Curriculum & Frameworks

An ecosystem where every child's strengths lead.

We weave four frameworks into one coherent journey. WEITS™ is our futures offering, the modalities, literacies, soft and hard skills our children will live by. The PYP and MYP frameworks guide our planned global pathway across Primary and Middle Years. PPPP™ is the compass that keeps every child seen, supported and belonging. The ISI Inquiry Cycle moves us from wonder to action.

WEITS™ · Our futures offering

Five lenses for how today's children will live, learn & lead.

Future-proof skills and literacies, emotional, financial, design, digital, systems, woven through every unit, every studio, every day.

PYP planning foundations · Primary Years

The map the world recognises.

The PYP framework guides our planned transdisciplinary inquiry, learner profile and approaches to learning. Our subject scope and sequence makes academic progression explicit, alongside the questions children investigate.

6 Transdisciplinary Themes

Who we are · Where we are in place & time · How we express ourselves · How the world works · How we organise ourselves · Sharing the planet

7 Key Concepts

Form · Function · Causation · Change · Connection · Perspective · Responsibility

5 ATLs

Thinking · Research · Communication · Social · Self-management

10 Learner Profile attributes

Inquirers · Knowledgeable · Thinkers · Communicators · Principled · Open-minded · Caring · Risk-takers · Balanced · Reflective

PYP + MYP · one community, two distinct frameworks

Shared curiosity. Deepening academic ambition.

Our three mixed-age studios share questions, not identical tasks. Studios One and Two (Wonder and Venture) explore the six PYP transdisciplinary themes. Studio Three (Horizon) develops subject knowledge and conceptual understanding through MYP global contexts, with explicit teaching, purposeful practice and increasingly independent inquiry.

PYP · connecting learning

Central ideas, lines of inquiry and concepts connect subject learning across six themes. Agency, the learner profile and approaches to learning grow alongside secure literacy, numeracy and subject knowledge. The final PYP year includes a planned exhibition of student-led inquiry.

MYP · knowledge in context

Eight subject groups retain their own progression and assessment. Key and related concepts, a global context and a statement of inquiry frame each unit. Factual, conceptual and debatable questions move students from knowing to explaining, evaluating and applying.

Studio Three · The Horizon Studio · Ages 12–14

All eight subject groups. Real disciplinary depth.

English and Portuguese are planned across language and literature and language acquisition according to each learner’s proficiency. Technology and entrepreneurship enrich subject learning; they do not replace the MYP subject groups.

Planning against published IB expectations

Subject time and progression. Our planning benchmark is at least 50 teaching hours per subject group per year, with all eight groups in MYP Years 1–3. The timetable and year-level allocation will be confirmed before opening; a mixed-age studio is not an MYP year designation.

Interdisciplinary understanding. At least one collaboratively planned unit each year must involve two or more subject groups. Shared themes alone are not enough: students must integrate disciplinary learning and demonstrate what that integration makes possible.

Assessment and approaches to learning. Plan against each subject group’s objectives and criteria, use formative feedback and assess progress through subject-specific evidence. Thinking, research, communication, social and self-management skills are taught and revisited deliberately.

Service and culminating projects. Service as action runs through the year, with reflection on learning and impact. Plan a community project if students complete MYP in Year 3 or 4; the personal project belongs to Year 5. Final programme length and project arrangements remain to be confirmed.

This is our proposed curriculum, not a claim of IB approval or verified compliance. Working with relevant organisations to ensure IB candidacy (PYP & MYP) and full licensing with the Portuguese Ministry of Education. Opening with three studios across Primary and Middle Years, built to grow with our students. Staffing, policies, timetable, assessment and programme documentation also need review through the relevant processes.

IB PYP framework IB MYP curriculum IB MYP assessment IB MYP projects

PPPP™ · Our compass

So every child belongs, strengths first, challenges supported.

PPPP™ is how we know each child: their why, their who, their where, and their how. It's the compass behind every learning plan, every conversation, every celebration.

WHY

Purpose

What lights this child up.

WHO

People

Mentors, peers, family walking beside them.

WHERE

Place

Cascais, studio, sea, community.

HOW

Practice

Daily habits that make learning stick.

The ISI Inquiry Cycle

From wonder to action, and into enterprise.

Our own inquiry rhythm. Children don't just learn about the world, they investigate it, build for it, share with it and act on it. Some of those actions become real ventures.

Wonder

Notice. Question. Imagine.

Tune In

Connect to prior knowledge & passions.

Investigate

Research, interview, observe, gather.

Experiment

Test, prototype, iterate, reflect.

Make

Build, design, write, compose, code.

Exhibit, perform, publish, present.

Act

Service, advocacy, real-world change.

Enterprise

Execute. Launch. Make a venture of it.

The Agentic Entrepreneurship Inquiry Cycle

Learning is a messy, beautiful, interconnected journey.

Not a flowchart. A constellation. Every stage flows into every other, and a glowing Metacognitive Core of self-efficacy and reflection fuels every move a learner makes, from first wonder to launching a venture.

Woven links, energy flows in every directionThe Metacognitive Core pulses through every nodeHover or tap a node, watch its connections light up

Every subject · every unit

All scope & sequence subjects woven into every UOI.

English, Português, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Arts, Music, PSPE / Wellbeing, Technology, Entrepreneurship, all present, always. WEITS™ modalities are dialled up where the UOI pathway calls for them. Tap any subject or pillar to see the strands and Studio One / Studio Two learning outcomes.

Three mixed studios · one shared journey

Learning together, at different depths.

Studio One, Wonder, and Studio Two, Venture, inquire into the same theme at the same time. Studio Three, Horizon, explores a connected question through a distinct MYP global context, with greater disciplinary depth. Each unit deepens what came before and seeds what comes next, a research-based spiral mapping subjects, concepts, ATLs, attitudes, future skills, literacies and WEITS™ modalities.

Proposed annual sequence: six inquiry windows from autumn to summer, typically spanning 6–8 calendar weeks, adjusted for teaching time and Portuguese school holidays. Exact 2027–28 dates and unit lengths are not yet confirmed. These PYP-to-MYP connections are our design choices, not IB-prescribed pairings. Global contexts recur across subject units; they are not limited to one window.

Studio One · The Wonder Studio · Ages 6–8 Studio Two · The Venture Studio · Ages 9–11 Studio Three · The Horizon Studio · Ages 12–14 · MYP

Studio One · The Wonder Studio · 6–8

Foundations

Studio Two · The Venture Studio · 9–11

Agency & action

Studio Three · The Horizon Studio · 12–14

Knowledge in context

Autumn · inquiry 01 · Foundations

Studio 1 · Identity, wellbeing, belonging

Who We Are

"People develop identities, relationships and habits that influence wellbeing and belonging."

Understanding ourselves and others
Healthy choices and emotional wellbeing
Families, friendships and communities
We are photographers, telling the story of our community

Conceptual understandings

My identity is made of stories, relationships and choices.
Healthy bodies and healthy feelings are connected.
Belonging grows when we listen and respond with care.

Key concepts ·Form · Function · Connection · Responsibility|ATLs ·Self-management · Social · Communication

Modality & expert-in-residence · the craft we practise

Focus

Wellbeing in the body + photojournalism of community, two paired residencies

Guest expert in residence

Start-of-year: our personal trainer & wellbeing coach. Mid-unit: visiting photojournalist (Humans-of-Cascais residency).

What the residency looks like

We open the year with our personal trainer & wellbeing coach, a motivational talk on what a balanced life looks like, then hands-on modalities children practise weekly: dance, breathwork, healthy eating, and co-designing a personal exercise plan they own. Mid-unit a working photojournalist arrives, teaching children how to look, listen, and ask the one question that opens a person up. They carry cameras into Cascais and return with portraits + quotes from real neighbours.

By Stage 08 · Enterprise →Two artefacts: each child's personal balance plan (movement · breath · food · rest), AND a 'Humans of Cascais' exhibition wall pairing their portraits with first-person journal entries from the people they met.

Anchor genre · reading · writing · presentation

Profile journal

Identity is best inquired into through real human voice. Children read intimate journals and short profiles, then write their own first-person stories and the stories of people they meet.

Mentor texts we read

Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton (selected profiles)
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
Excerpts from Diary of a Wimpy Kid (journal voice)

Craft moves we apply

Write in 'I' voice with one small moment
Capture one quote that tells the whole story
Pair an image with words that don't just describe it

How we present

'Humans of Cascais' opening night, children curate their portrait-and-journal wall and host visitors as docents, reading entries aloud.

Math that deepens this inquiry · click any

Jo Boaler-inspired stance · how we teach the maths

Boaler-inspired: data about us is the hook. Every child draws their data first (visual), then compares with a partner (multiple representations). 'Mistakes are where the brain grows', wrong predictions about the class are celebrated as the most interesting findings.

WEITS™ modalities for this pathway

Cascais as our extended classroom

Parque Marechal Carmona, Belonging walks, friendship circles and family-tree mapping under the trees.
Praia da Conceição, Body-awareness, breath and sensory regulation by the ocean.
Mercado da Vila, Meeting growers and makers, community as an extension of who we are.

All subjects · every unit · click any

Studio 2 · Identity, wellbeing, belonging

Who We Are

"Beliefs, values and choices influence identity and wellbeing."

Personal growth
Rights and responsibilities
Relationships and resilience
We are photographers, telling the story of our community

Conceptual understandings

Beliefs and values shape the choices that shape identity.
Wellbeing is a system, sleep, food, movement, relationships, meaning.
Voice carries responsibility: how I tell my story changes how I am heard.

Key concepts ·Perspective · Responsibility · Reflection · Connection|ATLs ·Self-management · Social · Thinking

Modality & expert-in-residence · the craft we practise

Focus

Wellbeing in the body + photojournalism of community, two paired residencies

Guest expert in residence

Start-of-year: our personal trainer & wellbeing coach. Mid-unit: visiting photojournalist (Humans-of-Cascais residency).

What the residency looks like

Anchor genre · reading · writing · presentation

Profile journal

Identity is best inquired into through real human voice. Children read intimate journals and short profiles, then write their own first-person stories and the stories of people they meet.

Mentor texts we read

Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (selected entries)
Short profile features from The New Yorker / The Guardian Long Read

Craft moves we apply

Let the subject's voice carry the piece, minimal narration
Open in scene, close on reflection
Earn the quote, show what made the person say it

How we present

'Humans of Cascais' opening night, children curate their portrait-and-journal wall and host visitors as docents, reading entries aloud.

Math that deepens this inquiry · click any

Jo Boaler-inspired stance · how we teach the maths

WEITS™ modalities for this pathway

Cascais as our extended classroom

Casa das Histórias Paula Rego, Identity, story and selfhood explored through a major Portuguese artist.
Cascais sports clubs & surf schools, Resilience, discipline and belonging tested in real physical practice.
Quinta do Pisão wellbeing walks, Solitude, reflection and journaling in nature, values and choices examined.

All subjects · every unit · click any

Studio Three · Horizon · MYP global context

Identities and relationships

Belonging by design

Statement of inquiry

Identity develops through relationships, and inclusive communities create opportunities for people to participate and thrive.

Conceptual lens: Key concept: Identity. Related concepts: Perspective, interaction, choice. These are interdisciplinary planning lenses; individual subject units select their own prescribed concepts.
Debatable question: How much should a community adapt to the individual?
Subject connections: Language and literature + Physical and health education; Analyse voice and viewpoint in personal narratives; investigate health habits; interpret wellbeing data without reducing a person to a score.
Evidence of academic learning: A revised personal narrative, a justified wellbeing plan and an inclusive community proposal. Subject tasks will use the appropriate MYP objectives and criteria.
Approaches to learning: Communication, social and self-management: active listening, collaboration, goal-setting and reflection.
PPPP™ + WEITS™: Purpose and People · Wellbeing · emotional literacy
Proposed service as action: Invite community feedback on a student-designed belonging charter.

Autumn · inquiry 02 · Connection

Studio 1 · Orientation in place and time

Where We Are in Place and Time

"Journeys and discoveries shape communities and cultures."

Maps and navigation
History of Cascais and Portugal
Exploration and migration

Conceptual understandings

Where I am is shaped by what came before me.
Journeys leave traces, in places, in people, in stories.
The same place looks different through different eyes.

Key concepts ·Change · Perspective · Causation · Connection|ATLs ·Research · Thinking · Communication

Modality & expert-in-residence · the craft we practise

Focus

Oral history & place-based storytelling, children as keepers of memory

Guest expert in residence

Visiting oral historian / documentary filmmaker (in residence with Cascais elders)

What the residency looks like

An oral historian works with children for a week, teaching the craft of the interview: how to sit with silence, how to ask follow-ups, how to handle a memory that hurts. Children record elders of Cascais and bring their voices home.

By Stage 08 · Enterprise →An audio-and-photograph memory archive of Cascais, children's written memoirs alongside transcribed voices of those who came before.

Anchor genre · reading · writing · presentation

Memoir

Place and time live in the people who remember them. Children read memoir, then write their own and a borrowed elder's story of this town.

Mentor texts we read

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
The Journey by Francesca Sanna
Granddad's Island by Benji Davies
Local Cascais maritime histories told by elders

Craft moves we apply

Anchor a memory in one place, name what you saw, smelled, heard
Use a time-word to move forward or back
Show how the place made you feel without saying it

How we present

Studio memory walk, children narrate their memoir on location in Cascais, beside the artefact, photograph or place that holds the story.

Math that deepens this inquiry · click any

Jo Boaler-inspired stance · how we teach the maths

Boaler-inspired: maps and timelines are visual maths. Children build their own scale before being given one, low-floor, high-ceiling. Every wrong estimate of a distance or a date opens a richer conversation than a right one.

WEITS™ modalities for this pathway

Cascais as our extended classroom

Cidadela de Cascais, Walking the walls, orienting on the bay and reading layers of Portuguese history in stone.
Cascais Old Town & Bay, Mapping streets, naming landmarks, sketching the harbour as the first navigators saw it.
Farol da Guia lighthouse trail, Coastal navigation, compass work and the story of sailors leaving and returning.

All subjects · every unit · click any

Studio 2 · Orientation in place and time

Where We Are in Place and Time

"Migration, exploration and innovation shape societies and opportunities."

Portuguese maritime history
Global connections
Human migration

Conceptual understandings

History is reconstructed from evidence, and evidence has perspective.
Migration and exchange change cultures over time.
How we map the world reveals what we value.

Key concepts ·Change · Causation · Perspective · Connection|ATLs ·Research · Thinking · Communication

Modality & expert-in-residence · the craft we practise

Focus

Oral history & place-based storytelling, children as keepers of memory

Guest expert in residence

Visiting oral historian / documentary filmmaker (in residence with Cascais elders)

What the residency looks like

By Stage 08 · Enterprise →An audio-and-photograph memory archive of Cascais, children's written memoirs alongside transcribed voices of those who came before.

Anchor genre · reading · writing · presentation

Memoir

Place and time live in the people who remember them. Children read memoir, then write their own and a borrowed elder's story of this town.

Mentor texts we read

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
Travel-memoir essays by Pico Iyer
Primary-source diaries of Portuguese navigators

Craft moves we apply

Braid past and present in alternating beats
Let landscape carry meaning the narrator won't say
Name whose perspective is in the room, and whose is missing

How we present

Studio memory walk, children narrate their memoir on location in Cascais, beside the artefact, photograph or place that holds the story.

Math that deepens this inquiry · click any

Jo Boaler-inspired stance · how we teach the maths

WEITS™ modalities for this pathway

Cascais as our extended classroom

Museu do Mar Rei D. Carlos, Portuguese maritime history, oceanography and the Age of Discoveries in context.
Cabo da Roca, The westernmost edge of Europe, launchpoint of exploration and global trade.
Forte de São Jorge de Oitavos & Cidadela, Reading fortifications as evidence of power, trade routes and migration.

All subjects · every unit · click any

Studio Three · Horizon · MYP global context

Orientation in space and time

Journeys that change societies

Statement of inquiry

Interactions across places and time change societies, and the evidence we select shapes how we understand those changes.

Conceptual lens: Key concept: Change. Related concepts: Evidence, causality, perspective. These are interdisciplinary planning lenses; individual subject units select their own prescribed concepts.
Debatable question: Whose account of a journey becomes history?
Subject connections: Individuals and societies + Language and literature; Evaluate primary and secondary sources, trace maritime routes from Cascais and compare accounts of exploration, trade and migration.
Evidence of academic learning: An annotated route map, a sourced historical argument and a comparative text analysis. Subject tasks will use the appropriate MYP objectives and criteria.
Approaches to learning: Research and thinking: source evaluation, citation, chronology and competing interpretations.
PPPP™ + WEITS™: Place and People · Sustainability and Technology · systems and digital literacy
Proposed service as action: Create an accessible local-history trail that includes contrasting perspectives.

Winter · inquiry 03 · Expression

Studio 1 · Creativity, ideas, culture

How We Express Ourselves

"People communicate ideas and emotions in many ways."

Storytelling and creativity
Music and movement
Art as communication

Conceptual understandings

People express what they feel and think in many forms.
Form, sound and image carry meaning together with words.
Choices in art are intentional, they speak.

Key concepts ·Form · Perspective · Connection · Function|ATLs ·Communication · Thinking · Self-management

Modality & expert-in-residence · the craft we practise

Focus

Sound, rhythm & spoken word, children as DJs and poets of their own voice

Guest expert in residence

Visiting DJ / sound designer & spoken-word poet (joint residency)

What the residency looks like

A working DJ and a spoken-word poet come into the studio. The DJ teaches beat-counting, sampling and the maths of a mix; the poet teaches voice, breath and the moment a line lands. Children write, mix and perform.

By Stage 08 · Enterprise →A live Studio Salon, each child performs a spoken-word piece over a beat they built themselves, with their voice as the lead instrument.

Anchor genre · reading · writing · presentation

Spoken-word poetry

Expression is most alive when word, rhythm and voice are one act. Children read poetry on the page, then make it land in the room, over a beat they composed.

Mentor texts we read

The Crossover (excerpts) by Kwame Alexander
Honey, I Love by Eloise Greenfield
Hip-hop Speaks to Children, ed. Nikki Giovanni
Sing a Song of Seasons by Fiona Waters

Craft moves we apply

Rhythm & repetition, write a chorus that hooks
Line-break for breath
One strong image per stanza

How we present

Studio Salon, a candlelit evening of spoken-word performance over child-made beats, with children introducing each other's work.

Math that deepens this inquiry · click any

Jo Boaler-inspired stance · how we teach the maths

Boaler-inspired: maths is creative and physical here. Children clap, loop and visualise rhythm before they notate it. Multiple representations, pattern, beat, image, number, and every 'wrong' rhythm is a new groove worth trying.

WEITS™ modalities for this pathway

Cascais as our extended classroom

Centro Cultural de Cascais, Live exhibitions and performance, seeing how artists express ideas to a public.
Praia da Conceição, Outdoor drawing, dance and storytelling with the sea as the stage.
Cascais street-art trail, Reading murals as messages, meaning, audience and place all at once.

All subjects · every unit · click any

Studio 2 · Creativity, ideas, culture

How We Express Ourselves

"Creativity and communication influence understanding and culture."

Literature and media
Visual and performing arts
Digital communication

Conceptual understandings

Audience and purpose shape every creative choice.
Combining modalities can deepen, or dilute, meaning.
Craft is the difference between expression and impact.

Key concepts ·Form · Perspective · Function · Connection|ATLs ·Communication · Thinking · Self-management

Modality & expert-in-residence · the craft we practise

Focus

Sound, rhythm & spoken word, children as DJs and poets of their own voice

Guest expert in residence

Visiting DJ / sound designer & spoken-word poet (joint residency)

What the residency looks like

By Stage 08 · Enterprise →A live Studio Salon, each child performs a spoken-word piece over a beat they built themselves, with their voice as the lead instrument.

Anchor genre · reading · writing · presentation

Spoken-word poetry

Expression is most alive when word, rhythm and voice are one act. Children read poetry on the page, then make it land in the room, over a beat they composed.

Mentor texts we read

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
B by Sarah Kay (spoken-word film)
Selected Saul Williams & Kae Tempest performances
Hamilton libretto by Lin-Manuel Miranda (selected songs)

Craft moves we apply

Extended metaphor carried across a verse
Volta, the turn in the poem / the beat drop
Embodied performance, voice, pause, gesture, mic technique

How we present

Studio Salon, a candlelit evening of spoken-word performance over child-made beats, with children introducing each other's work.

Math that deepens this inquiry · click any

Jo Boaler-inspired stance · how we teach the maths

WEITS™ modalities for this pathway

Cascais as our extended classroom

Casa das Histórias Paula Rego, Studying a contemporary artist's craft, themes and curation choices.
Centro Cultural de Cascais, Producing and exhibiting work to a real public, audience as part of meaning.
Cascais film & photography locations, Light, framing, location scouting, visual storytelling on the coast.

All subjects · every unit · click any

Studio Three · Horizon · MYP global context

Personal and cultural expression

Whose story do we hear?

Statement of inquiry

Creative choices communicate identity and values, influencing how audiences interpret cultural expression.

Conceptual lens: Key concept: Communication. Related concepts: Audience, expression, interpretation. These are interdisciplinary planning lenses; individual subject units select their own prescribed concepts.
Debatable question: Can the same work tell different truths to different audiences?
Subject connections: Arts + Language acquisition; Analyse artistic choices, develop an original performance or visual work and communicate its intention in an additional language at an appropriate proficiency level.
Evidence of academic learning: A process portfolio, an original work and an oral or written commentary informed by audience response. Subject tasks will use the appropriate MYP objectives and criteria.
Approaches to learning: Communication and thinking: creative experimentation, feedback and revision.
PPPP™ + WEITS™: Purpose and Practice · Innovation and Technology · design and digital literacy
Proposed service as action: Curate an exhibition that makes space for different voices in the community.

Winter / spring · inquiry 04 · Pattern

Studio 1 · Natural & physical world

How the World Works

"Patterns and systems help us explain the world around us."

Weather and seasons
Living things and habitats
Forces and materials

Conceptual understandings

The world is full of patterns I can notice and test.
A fair test is the way scientists separate luck from cause.
I can explain what I see using evidence, not opinion.

Key concepts ·Causation · Function · Change · Form|ATLs ·Research · Thinking · Self-management

Modality & expert-in-residence · the craft we practise

Focus

Science documentary filmmaking, children as field investigators behind the camera

Guest expert in residence

Visiting documentary filmmaker / engineer-in-residence

What the residency looks like

A documentary filmmaker (and where possible a working engineer or scientist) joins the studio. Children learn the craft of the science short, how to film an experiment, narrate it cleanly, and interview a real expert without losing the thread.

By Stage 08 · Enterprise →A studio-published 'How the World Works' short film festival, child-directed science explainers screened to families and the wider community.

Anchor genre · reading · writing · presentation

Science explainer script

Inquiry-as-science needs the precise voice of explanation. Children write the explainer script, then narrate it to camera over their own footage and diagrams.

Mentor texts we read

The Magic School Bus series
Gail Gibbons explanation books
Selected episodes of Brain Pop / Wild Kratts
Studio observation logs

Craft moves we apply

Cause-and-effect sentences a viewer can follow
Labelled diagrams on screen
Technical vocabulary used precisely, and defined

How we present

Studio science film festival, children screen their explainer films and host live Q&A with a working demonstration.

Math that deepens this inquiry · click any

Jo Boaler-inspired stance · how we teach the maths

Boaler-inspired: children see the maths before they calculate it, graphs are drawn, estimated, argued over, then refined. Mistakes in measurement are reframed as the point of the next experiment, not a failure.

WEITS™ modalities for this pathway

Cascais as our extended classroom

Boca do Inferno, Forces in action, Atlantic waves carving rock, recording change over time.
Praia do Guincho dunes, Wind, sand and weather, measuring, sketching and explaining patterns outdoors.
Parque Natural Sintra-Cascais trails, Habitats, plants and animals studied in their living context.

All subjects · every unit · click any

Studio 2 · Natural & physical world

How the World Works

"Scientific understanding enables people to explain and influence change."

Matter and energy
Earth systems
Forces and inventions

Conceptual understandings

Systems behave in ways their parts alone cannot predict.
Models are useful approximations, never the whole truth.
Scientific knowledge advances through controlled variables, replication and peer critique.

Key concepts ·Causation · Function · Change · Form|ATLs ·Research · Thinking · Self-management

Modality & expert-in-residence · the craft we practise

Focus

Science documentary filmmaking, children as field investigators behind the camera

Guest expert in residence

Visiting documentary filmmaker / engineer-in-residence

What the residency looks like

By Stage 08 · Enterprise →A studio-published 'How the World Works' short film festival, child-directed science explainers screened to families and the wider community.

Anchor genre · reading · writing · presentation

Science explainer script

Inquiry-as-science needs the precise voice of explanation. Children write the explainer script, then narrate it to camera over their own footage and diagrams.

Mentor texts we read

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
Selected David Attenborough narration scripts
Science feature articles (Nat Geo, NYT)
Hank Green / Kurzgesagt explainer scripts

Craft moves we apply

Hypothesis stated as if-then on camera
Method written so another could replicate
Discussion that separates data from interpretation

How we present

Studio science film festival, children screen their explainer films and host live Q&A with a working demonstration.

Math that deepens this inquiry · click any

Jo Boaler-inspired stance · how we teach the maths

WEITS™ modalities for this pathway

Cascais as our extended classroom

Cabo Raso & coastal cliffs, Geology, erosion and earth systems read directly from the rock.
Serra de Sintra geology trails, Magmatic rock, microclimates and ecosystems on a single mountain.
Cascais weather & ocean stations, Real datasets, wind, tide, temperature, analysed and modelled.

All subjects · every unit · click any

Studio Three · Horizon · MYP global context

Scientific and technical innovation

Evidence into invention

Statement of inquiry

Understanding scientific relationships enables people to design solutions, whose effectiveness must be tested against evidence.

Conceptual lens: Key concept: Relationships. Related concepts: Energy, models, development. These are interdisciplinary planning lenses; individual subject units select their own prescribed concepts.
Debatable question: When is an invention an improvement?
Subject connections: Sciences + Design + Mathematics; Investigate forces, materials or energy; use algebra, measurement and graphs to model findings; apply the design cycle to a coastal or studio challenge.
Evidence of academic learning: A controlled investigation, a mathematical model and a tested prototype with an evaluation of its limitations. Subject tasks will use the appropriate MYP objectives and criteria.
Approaches to learning: Research, thinking and self-management: fair testing, data analysis, iteration and managing setbacks.
PPPP™ + WEITS™: Place and Practice · Innovation and Technology · design and digital literacy
Proposed service as action: Test a practical solution with intended users and revise it from evidence.

Spring · inquiry 05 · Systems

Studio 1 · Systems & communities

How We Organise Ourselves

"Communities organise themselves to meet needs and create opportunities."

Jobs and services
Money and exchange
Entrepreneurship and innovation

Conceptual understandings

Communities work because people take on different roles.
Exchange, of time, skills, money, connects us.
Rules and agreements can be made, and remade, to be fair.

Key concepts ·Function · Connection · Responsibility · Causation|ATLs ·Social · Self-management · Thinking

Modality & expert-in-residence · the craft we practise

Focus

Design thinking & the founder's pitch, children as venture-builders

Guest expert in residence

Visiting founder / product designer in residence

What the residency looks like

A working founder or product designer comes into the studio. Children learn user interviews, prototyping, MVPs and the structure of a real pitch, and rehearse with the kind of feedback a real investor gives.

By Stage 08 · Enterprise →Studio Pitch Night, every team pitches a real venture (product, service or social) to a panel of working founders and community leaders.

Anchor genre · reading · writing · presentation

Persuasive pitch

To inquire into how communities organise, children must learn to propose, persuade and pitch. The pitch is the genre of enterprise, and of citizenship.

Mentor texts we read

I Wanna Iguana, Karen Kaufman Orloff
Persuasive picture books & ads
Studio rule proposals
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, Doreen Cronin

Craft moves we apply

Strong opening hook
Three reasons that build
Confident closing ask

How we present

Studio Pitch Night, children pitch their venture or proposal to a panel of visiting parents, founders and community leaders.

Math that deepens this inquiry · click any

Jo Boaler-inspired stance · how we teach the maths

Boaler-inspired: a real budget is the most motivating maths task there is. Children build their pricing model visually first, defend it to peers, and revise, the spreadsheet is the artefact of their thinking, not a test.

WEITS™ modalities for this pathway

Cascais as our extended classroom

Mercado da Vila, Meeting traders, comparing prices, mapping where food and goods come from.
Marina de Cascais, Seeing services in action, boats, customs, hospitality, logistics, jobs.
Cascais Câmara Municipal, How a town organises itself, civic services, democracy, public space.

All subjects · every unit · click any

Studio 2 · Systems & communities

How We Organise Ourselves

"Systems and innovation shape economies and communities."

Businesses and entrepreneurship
Resources and economics
Leadership and collaboration

Conceptual understandings

Systems are designed, and what they reward, they get.
A real venture solves a real problem for a real person.
Leadership is the practice of helping a group make a decision together.

Key concepts ·Function · Connection · Responsibility · Causation|ATLs ·Social · Thinking · Self-management

Modality & expert-in-residence · the craft we practise

Focus

Design thinking & the founder's pitch, children as venture-builders

Guest expert in residence

Visiting founder / product designer in residence

What the residency looks like

By Stage 08 · Enterprise →Studio Pitch Night, every team pitches a real venture (product, service or social) to a panel of working founders and community leaders.

Anchor genre · reading · writing · presentation

Persuasive pitch

To inquire into how communities organise, children must learn to propose, persuade and pitch. The pitch is the genre of enterprise, and of citizenship.

Mentor texts we read

Shark Tank / Dragons' Den pitch transcripts
TED talks on social enterprise
Op-ed columns from major papers
Y Combinator demo-day pitches (selected)

Craft moves we apply

Problem → Solution → Proof structure
Address counter-arguments before they're raised
Visual + numerical evidence in the deck

How we present

Studio Pitch Night, children pitch their venture or proposal to a panel of visiting parents, founders and community leaders.

Math that deepens this inquiry · click any

Jo Boaler-inspired stance · how we teach the maths

WEITS™ modalities for this pathway

Cascais as our extended classroom

Nova SBE campus, Carcavelos, Visiting a world-class business school, entrepreneurship and economics in action.
Cascais startup & co-working spaces, Interviewing founders, learning business models, pitching to real mentors.
Marina de Cascais businesses, Studying real operations, pricing, supply, customers, regulation.

All subjects · every unit · click any

Studio Three · Horizon · MYP global context

Globalization and sustainability

What does our town depend on?

Statement of inquiry

Local choices are connected to global systems, and understanding those connections helps communities evaluate sustainable alternatives.

Conceptual lens: Key concept: Systems. Related concepts: Resources, interdependence, sustainability. These are interdisciplinary planning lenses; individual subject units select their own prescribed concepts.
Debatable question: Can growth be sustainable for everyone involved?
Subject connections: Individuals and societies + Mathematics + Design; Map a food or material supply chain, model costs and resource use with percentages and statistics, and evaluate a circular enterprise proposal.
Evidence of academic learning: A referenced systems map, a transparent financial model and a reasoned enterprise pitch. Subject tasks will use the appropriate MYP objectives and criteria.
Approaches to learning: Research, thinking and social: systems analysis, ethical decisions and shared responsibility.
PPPP™ + WEITS™: People, Place and Practice · Entrepreneurship and Sustainability · financial and systems literacy
Proposed service as action: Develop a reuse or repair initiative in response to a researched community need.

Summer · inquiry 06 · Action

Studio 1 · Rights, responsibility, sustainability

Sharing the Planet

"People share responsibility for protecting resources and living things."

Sustainability
Oceans and marine life
Human impact

Conceptual understandings

We share the planet with people and living things we will never meet.
Small actions, repeated together, change a community.
Caring for what we share is everyone's responsibility.

Key concepts ·Responsibility · Causation · Connection · Change|ATLs ·Research · Social · Communication

Modality & expert-in-residence · the craft we practise

Focus

Investigative journalism & activism, children as reporters of the planet

Guest expert in residence

Visiting investigative journalist / climate scientist or activist

What the residency looks like

An investigative journalist (paired where possible with a working climate scientist or activist) joins the studio. Children learn how a real story gets reported, interviewing stakeholders, fact-checking claims, and earning the right to ask for change.

By Stage 08 · Enterprise →A published Studio Dispatch, a print-and-digital edition of investigative articles, plus a Town Hall where children deliver the advocacy speech tied to their reporting.

Anchor genre · reading · writing · presentation

Investigative article

Shared responsibility demands evidence, story and voice. Children report the issue as journalists, building the article as their central written artefact for the unit.

Mentor texts we read

The Lorax, Dr. Seuss
We Are Water Protectors, Carole Lindstrom
Greta Thunberg speeches (excerpts)
One Plastic Bag, Miranda Paul

Craft moves we apply

Start with a story, end with an ask
Use 'we' to include the audience
Speak slowly and look up

How we present

Studio Town Hall, children publish their article and deliver the linked speech to a community audience, with a written response invited from a real stakeholder.

Math that deepens this inquiry · click any

Jo Boaler-inspired stance · how we teach the maths

Boaler-inspired: every statistic in the article must be a number the child can picture. Visual modelling first, calculation second, and the limits of the data are reported as honestly as the data itself.

WEITS™ modalities for this pathway

Cascais as our extended classroom

Praia da Rainha tide pools, Caring for marine life up close, careful observation and stewardship.
Quinta do Pisão, Rewilding in practice, donkeys, native planting, biodiversity walks.
Cascais coastline clean-ups, Action as learning, measuring impact, reducing waste, taking responsibility.

All subjects · every unit · click any

Studio 2 · Rights, responsibility, sustainability

Sharing the Planet

"Interdependence requires responsible action for a sustainable future."

Climate and ecosystems
Sustainable Development Goals
Human impact and solutions

Conceptual understandings

Sustainability is a system, environment, economy, equity, time.
Advocacy combines evidence, story and a clear ask.
Impact is measurable: an action without an outcome is only an intention.

Key concepts ·Responsibility · Causation · Connection · Change|ATLs ·Research · Social · Communication

Modality & expert-in-residence · the craft we practise

Focus

Investigative journalism & activism, children as reporters of the planet

Guest expert in residence

Visiting investigative journalist / climate scientist or activist

What the residency looks like

By Stage 08 · Enterprise →A published Studio Dispatch, a print-and-digital edition of investigative articles, plus a Town Hall where children deliver the advocacy speech tied to their reporting.

Anchor genre · reading · writing · presentation

Investigative article

Shared responsibility demands evidence, story and voice. Children report the issue as journalists, building the article as their central written artefact for the unit.

Mentor texts we read

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
Long-form journalism, National Geographic
UN SDG youth briefs
Selected New York Times Climate desk features

Craft moves we apply

Pair data with human story
Anticipate and name the opposing view
Close with a specific, measurable ask

How we present

Studio Town Hall, children publish their article and deliver the linked speech to a community audience, with a written response invited from a real stakeholder.

Math that deepens this inquiry · click any

Jo Boaler-inspired stance · how we teach the maths

WEITS™ modalities for this pathway

Cascais as our extended classroom

Guincho dunes restoration sites, Climate adaptation in practice, dune fences, native planting, monitoring.
Parque Natural Sintra-Cascais, Biodiversity, conservation policy and rewilding linked to the UN SDGs.
Cascais Ambiente recycling centre, Circular economy made visible, waste streams, processing, accountability.

All subjects · every unit · click any

Studio Three · Horizon · MYP global context

Fairness and development

A fairer shared future

Statement of inquiry

Access to resources and opportunities influences development, and informed action can help communities address inequity.

Conceptual lens: Key concept: Global interactions. Related concepts: Equity, rights, responsibility. These are interdisciplinary planning lenses; individual subject units select their own prescribed concepts.
Debatable question: Is treating everyone the same always fair?
Subject connections: Individuals and societies + Sciences + Language and literature; Investigate a coastal or community issue, evaluate environmental and social evidence, and construct an argument that addresses different stakeholders.
Evidence of academic learning: An evidence-based position paper, an action portfolio and a reflection on impact and unintended consequences. Subject tasks will use the appropriate MYP objectives and criteria.
Approaches to learning: Communication, research and self-management: advocacy, evaluating impact and reflective independence.
PPPP™ + WEITS™: Purpose and People · Wellbeing and Sustainability · emotional and systems literacy
Proposed service as action: Plan, carry out and evaluate a service response with the people it is intended to support.

A research-based spiral

Each inquiry connects forward and back. Mathematics in How the World Works seeds the economics of How We Organise Ourselves; identity work in Who We Are deepens the perspective-taking of Sharing the Planet. Modalities, literacies and ATLs accumulate across all three studios. In Horizon, subject knowledge, source evaluation, mathematical reasoning and criteria-based assessment deepen that journey. Belonging supports confident risk-taking; academic excellence is measured through demonstrated learning, not participation alone.

Visit a studio

See the frameworks in action.

Book a Discovery Conversation Start the Conversation on WhatsApp

Planned with reference to the PYP and MYP frameworks, working towards IB candidacy. WEITS™ and PPPP™ © Nichola de Montaigne, proprietary frameworks used at ISI Cascais under the founder's licence.

For families

Want to know more? Book a call with Nichola.

A relaxed conversation with Nichola, before anything is decided. Ask about the studios, the daily rhythm, the fees, or what your child would find here.

Book a Call with Nichola Start the Conversation on WhatsApp

Every enquiry is answered personally, usually within two working days.

An ecosystem where every child's strengths lead.

Five lenses for how today's children will live, learn & lead.

The map the world recognises.

Shared curiosity. Deepening academic ambition.

PYP · connecting learning

MYP · knowledge in context

All eight subject groups. Real disciplinary depth.

01Language and literature

02Language acquisition

03Individuals and societies

04Sciences

05Mathematics

06Arts

07Physical and health education

08Design

So every child belongs, strengths first, challenges supported.

From wonder to action, and into enterprise.

Learning is a messy, beautiful, interconnected journey.

All scope & sequence subjects woven into every UOI.

Learning together, at different depths.

Who We Are

Who We Are

Identities and relationships

Belonging by design

Where We Are in Place and Time

Where We Are in Place and Time

Orientation in space and time

Journeys that change societies

How We Express Ourselves

How We Express Ourselves

Personal and cultural expression

Whose story do we hear?

How the World Works

How the World Works

Scientific and technical innovation

Evidence into invention

How We Organise Ourselves

How We Organise Ourselves

Globalization and sustainability

What does our town depend on?

Sharing the Planet

Sharing the Planet

Fairness and development

A fairer shared future

See the frameworks in action.

Want to know more? Book a call with Nichola.

Academic excellence. Never compromised.

Rigour, never compromised

Strengths first

Courage to take risks

Confident lifelong learners

When the Child Belongs, the Community Thrives.

Three commitments that bring ISI Cascais and DeMontaigne Life Design together.

Inclusion Specialists

Individual Pathways

Future-Proof Learning

Academic excellence.
Never compromised.