St. Paul's School

For all year groups we accept applications from pupils regardless of their religion, race, sex or nationality, provided that there are openings available. We are a school which strives to offer equal opportunities for all.

All applications to the school are considered with care, aiming at accommodating the families' wishes with the available places. Decisions concerning admissions are made by a committee of teachers and senior leaders appointed by the Headmaster, also bearing in mind the following:

• Alignment with the community and shared values of the school, its approach to education and with modern British social and educational attitudes
• Children with siblings already attending St. Paul’s School
• Those with family connections to the United Kingdom or engaged with the British community in São Paul’s
• International pupils moving to the city
• Academic standards and readiness for school and to study in English and access the school curriculum in a meaningful way

Which school, which year?

The admissions process will differ according to the year group you are applying for entry into. Please, check here which year group your child would be eligible for.

Which school, which year?

The admissions process will differ according to the year group you are applying for entry into. Please, check here which year group your child would be eligible for.

*Please note that as the IGCSE and IB Diploma are two-year courses, pupils should start them at the beginning of each cycle (Form 4 for the IGCSE and Lower Sixth for the IB). We therefore do not have entry points in Form 5 and the Upper Sixth. Pupils arriving from schools that follow the southern hemisphere academic year will need to repeat six months of their studies in order to be able to enter into the northern hemisphere academic year that we follow (whereby the beginning of the academic year is in August). Occasionally there are exceptions to our standard admissions procedures which the school deals with on an individual basis as appropriate in each case.

How to apply

Choosing a school is one of the most important decisions a parent will ever make for their child. You want to make the best choice for your son or daughter and find a place where they will be happy and that allows them to develop the skills and qualifications to be successful as an adult.

If this sounds daunting, don’t worry, we are here to help!

Entry points

At St. Paul’s, we welcome applications from any child who wants to embrace our curriculum and who is committed to enhancing the life of our community.

However, we are often over-subscribed and unfortunately not always able to accept all those families who apply to us. Yet, we hope that you will consider the merits of a St.Paul’s education for your child and, if you share our values and vision, we very much encourage you to apply.

The admissions process will differ according to the year group you are applying for entry into.

We take a full intake of pupils at age 3 into Pre-Prep 1 (pre-reception in the UK). Children applying for a place in Pre-Prep 1 have to be three years of age by 30th June, our cut-off date, of the year in which they will join the school.

Other than this, there are no additional significant entry points throughout the school. There may be, however, occasional opportunities to join the school at other points when children leave. Admissions point is in August of each academic year, depending on availability.

Admissions process

Before considering applying for a place to your son or daughter at St. Paul's, navigate through the our Admissions process below.

Stage 1: Getting to know St. Paul's School

If you are interested in the possibility of a place for your child at St. Paul’s, we invite you to fill out the open morning registration form. Open mornings are the best opportunity for you to see the school in action and to have your questions answered. If you are unable to attend the open morning, we will try to arrange an individual visit to the school. All families resident in São Paulo who are applying for a place at St. Paul’s are expected to have visited the school as part of the admissions process. To book a place at an open morning, please complete the open morning registration form.

We kindly ask international families considering moving to São Paulo to fill out the International families contact form so that our Admissions team can contact you.

Stage 2: Application

Once you got to know the school, and expressed your interest in bringing your child to St. Paul’s, we will send via email the instructions to move forward with your child’s application. When you complete the application form we will ask you to express your firm commitment to proceeding with your application by paying a non-refundable application fee. This fee covers administrative costs of the admission process and its payment does not guarantee enrolment (it is not an assessment fee). Parents applying for places in other year groups other than Pre-Prep 1, the application fee will be charged once we have confirmation of places in your child’s year group and able to process the application.

Stage 3: Assessment

For children applying for a place in PP1, applicants and families will be invited for an interview with the Headmaster. This is an opportunity for any further questions to be addressed or concerns to be ironed out. After the interview, all PP1 children are assessed in April of the year of entry. These assessment days are arranged on Saturdays (please refer to our admissions calendar.), when they are observed in a classroom setting in groups, in an English speaking environment.

For other year groups entry, if there is a place available, your child will be assessed with tasks and interviews of differing length and style, depending on age. These are not subject specific but measure each child’s cognitive ability in a range of skills and are standardised for age. Alongside this test, applicants may sit an English paper to assess literacy and competence in written, followed by an interview so we can evaluate candidates’ spoken English. Because children come to us from a wide range of schools and indeed, from different educational systems around the world, candidates are not required to be prepared for the tests in a specific way. The results of the tests are valid for the admission point immediately after the assessment only.

Stage 4: The outcomes

Once all the above stages have been completed, we will write to you to let you know the outcome of your application. We often have more applicants than places.

If we are able to make you an offer, we will send you the list of documents required for enrolment, as well as detailed financial information, and also request payment of the admission fee.

If there are no places currently available for the year group that you have applied for, we will ask you if you would like to be placed on our contact list for future opportunities.

If you are interested in applying for a place for your child, please check our Admissions calendar and sign up to one of our Open Mornings. Or you can also contact our Admissions team.