One of the bigest challenges for us when moving here was to put everything in place for an academic smooth transition between schools from America to Portugal for our back then 10th grader son.
I would say it was a ver easy process with just presenting some school records dully apostilled and the vacines record as well. The high school in Ponte de Lima is within 5 minutes walking distance from our home which is perfect for our boy to come home and have lunch altough I hear the school provide the kids with great balanced meals.
Also any books required for the school year are provide it by them and they need to be returned in good condition at he end of the school year.
We moved here in the middle of March 2022.
It was a conundrm for us because our son was 2 months shy to finish his 10th grade in the states but they would not grant a passing grade to him and the school in Portugal would not allow him to finish either.
Regardless,,,,,, He repeated again 10th grade which was really not a big deal. At the end It was the best decision because of the language barrier and also it will give him time to adjust to the new enviroment.
The one thing I dislike of Portugal school system is the pressure to pick a path in 10th grade. The Kids need to make a decision first if they want to follow a proffesional path which would send them into college or the technical path which would prepare them to find a job straight out of high school.
I don’t necessarily agree with this system. Not all kids ( at least not mine) are equipped with the common sense to pick a path at this early age and specially when is so decisive for their future.
I have to say for us it was very complicated and now 3 years later we are paying the price of this decision. Our son has no interest in following the path he initially pick which would send him into a carrer within the architecture/ingeniering spectrum.
He is heading towards finances/business and of course the design path he picked is the wrong one! Go figure….