Our building project

On 27 October 2025, a new injunction was served to the Municipality of Cascais, the construction company Alves Ribeiro and St. Julian’s School. This injunction stems from a new class-action case challenging the “Quinta dos Ingleses” Zoning Plan (PP).
The direct consequence of this injunction is an immediate halt to all construction work by Alves Ribeiro.

The School has not started any works, and will continue to work towards finalising licensing plans with the aim to submit them for approval as soon as this is legally possible.

The project is a comprehensive redevelopment of our campus. Our primary goal is to create modern, purpose-built educational spaces while carefully preserving the historic character of our landmark buildings.

As part of the redevelopment, we aim to achieve the following state-of-the-art facilities:

• Heritage Renovations: Sensitive restorations to enhance the rich heritage of the Palácio, its Wings, and the Queen’s Building (Primary Section). These will include seismic reinforcement measures and the latest regulatory requirements in terms of fire safety.
• Larger Classrooms: An average increase in classroom size of 20%.
• Enhanced Sports Facilities: Significant improvements to both indoor and outdoor sports provisions.
• Modern Labs & Workshops: Larger, fully equipped spaces for science laboratories, technology, and Design Technology (DT).
• Dedicated Arts Spaces: Specialised facilities for the performing and visual arts.
• Expanded Libraries: Larger library and media spaces for both Primary and Secondary.
• Campus Integration: Full integration of the Portuguese Section classes into the main Primary and Secondary buildings.
• New Assembly Spaces: A modern theatre and an assembly hall.
• Upgraded Amenities: A larger dining hall and significant improvements to our landscaping and playgrounds.

The entire project will be managed through a careful phased plan, with new buildings constructed in sequence to allow existing areas to be redeveloped. Our absolute priority is to minimise disruption while continuing to provide the same high-quality programme of education.

This project is crucial for three fundamental reasons:

• Educational Excellence: To upgrade our facilities to meet the highest educational standards for a modern learning environment.
• Safety and Compliance: To ensure all our buildings comply with current seismic, safety, and accessibility standards.
• Replacing Temporary Structures: Several vital facilities—including the Secondary Library, DT and Physics spaces, and some Primary classrooms—are housed in temporary structures built over thirty years ago. Without an approved overarching project, we are not permitted to renovate or maintain these critical buildings, jeopardising their long-term use.

The project will increase our total habitable floor space from approximately 9,000m² to 12,000m².

This includes:

• Renovation and restoration: approximately 6,500m² of our existing, historically protected buildings will be fully renovated.
• New construction: approximately 5,500m² of new facilities will be built, located mainly in the current Secondary playground area and next to the Primary building.
• Demolition: approximately 2,500m² of outdated temporary structures will be demolished.

Our primary goal is to enhance the quality of space for our current community, not to grow the school’s population. We may see a slight increase in enrolment due to the efficiencies gained from more uniform classroom sizes, but we are committed to maintaining the community feel that defines St. Julian’s School.

We anticipate the full project will take between six to eight years to complete. It is organised in five distinct phases to allow for the normal continuation of school activities and to concentrate on heavier work during school holidays.

We aim to start construction on Phase 1 in the Summer of 2026. This first phase involves the development of a new Secondary wing on the current Secondary Playground. This new wing will serve as a crucial “pivot building,” hosting students from different parts of the school while the historical buildings are renovated in subsequent phases.

Following the approval of the Allotment Permit in Summer 2023, the School has assembled a project team and is now working with a dedicated Design Team on the detailed architectural plans. We have now submitted a project to the Municipality that needs their approval.

The project will be financed through a combination of the school’s own reserves and a bank loan. It is not our intention to increase fees beyond our standard annual adjustments.

Fundraising may be used as a component of our funding strategy, but it would be designated for “desirable extras” and enhancements rather than for the essential core facilities of the project.

The safety and wellbeing of our community are our highest concern.

For the surrounding works, the school’s continuity and safety are legally guaranteed in a separate agreement with the developer, Alves Ribeiro (AR), adding to what is legally mandated for works around school in Portugal.

We maintain close and regular communication with AR to ensure they fulfil their safety obligations. Measures include:

• Formal Fortnightly Meetings: Regular meetings with AR to discuss and adjust measures related to traffic, noise, and dust. Additionaly, ofen daily if needed, the School engages with AR Site team.
• Enhanced Fencing: A new fence has been installed on the south side of the school to separate our grounds from the construction site.
• Noise Management: Noisy activities are scheduled around the school day, avoiding exam periods and other key events.
• Traffic Restrictions: Site machinery movement is restricted during drop-off and pick-up times.
• Dust Prevention: The AR site is continuously irrigated to prevent airborne dust.
• Air Quality Monitoring: We use our own monitoring device and have also engaged an independent company to monitor air quality. Reports have consistently shown results within safe limits (except for external events like Sahara dust).

The recent survey (Summer Term 2024/25) conducted by an independent air monitoring company using equipment installed on the Primary playground has shown that dust levels are within acceptable limits.

In addition, we have installed 30 air purification units in classrooms across Primary. These devices will continuously monitor and improve the air quality within each room.

Our highest priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of our students and staff. We aim to minimise disruption. We will implement strict measures to mitigate any risks from construction, whether it is our own project or the surrounding construction works.

For our construction project, the phased approach, organised in phases and with significant work scheduled during school holidays, is designed to protect the learning environment. Moreover, the secondary extension planned to be built in Phase 1 will serve as pivot building. Groups of students, starting with Pre-Prep and Prep, will be relocated in this New Wing, away from the renovation areas.

For the surrounding works, the school’s continuity and safety are paramount and are legally guaranteed in our agreement with the developer, Alves Ribeiro.

We are deeply committed to ensuring our campus remains an oasis of green. Our development project has a strong emphasis on sustainability, building on our current initiatives like the recent installation of solar panels. We will aim to achieve sustainable certification. We pledge to not only preserve but enhance our green spaces: for every one tree that must be removed, three more will be planted.

We are also enhancing our environmental conservation efforts through improved waste management, reducing disposable items, and using innovative water management for irrigation. We are in active conversation with parents and students about their ecological concerns and will continue to work together on these important initiatives.

For many years, the Alves Ribeiro (AR) development project surrounding St. Julian’s School has faced significant public scrutiny for years and remains a frequent topic of debate.

Alves Ribeiro will develop a private urban area, which will include residential, commercial, and community areas. St. Julian’s School is not involved in this private development.

AR is currently executing Phase 1 of their project, which involves building new infrastructure (roads, roundabouts, parking). These works are taking place on both the south (near Primary) and north (near Main Entrance) sides of our campus. According to AR, this infrastructure work is likely to conclude by the end of 2025. We are working in close collaboration with AR to safeguard the school’s safety and continuity throughout this process.

St. Julian’s has no responsibility for, nor has participated in, the decision-making for Alves Ribeiro’s project.

Our designation as “co-promoter” in legal documents stems from our location in the Quinta dos Ingleses, which comprises land owned by Alves Ribeiro and property owned by St. Julian’s. This required us, at the request of the Municipality of Cascais, to jointly submit an Allotment Process (Processo de Loteamento). However, St. Julian’s has only been responsible for overseeing its own renovation projects both during this process and in future constructions, independently managing its initiatives without involvement in Alves Ribeiro’s projects. Our role as “co-promoter” was essential to safeguard the interests of the school, including the safety and continuity of the school.

Here are some legal and historical details:
The Quinta dos Ingleses area is co-owned by Alves Ribeiro, who, as far as it is publicly known, acquired the land from Savelos, that had bought it from Cable & Wireless Co. The land formerly owned by Cable and Wireless Co. was therefore sold in proportions of roughly 86% for Alves Ribeiro and 14% to St. Julian’s School. According to the 1997 PDM (Plano Diretor Municipal – Zoning Plan), the Quinta was classified as a strategic area that could only be developed into an urban area with a Detailed Plan (Plano de Pormenor, PPERUCS). This means no construction or significant renovation could occur without this plan. Since the Quinta is co-owned, the two parties had to negotiate the Detailed Plan, focusing on their respective properties. These negotiations began in the early 2000s and concluded in 2006.

In this Detailed Plan, St. Julian’s School only defined its project and had no input on Alves Ribeiro’s project, and vice versa. Following the approval of the Detailed Plan, a single allotment process had to be initiated by both landowners. This process handles the construction of infrastructure (roads, sewage, electricity, water, etc.) and formalises the division of the land into plots, as outlined in the Detailed Plan. In an agreement between the School and Alves Ribeiro, the latter committed to delivering all infrastructure works and donating necessary land to the Municipality for public use.

This agreement also ensured that the safety and continuity of the School is guaranteed.  In 2017, Alves Ribeiro and the School jointly submitted this allotment process, which was approved in the summer of 2023 (Alvara de Loteamento).

We have already held intensive consultation sessions with school staff, students, and the Parents Association. We will continue to engage with all stakeholder groups as we progress with the design process.

We intend to share the “look and feel” designs with the community during the Autumn Term of the new academic year. This may be done online or through in-person meetings at the school.

This dedicated website area is the best place for major updates. We encourage you to check back for the latest informatio. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Adela Metaxa, Bursar  bursar@stjulians.com with any other questions or concerns.