Frequently asked questions 

Not necessarily. If your child is an international applicant and meets the other admissions criteria, we will guide you through the next steps. These may include proceeding to the appropriate interview and assessment stage, which varies depending on your child's age, or joining a waiting list if the year group is currently full.   

Admissions decisions are based solely on the criteria outlined on our website. While we deeply value the support of our community, we are committed to ensuring a fair and transparent process for all families. 

Letters of recommendation will be disregarded. Any attempt to exert personal influence on the process is strongly discouraged and will be viewed unfavourably. 

If your child is an international or repatriating applicant according to our admissions criteria, we may be able to reconsider the application in future years. For Brazilian local families, Pre-Prep 1 is the only entry point for their child.  

For Pre-Prep 1, a Reserve List is maintained and reviewed after the initial round of offers. Occasionally, places become available before the academic year begins and may be reallocated based on this list, in accordance with our admissions criteria.  

Absolutely not. As a British international school, our mission includes supporting British and international families relocating to Brazil. Therefore, international applicants are prioritised. However, Brazilian families are warmly welcomed to apply for our entry point in Pre-Prep 1. For the other year groups, we welcome applications from Brazilian families who are returning to Brazil after spending at least 50% of the child's life abroad. 

No. In accordance with Fundação St. Paul’s policy, donations from prospective parents are not accepted in the six months prior to the year of entry. Donations do not influence admissions decisions in any way.  

The school’s curriculum is based on the United Kingdom (British) National Curriculum, preparing pupils for the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. We also incorporate the requirements of the Brazilian Core Curriculum. A vast range of artistic, cultural, sporting, extra-curricular activities, field trips and pastoral care support the curriculum.

Average class size: 20 pupils.  Four classes per year group.  

The school follows the northern hemisphere academic year, from August to July.  

Approximately one third of the school’s staff are British or other native English-speakers. 

All teaching staff are accredited with British, Brazilian or equivalent qualifications. They must also have subject knowledge and be experts in their fields. A key concern is that all adults must fully understand our responsibility for child protection and safeguarding.  

When children join the school in Pre-Prep 1, our first year of study, they generally have limited knowledge of English but, with our total immersion programme, they soon acquire the language. We expect pupils who join the school at a later stage, to be familiar with English so they can take full advantage of our curriculum. 

Children all grow and learn at different rates. That’s why we provide an experienced Learning Support Department with helpful staff who can encourage, challenge and motivate pupils to embrace new challenges. Our English as an Additional Language Department also helps pupils who don’t speak English as their first language to develop their written and spoken language skills. 

Healthy emotional development is central to everything we do. Each school section has a head of pastoral to support pupils in behavioural and emotional issues. Our strong pastoral care and personal, social, health education (PSHE) programme is guided by the We Care Programme principles, a whole-school pupil-focussed well-being and mental health  programme. This is a programme designed to develop social emotional skills, building respectful, trusting relationships to improve behaviour, and support positive emotional development. Our full-time psychologist works as our school counsellor and offers individual sessions to pupils throughout the school.  

One hundred percent of St. Paul’s School graduates enroll in three or four-year courses at colleges or universities. Among recent destinations for St. Paul’s leavers have been the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, University College London, the London School of Economics, King’s College London, FGV (Fundação Getúlio Vargas), PUC (Pontifícia Universidade Católica), ESPM, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Duke, Stanford, Chicago, Tufts, Johns Hopkins University. For more information, visit our University Guidance page.

St. Paul’s School follows both the English and Brazilian national curriculums to ensure that pupils can succeed in international and Brazilian examinations. Pupils applying to Brazilian universities have been successful either by taking the vestibular or using their IB credits, which are now accepted as an entrance qualification in place of the vestibular exam. These institutions include: INSPER, FGV, IBMEC, Einstein, FEI, and PUC. 

Our university officer helps guide our pupils with their university choices and applications. Pauleans leave the school well-prepared for the challenges of further studies. Pupils can attend  American College Testing (ACT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) exam practice on Saturdays, to help them prepare for entry to top US universities. One period in their weekly timetable is also dedicated to university guidance during which representatives of leading British and American universities provide advice on their wide array of available courses and application procedures. Every year there are two university and professional guidance fairs where pupils can speak personally to directors of admissions. These opportunities allow our students to make informed decisions about their future. 

Our unique enrichment programme offers our pupils a rich learning experience. Our excellent co-curricular programme provides a wide range of activities during the school day and after school to cater to all tastes and interests.  

Our extensive list of clubs and societies ranges from dance to astronomy, from knitting to robotics, from mathematics olympiads and debating societies to the Greenpower project, in which our pupils design, build and race an electric car, representing the country internationally.  

A wide variety of activities suits all talents and interests and the best facilities in which to explore. Whether swimming, badminton, rowing, rugby, volleyball, basketball, football, futsal, or table tennis, sports at St. Paul’s helps pupils boost their self-esteem, and a healthy lifestyle. Our underground sports centre offers basketball, volleyball, handball, futsal, badminton and swimming, which means the school is fully equipped to meet our pupils’ sporting needs. Our heated indoor swimming pool and full-size flood-lit football pitch, with an outside court area that can be used for tennis, volleyball and basketball training. These facilities, supported by our dedicated coaches, give our pupils every opportunity to develop and excel in sports. 

We are proud of the high quality of music that our young pupils produce. Highly experienced professional musicians teach in a state-of-the-art music centre which includes a recording studio, a sound-proofed rehearsal room, composing suites and 11 fully-equipped individual practice rooms. There are two large performance spaces – the theatre (capacity 400) with a grand piano and three manual Rodgers digital organs) and the theatre foyer (capacity 90), which is frequently used for chamber concerts and rehearsals. In 2016 we became the first school in Brazil to offer the prestigious London College of Music exams, an internationally-recognised certificate respected by universities when they consider applications.