Reviews

First, if you have a child who is currently in Year 9 or younger, they can start at Bright now and will be able to continue all the way through the end of secondary school. They will be adding a year each school year, so in 2025, they will add year 10, in 2026, year 11, and so forth.

Our daughter attends this school in secondary. She has attended one other international school here which was terrible. I am a former teacher and teacher coach with advanced degrees in education and over 15 years experience. I am trained in research-based pedagogies that facilitate the highest levels of critical thinking. So, when searching for a school for our daughter, I had high expectations.

Bright uses inquiry-based learning which engages students in higher levels of critical thinking. They have flexible learning spaces which allows students to sit in different areas according to their learning styles. Teachers still require students to be on task, even though there are these flexible areas. The furniture is designed by Danish designers specifically for Bright and their learning goals. There is a feng shui element to the classrooms, with curving instead of angular furniture, colors that align with the different areas, and optimum flow and usage of each space.

Students work regularly in groups, with partners, and on projects. Even in maths, students have discussions. In engaging with the material, they are understanding it on a deeper level and therefore retaining and caring about what they learn. They actually enjoy learning, and their natural curiosity and love of learning is ignited and nourished.

Renovations for lower secondary are currently partially complete with more taking place in April 2025. The renovations for the entire school will be complete by September 2025 and will include football (soccer), basketball, and other sports fields. One of the local sports academies will be holding after school practices there. Loule gymnastics will have after school gymnastics as well.

Class sizes are small and there is a real sense of belonging and caring for one another. The class sizes are growing and they will not exceed 18 students (perhaps less).

There will be a climbing wall in the gym and even a slide going from the upper floor to the lower level. Additionally, there will be a parent cafe where parents can sit with other parents to have a coffee/tea after drop off/pickup. The goal is to create a warm community feel where parents also feel a strong sense of belonging. This sense of community already exists. Parents wait outside at pickup and chat with one another, something I felt was greatly lacking from other schools.

They also do many excursions including overnight camps in secondary.

This is a wonderful modern school that is walking the walk. They are actually doing what they advertise including using what the most recent research says is best for learning and engaging students.

For those of you torn between A levels and IB, we were too and we researched it extensively. Here is what a director of a school in Spain (where we almost moved) told me on the subject of A levels vs. IB. "The feedback I have had in recent years, including that of my own children, is that they have loved A Level but that the IB programme spreads a student rather thin; it comes with a heavy workload and a very wide range of compulsory subjects...I would counsel A Levels to any 16 year old, unless they were especially rounded scholars, i.e. equally good at arts and science subjects; the IB needs you to be very rounded if you are to thrive. However, for those with a particular leaning, and for those who can organize their own time and learning well, A Level is a little more independent and specialized." This, along with our other research, encouraged us to choose A Levels. We didn't see any added benefit to IB other than it being more stressful and we like the idea that she can specialize. I know, you may be thinking they are too young at 16 to know what they want to choose, but, they for sure know what they don't want. I can tell you even at year 8 that our daughter will specialize in the humanities rather than the sciences. You probably already know this for your child too. So why not let them pursue their interests which will likely carry over into what they will study at university.

I just read this through and realize it sounds like an advertisement. I assure you, I am just a parent and have no other affiliation with the school. I am passionate about education, especially that which is well done by a school who knows what they are doing. This, I assure you, is a rare unicorn in the Algarve.