On 26 February in Lisbon a team from the OECD's Centre for Effective Learning Environments (CELE) presented its first review of a national school building programme. The school building renovation programme in Portugal, which began in March 2007, involves the renovation of 332 schools by 2015. However, Portugal plans to complete 205 by the end of 2011, spending EUR 2.45 billion to do so. The programme in Portugal aims to tackle the physical deterioration of the building stock and environmental standards in terms of energy performance. It will address environmental comfort, sanitary standards and the functional inadequacy of the buildings for teaching and learning. It also aims to open up the schools to the local community, and include long-term maintenance of the buildings after modernisation. The review, which took place last summer, presented CELE with an opportunity to evaluate the programme drawing on the collective knowledge and experience of both experts and members of the CELE Board of Participants. It also provided a focus for CELE members to discuss issues that affect them all, from managing a programme of wholesale renewal to identifying the kinds of spaces that support teaching and learning. The report, which was released in December, discusses in detail the findings of the review. Some of the strengths, challenges and opportunities are highlighted in this article.