Escola da APEL

Escola da APEL school (Associação Promotora do Ensino Livre), is a catholic school, was founded on July 21, 1978 and started its activity on October 1, 1978. It was created, in the mid-70s, to respond to the urgent need for the existence of a private secondary school. It is a non-profit legal entity. Currently, it has 542 students and approximately 44 teachers. The school’s scope of work includes: Secondary Education, years 10th, 11th and 12th, as well as professional training courses (levels 3 and 4), ETC - Education and Training Courses, TSC - Technological Specialization Courses, Advanced Training, IB World School for the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme (DP), Employees Training and Summer School. In addition, the school is involved in a diversity of projects, namely: Eco-Schools Programme, Project Health and Safety at Work (HSW) – Schools, Infante D. Henrique Award, European Club, ALIU – Active Life Insertion Unit, Clubs (Music and musical activities; Theatre; Science activities; Computers and computing; Cinema / Photography; Sports Centre / Dance; Biological garden), Insertion Company – SIG’APEL and AMS – Apel Multilingual School (internationalization). Escola da APEL has established various partnerships namely with Madeira University (UMA) and Lisbon Autonomous University (UAL). Areas of specific expertise are the TSC – Technological Specialization Courses, ETC – Education and Training courses, MBA’s – Advanced Training and Post-Graduate Courses.
Escola da APEL lies in a privileged geographical position: a location with excellent accessibility both inside and outside the city of Funchal, Island of Madeira. The area surrounding the school is an urban milieu where there is a diversity of educational offers, both state and private. It is also a highly populated residential area of middle class dwellers in which there is an area of services and commerce. The students of the school not only come from Funchal, the capital city, but also from farther and more diverse locations, either from the West or the East of the island.
Most parents belong to the middle class or upper middle class. Families expectations towards the school are very high, particularly because Escola da APEL is solely secondary (the three last years of education before university: years10, 11 and 12), and also a private and catholic school.
Since its foundation the school has been aware of the challenges related to teaching and learning and to the investment in education with a view of higher studies and has therefore decide to offer the students the opportunity to choose to do their secondary education at an international level ,by way of the IB Diploma Programme ( Escola da APEL is still a candidate school at this stage).
The school aims to keep the school open to the broader community, by inviting speakers and lecturers to talk to the students, by organising exhibitions of students’ works and by encouraging students to participate in diverse projects. At the same time, the school has also invested in the expansion and diversification of the scope of its work by engaging in partnerships with a diversity of institutions: Universidade da Madeira (The University of Madeira), Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa (Lisbon Autonomous University) , different local sports clubs, the regional Lawyers Association and a diversity of regional firms and businesses which provide training to students in professional courses.
Escola da APEL is certified since 07/12/2011, according to Portuguese ordinance nº 851/2010 of the 6th of September that regulates training entities quality certification system, in the training activities areas of: Training Teachers/Trainers and Educational Sciences, Media and Audiovisual Production, Accounting and Taxation, Law, Computer Sciences, Electricity and Energy, Agricultural and Animal Production, Floriculture and Gardening, Social Work and Orientation, Hotel and Restaurant Services, Home Services.