Luanda - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the availability of international schools? What has been your general experience with them, if any?
Most of the kids from the embassy attend Luanda International School (LIS). It's a commute out to Talatona from the current housing. We only have experience with the elementary school and have nothing but good things to say about it. The teachers and support staff have been great and they have done a fantastic job of keeping the kids engaged during online learning at the start of the pandemic and now hybrid learning. - May 2021
There's an American school, French school, and a Portuguese school. No personal experience. - Mar 2017
From what I understand, both the Luanda International School and the French school are very good. - Apr 2016
There is only one international school and the commute can be from 1-2 hours each direction. Some people are happy with it, others aren't. Besides academic concerns, a common complaint is that there are no competitive sports. - Mar 2015
No personal experience but people have been generally happy. There is a Portuguese school a five-minute walk to the Embassy for kids below high school age; The high school is also good but commute times for kids can be a nightmare. - Aug 2014
Luanda has two internationally accredited English-language schools. ESCOLA is located in the city (very near the embassy) and has preschool through Grade 9. Luanda International School is located about 15 kms from the embassy south of the city and has preschool through Grade 12. It is an IB school. Embassy families currently use both schools and are happy with them, though each has pros and cons. I should be clear that neither school is an "American school," they are both proudly international and neither school allows our embassy to have a seat on the board or any say in school governance. That is pretty unusual. LIS is a school founded by the oil companies to serve the oil companies and they are explicit about that. LIS has a large, beautiful modern campus with every amenity you could want. It is however a long commute from the city due to traffic. Embassy kids spend 45-90 minutes on the bus each way, and during rainy season it can take 2-3 hours to get home due to traffic on some nights. It's tough for parents to get there for activities or to get there in case of emergency. ESCOLA has mostly South African staff and has a very small campus. It doesn't have the space or super facilities of LIS, but it is a diverse and caring environment. I've been happy with the teachers and the overall experience and glad my kids are minutes from the embassy and not suffering in traffic. - Jul 2013
1 french school, 2 international schools, one of them with IB curriculum, which my son (9 years old) is attending. good facilities for sport, good library, has a canteen which provides lunch against small price, but also allows students to bring their own home lunch and eat together in the same canteen. school material chosen and decided by teachers according to their own background but allign with IB curriculum. overall good teachers - Aug 2011
Limited (make sure you have a space before you get here!!). There are two English schools (ESCOLA and International), two Portuguese, and one French. Extremely expensive (approximately US$20,000/year). Spaces are held for children of the employees of big oil companies. - Apr 2009
