Top international schools in Phuket

[Msturge]

Can anyone share their thoughts on the top int'l schools in Phuket for curriculum? Right now our son is at a British school but it doesn't not need to be British, but with a strong curriculum and decent facilities. We have not decided on a location yet- that will depend on the school- but we want to be near a beach ????  Thanks in advance!

[DFPhuket]

I'm an educator and prior to retiring a year ago had a pretty good overview of the international schools in Phuket. Six months ago I would have suggested British International School Phuket (BISP) and United World College (UWC) to be the tier 1 schools on the island. QSI International School of Phuket, HeadStart International School and Kajonkiet International School would be behind them. 

 

With Covid-19, things could rapidly change. Except for BISP, I believe the other schools have all cut salaries for next year which is going to impact morale. Some have also let staff go. All are going to lose enrollment (revenue) and some may not survive. It's public knowledge that the owner of UWC has put it up for sale and they recently needed a cash influx from parents to keep it open as a UWC. 

 

The age of your child is a consideration. For students in the younger grades, as long as they have a quality teacher, the other facilities (science labs, sports, extracurriculars) don't really matter much. For a middle to high school student you need specialized subject matter teachers and labs, etc. With teacher cuts, some may no longer have these specialists. 

 

While schools are scheduled to open, how is the school prepared if they need to go back to online learning due to another Covid outbreak? Did it work well in the past 3 months? These are just some of the questions you'll want to ask when you visit the campuses. 

 

As for being near the beach, almost all of the schools are in the middle of the island so that puts them 20 to 30 minutes from the beach. They all have school busses/vans that take students to and from school so I wouldn't consider the location to matter much. 

 

Good luck. 

 

 

[osmar]

I taught in England for 25 years before teaching here in Phuket for the last twelve years. In my opinion British international School and Headstart International School are the only two worth serious consideration. Ability to afford their fees plus ALL the other costs may be your primary consideration. Both are excellent at marketing............. don't be taken in by images!!!

[eezergood]

32 minutes ago, osmar said:

I taught in England for 25 years before teaching here in Phuket for the last twelve years. In my opinion British international School and Headstart International School are the only two worth serious consideration. Ability to afford their fees plus ALL the other costs may be your primary consideration. Both are excellent at marketing............. don't be taken in by images!!!

where did you teach?

[osmar]

My last school was Collingwood College, Camberley, Surrey.

[eezergood]

On 6/23/2020 at 1:31 PM, osmar said:

My last school was Collingwood College, Camberley, Surrey.

Sorry I meant here in Phuket