Which Int School Are Worth The School Fees (Bangkok) ?

[Khun Tae]

Many expatriates like myself and Thais are experiencing this exorbitant school fees being paid to Int. Schools in Thailand.

So is it worth it ? Some parents have brought up this issue about the entire cost of school fees being paid up can be as high

as 10million baht for each child. So do we see our kids able to make that much money back from reality when they are back

to the real working world ? My child is studying in one of those so called Singapore curriculum school in mid Sukhumvit. It's

a kind of disappointment to see what you receive for that kind of fees. I would not want to elaborate in details.

 

Are elsewhere the same ?

[SheungWan]

You say Singapore curriculum but is the school linked to a Singapore school and is there external moderation of the quality delivered in BKK? I would expect quality to be variable. Some schools/colleges a lot of front and a little empty behind.

[Orton Rd]

Pattana is worth the money

[BobbyL]

They are very overpriced. However, for the big fees you get offered a fantastic education system. 

 

Many of the cheaper options employ teachers who aren't fully qualified and are basically glorified TEFL teachers. You mention the Singapore / Anglo Singapore schools, I know two people who aren't fully qualified who currently work in two of their locations. 

[AGareth2]

none

[Khun Tae]

Omg what a disappointment. These schools are too commercial. Level of standards at Anglo and SISB are low, only impressive on the front. Many parents are left with not much choices. FAQ - Where is good ? 

[DavisH]

Is this education for a Thai native speaking child or a western child? And do they intend to further their education in Thailand or in a western country? A family friend put their daughters through Harrow and they studied in England afterwards. One returned to work in an international company for big money but didn't like the stress. She took up a regular job for the faction of the money.

 

I personally don't think any of the top schools here offer good value for money - well regarded private schools in Australia charge the same or less than those here. many schools here are run as businesses, and that is evident in their fees vs what they offer in return. 

[TravelerEastWest]

The main cost is salaries so if the school has well qualified teachers with experience and good salaries costs will be high.

 

With that said from what I see the few Thai top International schools are less expensive than most equivalent private schools in America or Europe. Not sure about Australia.

 

So in the end you tend to get what you pay for.

 

[Wiggy]

My wife works at a 'prestigious' international school. For what they charge I can't see it being very good value for money, although that is just my opinion. That said, they do stick pretty closely to a western curriculum and many of the school leavers end up at good universities abroad, so there must be something in it. But if you look at the state system the competition isn't exactly stiff. 

[miamiman123]

Look at the “teachers”...in some schools they have not finished the academics from their home country. They have never taught in a school before. 

Then look at the curriculum in detail and what is being taught in the classroom....that is how you can tell if it’s worth the money. 

[mstevens]

One of the best things you can do for your children is give them the best education possible.  The other side of this is that one of the worst things you can do for your child is give them a lousy education.

 

Obviously, not everyone has the million odd baht a year that the best international schools charge, but if you have that sort of money, it's most likely worth it.

 

The bottom line is that for most of us, the fees charged by the best international schools are beyond us which means you have to ask yourself seriously if you wish to send your kids to school in a Thai school, or bite the bullet and return home and educate them there...

[Sydebolle]

Worse are those "bilingual schools" where English is thought by underpaid (i.e. THB 15'000/month)  Philippinos and the rest is taught by Thai teachers according to a Thai curriculum. 
The kids don't learn English and if so, speak it with the same terrible accent while most teachers are more focussed on pleasing the parents on what/how good the child was/behaved today at school. 

A prime example was Hastin Kindergarten in Pattaya; it took me less than six months and a couple of times me picking up the kid to realize that this is the wrong way to go. 

[Khun Tae]

This is a total shame, all these international school businesses are booming. What's going to happen to our next generation ? Lived with this situation in the hands of these kind of teachings ?

 

[lensta]

KIS International School in Huay Kwang uses the International Baccalaureate Curriculum and is worth the money.

They only employ fully qualified experienced teachers.

[mike324]

What do you want from your children. Schools like Shewbury are very academic, the student are being accept to schools like Oxford and Cambridge. Its worth the money if you want your kids to be academic. While other schools like ISB don't focus as much on academics, but producing well rounded  and creative students. Its worth it if you can afford it (money on education is chump change for you). For those that can't, most would say its not.

[Baerboxer]

These franchise operations cash in by marketing and selling on the name of their franchiser or "partner' organization.

 

As with all things you get what you pay for but high prices don't equate to high quality necessarily.

 

Some are ridiculously priced and take advantage of the demand for "brand name" and the belief in many parents that regardless of anything else, just saying "I went to xxxx school" will open doors for them, especially if they want them to go to an overseas university. 

 

There are some very average expensive schools and some very good not so expensive ones. Correctly identifying them, and which one suits your child/children is the challenge.

 

Same experience with private schools in all the countries I've lived in. Caveat Emptor!

[Beachdude]

I don’t know about Bangkok but can highly recommend St. Andrews School, Green Valley , Rayong. 

 

Not cheap but well worth it. Highly qualified teachers.

Our boy has been there 4.5 years and it has been an excellent experience. 

 

As someone posted what else can you give your child that is better than a superior education? 

[brewsterbudgen]

I've been looking at St Andrews, Bangkok Prep and Traill - a British curriculum is important for me.  Pattana seems to be the most expensive and beyond my means!

[Wake Up]

The way I rationalized it was I spent my kids inheritance on their education. I am with you on the enormous prices charged by private schools and the pressure on students these days to be perfect. One thing about Bangkok is a lot of international companies pay for the tuition for their executives so supply and demand is involved with the prices. Good luck with your decision. 

[BobbyL]

21 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I've been looking at St Andrews, Bangkok Prep and Traill - a British curriculum is important for me.  Pattana seems to be the most expensive and beyond my means!

St Andrews 71 (Nord Anglia owned) or Bangkok Prep would both be a good choice.

 

They generally hire directly from the UK and staff must be fully qualified. You won't be getting inexperienced or unqualified teachers in their staff. 

[Sydebolle]

On 6/19/2018 at 8:49 AM, Sydebolle said:

Worse are those "bilingual schools" where English is thought by underpaid (i.e. THB 15'000/month)  Philippinos and the rest is taught by Thai teachers according to a Thai curriculum. 
The kids don't learn English and if so, speak it with the same terrible accent while most teachers are more focussed on pleasing the parents on what/how good the child was/behaved today at school. 

A prime example was Hastin Kindergarten in Pattaya; it took me less than six months and a couple of times me picking up the kid to realize that this is the wrong way to go. 

taught is what I meant and thought is what the spell checker made of it ? 

[TravelerEastWest]

Good comments.

 

I think schools with inexperienced teachers and/or under qualified teachers should not be considered at any price. So if there are schools like that with high fees avoid them.

 

Pay the high price if you can for good schools. If you can't then consider going home for the sake of the children...

 

I very much like the post where thinking that you are using your kid's inheritance to pay their fees!

[unblocktheplanet]

On 6/19/2018 at 12:00 PM, mike324 said:

What do you want from your children. Schools like Shewbury are very academic, the student are being accept to schools like Oxford and Cambridge. Its worth the money if you want your kids to be academic. While other schools like ISB don't focus as much on academics, but producing well rounded  and creative students. Its worth it if you can afford it (money on education is chump change for you). For those that can't, most would say its not.

Our daughter really thrived at The Regent's (Huaikwang). The downside is that they cycle overseas teachers out to save paying them the big bucks.

That said, there are substantial scholarships readily available. And even the one year or two year teachers are dedicated to the kids. It is is warm and safe environment with strong academics and music.

[ozmeldo]

NIST, ISB and Pattana worth the money. Really NIST for Americans and Pattana for Brits. Middle, lower tier schools waste of money, especially if their lives will be here in Thailand.

 

For some reason I have a good feeling about Regent's in HK but nothing to base it on. Just my reading on the site.

 

I challenge the statement about KIS but will leave it at that.

 

If your child is not going abroad then they should be the the best public HS they can be accepted.

[Hanuman2547]

None of the big international schools, ISB, NIST, Pattana are worth the money.  Now let me rephrase that.  If your company is paying for your child's education then those are the schools to attend.  Paying for it yourself and you are not getting your moneys worth.  ISB attempts to model after a typical American public school.  They actually do it very well.  Good teachers and staff........but, if you were in the USA you would get this same type of education for free.  So there is the problem.  Return to the USA and have free education, or pay exorbitant fees in Bangkok? 

 

NIST is a good school.  They opened in 1992 on the old ISB campus.  They began with an Australian curriculum and do very well.  Centrally located so easier to get to than the other two big international schools.  

 

Pattana is a very good school with an English curriculum.  It's the first choice for those that are British just as ISB is the first choice for those that are American.       

[Hanuman2547]

On 6/18/2018 at 11:18 PM, brewsterbudgen said:

I've been looking at St Andrews, Bangkok Prep and Traill - a British curriculum is important for me.  Pattana seems to be the most expensive and beyond my means!

What about Harrow or Shrewsbury?

[brewsterbudgen]

32 minutes ago, Hanuman2547 said:

What about Harrow or Shrewsbury?

A bit out of my price range.  As are Bangkok Prep and St Andrews.  Now looking at Ascot.

 

https://ascot.ac.th/

[TravelerEastWest]

On 12/16/2018 at 8:08 AM, Hanuman2547 said:

"None of the big international schools, ISB, NIST, Pattana are worth the money.  Now let me rephrase that.  If your company is paying for your child's education then those are the schools to attend.  Paying for it yourself and you are not getting your moneys worth.  ISB attempts to model after a typical American public school.  They actually do it very well.  Good teachers and staff........but, if you were in the USA you would get this same type of education for free.  So there is the problem.  Return to the USA and have free education, or pay exorbitant fees in Bangkok? 

..."

 

2

 

On 12/16/2018 at 8:08 AM, Hanuman2547 said:

 

      

Not accurate at all to say that good schools are free back home - I went to a public high school in Marin county just outside of SF a very expensive county - lots of foreign languages, full AP class selection, full sports including sailing, tennis etc., but the school was funded with local property taxes which were high. So most certainly not free.

 

The school that my kids go to now is roughly the same quality although no sailing team... but the golf program is very good.

 

You get what you pay for if you are lucky...

 

The best international schools in Thailand are good and from what I can see less expensive than similar schools back home. I have taught back home a long time ago so I have a good understanding of what a good school is.

 

So the only question is can you pay the fees? If not consider going home for the sake of the kids unless you can't afford that then make the best of local schools and supplement with tutoring as needed.