Escola Secundaria de Cascais

What Escola Secundaria de Cascais does

Agrupamento de Escolas de Cascais is a public school cluster headquartered in Cascais, Portugal, operating under the Portuguese Ministry of Education. It provides continuous public education from pré-escolar (kindergarten) through secondary education (12th year), including scientific-humanistic courses, specialized artistic education in theater, adult education, and Portuguese for non-native speakers. The cluster comprises multiple school sites: JI da Torre and JI Areia-Guincho (pré-escolar), EB1 Branquinho da Fonseca, EB1 Aldeia de Juso, and EB1 Areia-Guincho (1st cycle), EB de Cascais/Pereira Coutinho (2nd and 3rd cycles), and the flagship Escola Secundária de Cascais (colloquially known as POLI), founded in 1975.

The school has no commercial revenue model, operating entirely on government funding from the Ministry of Education and co-funding from Câmara Municipal de Cascais. All services including tuition, textbooks (via the MEGA platform), and school meals (ASE) are publicly funded or subsidized. Enrollment is managed through Portugal's national Portal das Matrículas system, with admissions governed by Despacho n.º 4472-A/2026 priority criteria.

Technology and digital initiatives include POLI, an AI assistant deployed on the school website (aecascais.pt) in August 2024 to respond to community queries about educational documents, and the Apple Education Initiative launching in 2025/2026 providing iPads to all 10th-grade students. The cluster also operates a Robotics Club, Plano Digital, school libraries, and psychology/orientation services (SPO). Active partnerships include Câmara Municipal de Cascais (including the OP Jovem participatory budgeting program), Escola Profissional de Teatro de Cascais, Apple Education, and various cultural institutions. A new Escola Secundária de Cascais building is under construction.

Name

Escola Secundaria de Cascais

Legal name

Agrupamento de Escolas de Cascais

Website

https://aecascais.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Escola Secundaria de Cascais is a public school cluster in Cascais, Portugal, under the Ministry of Education, offering continuous education from kindergarten through 12th year to local families, funded entirely by government and municipal sources.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cascais

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Public Government Funding: As a public educational cluster under the Portuguese Ministry of Education, the school operates entirely on government funding. All services including tuition, textbooks (manuais escolares gratuitos), and school meals (ASE) are publicly funded. No commercial revenue model applies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Agrupamento de Escolas de Cascais provides publicly funded education across multiple levels, including pre-school, basic education (1st, 2nd, and 3rd cycles), and secondary education, with a specialized artistic track through the Curso Básico de Teatro. The institution also offers adult education courses (EFA and Formações Modulares) and operates as an Apple Distinguished School with digital learning support tools such as the POLI AI assistant.

Product overview

Agrupamento de Escolas de Cascais is a comprehensive Portuguese school cluster offering continuous education from pré-escolar (kindergarten) through secondary education (12th year). The school operates multiple sites including Escola Secundária de Cascais, Escola Básica de Cascais (Pereira Coutinho), and several primary schools and kindergartens. Educational offerings include standard academic programs (Ciências e Tecnologias, Ciências Socioeconómicas, Línguas e Humanidades, Artes Visuais), specialized artistic programs (Curso Básico de Teatro), and adult education. The cluster supplements its core educational mission with digital initiatives including POLI (AI assistant), an Apple Education program with iPad deployment, and a Robotics Club. Support services include school libraries, psychology and guidance services (SPO), and social support (ASE).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• POLI (AI Assistant): An artificial intelligence assistant deployed on the school website to answer questions from the school community about the Projeto Educativo, Regulamento Interno, and Calendário Escolar 2024-2025.

Products and services

• Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino Básico (Pre-school and Basic Education)

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Câmara Municipal de CascaiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe municipal government of Cascais is a primary strategic partner, collaborating on the OP Jovem (Participatory Budget for Youth), the new school building project, sports events (IRONKIDS, basketball tournaments), cultural activities, and the theater education program. The municipality co-funds and co-develops educational initiatives.
• Escola Profissional de Teatro de CascaiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Specialized Artistic Education course in Basic Theater (Curso Básico de Teatro) for 5th-7th grade students. The professional theater school provides specialized training in theatrical interpretation, improvisation, and voice techniques.
• Abreu AdvogadosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaw firm lawyers (Dra. Catarina Mata, Dra. Assunção Vassalo, Dr. António Albuquerque, Dr. André Rodrigues) participated in the mock trial program 'Justiça para Todos' for Law students (12th grade), supporting jury simulation activities.
• Apple EducationcoreTechnology or IntegrationStarting in 2025/2026, the school will implement the Apple Education program, providing all 10th-grade students with iPads and Apple IDs. The program uses Apple tools and the Everyone Can Create curriculum to develop digital and creative skills.
• Escola Profissional de Teatro de CascaiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-develops the Basic Theater Course curriculum for the 2nd and 3rd cycles as part of the Specialized Artistic Education system in Portugal.
• Núcleo de Roteiros Culturais da Câmara Municipal de SintraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided guided cultural and literary framing for the study trip to Sintra following the route of 'Os Maias' by Eça de Queirós, enriching the educational experience for 11th-grade students.
• POLI AI (internal AI assistant development)coreTechnology or IntegrationPOLI is an AI assistant on the school's website, developed with collaboration from teachers to answer questions about the Projeto Educativo, Regulamento Interno, and Calendário Escolar. The system is expected to expand its capabilities over time.
• Centro Cultural de CascaisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe school partners with the Centro Cultural de Cascais for continuous activities (Atividades em Continuidade) for Visual Arts students, including visits to exhibitions such as 'WITNESSES' by Hector Ramsey.
• Escola Secundária Frei Gonçalo de AzevedominorOthersA partner school within the Cascais educational network, hosting joint sports events such as the Torneio Concelhio 3x3 Cascais Basket.
• Núcleo de Roteiros Culturais da Câmara Municipal de SintraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided cultural and literary guidance for the 'Roteiro Queirosiano' study trip to Sintra, in partnership with the school's Portuguese language department.
• IRONMAN Portugal / CMCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organized the IRONKIDS Cascais aquathlon event held at Praia da Duquesa in Cascais, with 37 students from the school participating.
• Nova SBE, ISCTE, ISEGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHigher education institutions invited to participate in the school's Financial Literacy Day (Dia Mundial da Poupança) event on 31 October 2025, contributing to student education in finance and consumption.
• MEGA Platform (Ministry of Education)coreOthersThe national digital platform through which the school distributes free textbooks (manuais escolares gratuitos) to eligible students using educational vouchers.
• EGEAC de LisboaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerManages the Casa Fernando Pessoa museum, which the school visited with 12th-grade students for Portuguese language education. EGEAC runs the museum in the author's former residence in Campo de Ourique, Lisbon.
• Centro de Ciência Viva do LousalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on a field trip for 8th-grade students covering the external trail around the mine, the Waldemar Gallery, and science center activities linked to Natural Sciences and Geography curricula.
• Câmara Municipal de Cascais - OP JovemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOP Jovem (Participatory Budgeting for Youth) is a democratic initiative where students propose and vote on projects for their school and community, funded by the municipal budget. Proposals can be up to €10,000 and must be executable within the school year.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Colégio Valsassina: Long-established Lisbon-area private school offering secondary education with arts and humanities tracks. Comparable as a Lisbon-metropolitan K–12 school competing for similar academically inclined families in the same catchment.
• Park School (Portugal): Private Lisbon-area school with K–12 programs. Comparable as a Portuguese K–12 institution competing in the same metro region, but with a private, tuition-funded model.
• Agrupamento de Escolas de Oeiras: Public Portuguese school cluster in the adjacent Oeiras municipality. Comparable as a public K–12 Agrupamento with similar governance, funding, and curricular structure operating in the Lisbon metropolitan area.
• International School of Cascais (ISC): Private international school serving the same Cascais community with K–12 programs. Comparable as a competing K–12 provider targeting families in the Cascais municipality, but differentiated by international curriculum and fee-based model.
• Agrupamento de Escolas Frei Gonçalo de Azevedo: Neighbouring Cascais school cluster and inter-school sports/event partner. It is a similarly structured public Portuguese school cluster serving the same municipality and is directly comparable in governance, funding model, and program breadth.
• St. Julian's School (Lisbon): Premium Lisbon-area international school offering IB-aligned secondary education. Comparable in serving the Lisbon/Cascais expatriate and local family market with secondary credentials, but operates as a private, fee-based institution.

Broad incumbents

• Cambridge International Schools (network): Global network of Cambridge-aligned schools offering secondary credentials (IGCSE/A-Level) widely adopted in Portugal. Comparable as a K–12 secondary credentialing framework competing for academically oriented students in the same market.

Emerging players

• Khan Academy: AI-enabled free online learning platform increasingly integrated into public K–12 schools. Comparable as a digital learning aid that supplements classroom instruction — directly relevant to the cluster's POLI AI and Apple Education digital strategy.

Direct peers

• Escola Profissional de Teatro de Cascais: Core artistic-education partner delivering the Curso Básico de Teatro for the cluster's students. Comparable as a Portuguese arts-education provider operating under the same Ministry of Education framework but specializing in performing-arts training.

Others

• Apple Distinguished Schools network: Network of schools recognized by Apple for exemplary Apple Education integration. Comparable as a peer group of schools deploying the same iPad and Everyone Can Create program the cluster is rolling out, and as a potential partnership/recognition channel.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hashtag/outubrorosa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Escola Secundaria de Cascais