Please can anyone recommend a surf school (for Mrs Shredhead and Sprog Shredhead) and board hire for me in the Praia Branca / Peniche area?
There are tons on the interweb, but I'd rather have a personal recommendation.
Ta.

I've always hired boards from Peniche Surf Camp who are based in Baleal. They've always been friendly and helpful. I've known friends who have stayed with them on surf camps before and they have always been cool as well.

Www.penichesurfcamp.com

Thanks southcoastdavid, I'll check them out.

Just got back from Portugal and used these blokes: http://www.globalsurfschool.com/en/index.php. They are based at a long beach south of Peniche called Praia Areia Branca.
They were great. Mrs Shredhead and Sprog Shredhead had lessons nearly every day. The instructor was very professional, safety conscious and (ahem) I even got some surfing tips when I was eavesdopping. They were in a group of 5-7 beginners. The instructor spoke Portuguese, Spanish, French and English (how many in the UK could do that?).
Because my daughter had a week's course it included a trip to one of Peniche's top board manufacturers, Fatum http://www.fatumsurfboards.com/ which was really interesting.
I rented an epoxy board for the 5 days I needed it for E80 - cheaper and less hassle than taking it on the airline and lugging it round the inland bits of Portugal (yes, they do exist).