building in less than 4 months in order to be ready for September 2018/19 It might take a few more years for the school re-do to be finished but it is getting there. We also have traveled around the world and went through a bunch of international schools, here my kid in senior is thriving , very satisfied with the curriculum and would not want to go to any other international school to pass her diploma. I know the school for the last five years, in my experience St Dominic always have been trying to improve and always have done their best to address issues. More is coming and I am sure they will resolve management matters in the future.

I'm afraid the levels at this school were just not acceptable to me. The lack of communication, the lack of honesty and transparency, the low academic levels, SEN students without appropriate support. Too many SEN and EAL students per class. The lack of effective behavioural expectations for children. The lack of a leader with educational pedagogy . And its luck if you get a good teacher for the year. Everyone has different values and I found this school below average on all fronts. And their academic results reflect this. Its impossible for a well run school to have such high failure rates of students and so many teachers leaving every year.

As a parent of two lower school children in our second year in Lisbon and their second year at St. Dominic’s, I’d like to address that there have (and, as with every school, will be) issues and/or concerns that don’t make everyone happy all of the time. That said, as parents, we weren’t happy with some things that were happening on the administrative and ownership side of things last year, but this school has wonderful teachers and both of our kids have been the happiest (both educationally and socially) at this school over any of our past 5 years in 3 countries and at 3 different international schools. The school made the mistake of overfilling with an incoming rush of foreigners to Lisbon the past year or two (as most know, there has been a major boom of foreigners moving to Lisbon the past few years), but some of the concerns of past parents (who’ve since moved their kids to different schools), have already been addressed-with more to come. With regard to class sizes, they have done a great job bringing them back down to 11-14 kids per class, which I think is fantastic! The bathrooms have been completely renovated (yay!), updates to the nursery section are great, and now if they could add a proper playground, that would be great! (As of now, the soccer pitch and blue sports court are it for kids in grades 2-5, but they do have so access to playground items that can be used and then put away during recess/breaks). This school has been around for over 100 years. I’m happy that the classrooms are air conditioned (something one of our former schools in Brazil didn’t even have which made kids and teachers miserable in the heat), and kids are comfortable with warmth in the winter as well! Overall, while I can’t speak for the middle or senior schools, our children are happy, have made some lovely friends, they’re learning, they love their teachers, and that is our biggest need for them at this stage in their lives. As a family who moves around every few years, our biggest desire is for our kids to be able to transition into their new school where they feel comfortable, where they can grow in confidence, meet and make good friends (the kids my children have encountered have been kind, fun, genuinely good kids!), and enjoy their lessons. So far the PYP Units of Inquiry they’ve had have always held their attention and made them interested in knowing more! Again, while not everyone can be happy all of the time, and while we parents have not always agreed with how things have been run or handled at times, our children are our number one concern and we feel that same care and concern from their teachers and the families of St. Dominic’s.

At first I was thinking to give the school three or four stars rating, as the school does not have perfect facilities, big lawns, swimming pool, football pitch, good parking, etc. Then I reflected on three years we have been living in Portugal and visiting the school. My kids have never been so happy and confident in their lives, I see them develop and grow every day. I see how great, kind and genuine the teachers are. They really care about your child. It feels like family, great community. We have been leaving in several countries visiting four different schools and this is the best school we attended. We considered several schools in Portugal, but only St. Dominics offers genuine IB education, which is truly remarkable. Not to mention class size of 12 to 15 pupils… Of course, we can complain about small playground, food in cafeteria, traffic in the morning, but if you stop and think for a second what is really important, all of those things become so negligible. Special thank you to Mr. Tangue and Mr. Blackburn for great job. Keep going strong.

As I see it Saint Dominic’s has significant potential as a school, however the lack of good, educational leadership stifles that possibility. I have been impressed by the dedication, work ethic and care of the Teachers, TAs, IT, secretaries and many more staff. The staff I have encountered are well educated professionals who clearly go above and beyond and want what is best for the students, each other and the school. The school is run as a business with a primary objective of making money. Those who run it are blinded to see the school as a collection of individuals. Instead everything boils down to numbers and figures. This means that 1) facilities are poor and only upgraded when mandated to do so. 2) Resources are scant. 3) Certified Professional development is promised, but never provided by the school as it costs money. 4) Staffing and resources for SEN students are at an all-time low. Students who are legally entitled to accommodations and support are not receiving what they need to succeed in the IB program. Additionally, I feel it is important that parents are aware that many after-school activities are led by Portuguese speaking facilitators this leads English speaking students to feel isolated during the activities or they are excluded from participating. Another budgeting issue? The primary playground needs expansion. Apart from grade 5, the pyp classrooms are inadequate for the amount of students. On a positive note, generally primary school students are happy with the program and the units. Primary school seems to be in better shape than senior where most of the teachers express discontent and feel under appreciated. Before I discuss leadership I want to make clear that there has been plenty of caring, professional and competent leaders in this school over the years, but recently this has changed. There is a general lack of professionalism among the leadership and admin. Part of the problem could be solved if a more caring, trusting and open-minded attitude towards teachers and staff could be established. The level of English among the admin, security, tuck shop staff and even some teachers is poor. This causes stress for teachers, parents and their children who come expecting to be able to communicate in English to all staff. Especially about salary, taxes, etc. Never before have I experienced such a lack of English proficiency in an IB school. Unfortunately, maintaining power and status is sometimes more important to those in leadership positions then the teachers and students they are supposed to support. It would appear that fewer and fewer professional educators from international backgrounds with IB qualifications and experience are entertaining the idea of working at Saint Dominic’s. Again, Saint Dominic’s International school has significant potential, however the lack of good, professional leadership and the increased focus on a profit centered philosophy suppresses this possibility. I would not send my children to the senior school. I would like to stress again that in the junior school, children are happy and learning, yes there are mistakes and flaws to be found, but over all children are happy and that’s what is important. Cheers to the brave teachers who put their sanity and well-being on the line for the students.

To all interested families, come and see the school for yourself. Please ignore those with very litlle to do.

A very unfortunate sad experience. I would not recommend to anyone. Not all schools in Lisbon are like this. You can be sure.

I do not have the adequate words to describe how appalling the level of education is at this school. Yet still finds parents willing to accept low level education with bad food, bad play areas, unhappy, unmotivated teachers who shout at children, a principal who never Did anything to improve the school. Only successful in getting teachers and students to leave each year Inexperienced head roles who have no qualifications or ability to carry out their functions And in the end the school with the worst academic results. Shameful What to say ??

We made the mistake of putting our 2 girls (5 and 11) into this school. It was a complete shambles. We have since taken them out of this school, losing €3000 in the process, but we couldn't sit by and watch our children's education suffer any more. The teachers do their best under very poor management from the owner of the school. It's clear that they're completely hamstrung by her. When we came to Lisbon there were very few choices for IB schools and so we went with Saint Dominics, now however there are more options. My advice would be to put your children elsewhere, you can do MUCH better than this school. Until the ownership of the school changes I would stay away.

This should not be considered an international School. There are very few international teachers, mostly Portuguese teachers all without IB experience. Maths and English is well below an acceptable standard. It seems children who have behavioral, social and educational issues attend this school. Don’t trust the accreditation the school has. Ask for the pass rates and point scores for the last two years of the IB Diploma students. If you are looking for a school with high academic and professional education standards look elsewhere.

By far THE worst "international" school we had chance to experience as parents (lived in over 5 countries, in last 10 yrs). Was a complete waste of time for our kids at Junior school this year and happy to be leaving. Very bad organization, disappointing extracurricular activities, shameful academic performance, terrible meals for kids, and totally overpriced for the quality offered. Results in an extremely high turnover of students each year... even teachers are leaving. I wouldn’t be surprise if they soon lose their IB qualification…. Conclusion: Prospective parents, run away from this school. This is a falling knife.

The schools Admission Officer gives the school two separate - 5 star reviews and says there are 'so many fake profiles writing bad and false things about this school' I would like to pose the following questions: On what criteria does one give this school 5 stars ? The fact that so many reviews are bad (1star) is a reflection on the school and not based on the reviewers who are giving their honest opinion and experience at the school. One should wonder why aliases are being used. Could it be that teachers and parents fear vocalising the schools shortcomings, as it leads to intimidation and victimisation? Did you know vocalising a negative opinion leads to the Principal calling parents to tell them their children will not be receiving the opportunity to register for the following academic year ? Further it would be interesting to understand, what in all the bad reviews, is false? Is the 31% failure rate of the DP students in 2018 incorrect? As this number is displayed on the school website alongside its low point score when compared to the more highly regarded and reputable international schools in the area. How does one reconcile these numbers for a school that maintains its position that it is functioning with academic responsibility ? Do the junior school children of Grades 2-5 not have the running track (in the full sun without shade) allocated as their sole playground ? Are there not 4 containers placed on the only shaded playground within the junior school ? Could anyone point out any green spaces for the junior school children ? Have parents not continually and consistently complained about: -dirty and insufficient toilets, -poor quality refectory food at a premium price, -lack of sufficient security measures at the entrance of the school, -lack of changing rooms for students, -lack of transparency about teachers educational qualifications, and teachers & staff educational experience, -lack of professional development and training of staff and teachers, - the poor treatment of teachers and staff that leads to a high staff turnover year on year that is NOT seen in other international schools in Lisbon and finally, - that parents and teachers who challenge and question poor standards are seen as adversaries instead of partners by the school management and owners ? This year I am of the opinion that: - 30 teachers and staff will leave the school - Around 200 children will leave the school - That these children's parents no longer accept the disrespect displayed by the schools blatant dishonesty and will instead go to schools that are managed and run with academic integrity by a leadership that is both qualified and experienced to do so. It is not surprising to me to know that out of 12 previous PTA members, 11 have removed their children from the school What is surprising is the number that remain. Despite knowing how and why the school is so poorly managed , they choose to stay. I cannot and will not accept this for my children. I will teach my children that we speak up when things are not right. That we take action. That we do not allow ourselves to be bullied to be quiet or to leave silently. In the words of Michelle Obama: "When someone is cruel, or acts like a bully, we do not stoop to their level. NO, our motto is: when they go low, we go HIGH"

A school without academic structure and discipline. We are happy to be Leaving. There are many new international schools opening that no one should have to waste their time here.

Boa escola internacional, valoriza a aprendizagem.

Ensino e formação de excelência em ambiente internacional