Latest news and stories about secondary school in Portugal for expats and residents.
Registration for a special period of national secondary school exams began today and remains open until Friday. This measure is available to all students to help compensate for recent delays in the digital grading of national exams.
Registrations for the first phase of the national secondary school exams opened on 6 March and run until 19 March; students may also register for self‑proposed 9th‑grade tests. The Directorate‑General for Education (Direção‑Geral da Educação) published the registration rules: internal and self‑proposed students must register, take a Portuguese exam and choose two additional subjects according to the instructions. Students and parents should complete registrations before the 19 March deadline and follow the DGE guidance on subject choices.
Portugal's transition to digital grading for secondary school exams in the 2025/2026 academic year has sparked controversy and uncertainty regarding the implementation of automatic and human marking processes.
Sofia decided to wait a year to better prepare herself and get into the course she really wanted. She did not change her secondary school subjects, but saw her average drop because “the rules changed”. However, the rules do not seem to have changed for everyone.
Madalena scored zero in Portuguese, Diogo missed out by nine points. Gustavo criticises the “minister's incompetence,” Vicente felt “outside the system.” How four 12th-grade students have been dealing with the uncertainty.
The second phase of the national secondary school exams ends this Friday. The first phase exam had a grading error.
Last year, 6,200 requests for re-evaluation of secondary school exams were submitted. As of this Friday, there have been 8,900. There are still students who may request a review of their respective exams.
The average grades for national secondary school exams fell in Portuguese and Biology and Geology, and rose in Mathematics A, with Portuguese Literature being the only subject with a failing average, according to data released today.
The average grades for national secondary school exams fell in Portuguese and Biology and Geology, and rose in Mathematics A, with Portuguese Literature being the only subject with a failing average, according to data released this Tuesday. A global analysis conducted by the National Exams Jury (JNE) on the results of the 1st phase of the National Final Exams...
The Luís de Camões Secondary School in Lisbon is asking parents who are teachers of subjects with national exams to support students in the grade review process, as the school faces a high volume of requests to consult exam papers. In a message sent to parents and...
The second phase of the national secondary school examinations in Portugal starts today at 6am.
A special period was announced by the minister. Around 290,000 students took the national secondary school exams.
The academic federations of Lisbon and Porto express concern regarding the grading process for secondary school examinations.
The Minister of Education confirmed today that all national secondary school exams have been graded and anticipated that, as a result, the results will be posted by the end of the day.
The request for an inquiry will be submitted on Friday, the day when the results for national secondary school exams are scheduled to be posted.
The grading of the exams will take place until July 14, instead of ending on July 10. The results for the first phase of secondary school exams will be posted on July 17, three days later than originally planned. The second phase of national secondary school exams has also been changed. The higher education access calendar remains unchanged.
The grading of the exams will take place until July 14, instead of ending on July 10. The results for the first phase of secondary school exams will be posted on July 17, three days later than originally planned. The second phase of national secondary school exams has also been changed. The higher education access calendar remains unchanged.
This Thursday, the 11th-grade Physics and Chemistry A exam (715) took place, with over 37,000 students registered. The first phase of the national secondary school exams ends this Friday. Results will be released on July 14th.
Leaving the 12th-grade national Mathematics exam in Matosinhos, several students considered the test accessible, despite difficulties with the last question and probability topics.
Exams to finish secondary school, to enter university, with a dual function. What distinguishes Portugal in this world tour of school tests?
The national secondary school exams started this morning. Around 81,000 students, equivalent to half of those enrolled, took the 12th-grade Portuguese exam.
High school students face tests that combine scientific knowledge and practice. They apply skills in real experiments, getting closer to the work carried out in research.
Secondary school completion rates fell to 79.4% in 2024/25. The government points to the return of exams as the main cause, but guarantees that the three mandatory exams to complete secondary education are here to stay.
The announcement was made during a visit to the José Saramago secondary school in Mafra. Additionally, Fernando Alexandre considers it normal that the number of higher education placements has decreased to pre-pandemic levels.
The secondary education completion rate in 2024/25 decreased by 10.7 percentage points compared to the previous year, which helps explain the drop in candidates and placements in higher education. But it does not explain everything.
The possibility of making the Nobel Prize in Literature winner optional in the 12th grade is the perfect excuse to talk about reading in adolescence and Portuguese classes in this week's Pop Up.
The Government's proposal to make the study of Saramago's works optional in secondary education is the result of a series of reviews that have not yet concluded, with the public consultation on the curriculum revision still ongoing.
Teachers will be able to choose a work by Mário de Carvalho as an alternative to the Nobel laureate's novels. The proposal to revise the essential learning outcomes for Portuguese is under public consultation until the 28th.
New learning standards only come into effect in 2027, but ten classes have already anticipated them. The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation states that no one is required to answer questions on material they have not learned. The Portuguese Mathematical Society criticises the “change of rules”, while the Association of Mathematics Teachers does not.
