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Our Journey

Intentionally starting small.
Because relationships matter.

We are starting small because depth, trust and culture cannot be retro-fitted later. They must be built into the founding architecture and the hidden culture, with clarity and intention.

Chapter I

Founding Year

  • ·Three learning studios open in the heart of Cascais.
  • ·Ages 6–14, across Primary and Middle Years.
  • ·A highly personalised, deeply known environment.

Chapter II

The Candidacy Journey, PYP & MYP

  • ·Working with relevant organisations to ensure IB candidacy before opening day.
  • ·Professional development aligned to IB standards.
  • ·Systems, planning and assessment built toward authorisation.

Chapter III

Growing Community

  • ·Additional studios open with intention.
  • ·Expanded specialist faculty and outdoor programs.
  • ·Deep community partnerships across Cascais.

Chapter IV

Full Continuum Vision

  • ·Primary Years Programme.
  • ·Middle Years Programme.
  • ·Careers Programme.
  • ·A purpose-built campus and global pathways.

A promise

We will grow only as fast as we can remain deeply human.

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 NicholaStart the Conversation on WhatsApp

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

How we measure our success

Academic excellence.
Never compromised.

We can only learn when we are willing to take risks, and we can only take risks when we feel confident and known. That is why belonging and rigour are not opposites at ISI. Academic excellence is a key driving indicator of how we measure our success as a community.

Curiosity is what we light first. Our unique PPPP™ compass, Purpose, People, Place and Practice, is how we keep learning relevant, meaningful, significant and challenging for every child, so rigour is felt as wonder, and challenge becomes something children learn to meet with growing skill, stamina and confidence.

01

Rigour, never compromised

High expectations in literacy, numeracy and conceptual understanding for every child, assessed against international IB-aligned standards and tracked with evidence over time.

02

Strengths first

We begin with what a child can already do. Strengths-based teaching is linked to higher engagement, persistence and achievement, so we build from strength towards stretch.

03

Courage to take risks

Learning happens at the edge of what we know. Children who feel safe to be wrong attempt harder problems, and mistakes become information, not judgement.

04

Confident lifelong learners

Self-efficacy is one of the strongest predictors of achievement. We measure growth in what each child can do, and in how confidently they choose to keep learning.

Research · Bandura on self-efficacy · Hattie, Visible Learning · Seligman & positive education on strengths-based practice · Dweck on learning from mistakes

Our Mission

When the Child Belongs, the Community Thrives.

Three commitments

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

“We hold one standard above all others: that every child belongs, deeply, visibly, and before anything else is asked of them. Three studios, flexible ages, one question that guides every decision: does this genuinely serve the child, the family, and the wider community, over time?”

Wellbeing · Belonging

Inclusion Specialists

Two decades in international education, developmental psychology and life design. Neurodiversity, wellbeing and belonging are not add-ons, they are the foundation of how we teach.

Our philosophy

Design · Innovation

Individual Pathways

We bring the PPPP Compass (Purpose, People, Place, Practice) that clearly aligns and charts each learner's individual pathway from ages 6 through 18+. Growing slowly, with intention.

How we learn

WEITS™ Framework

Future-Proof Learning

Wellbeing, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Technology, Sustainability: the five literacies that travel across unknown futures. Human-led. AI-supported. Concept-based.

Explore the curriculum

In partnership with DeMontaigne Life Design ↗