International Schools - Fees

[icebkk]

st johns god i wouldnt recommend that one of my friends went there he hated everything about and move to my school, harrow. I've been there for 10 years now. I have loved every bit about it the school has a great campus now and great teachers who help you alot throught tough times. Alot of the school passes to top Uni's in and outside of Thailand. I used to go to many other schools before, I know Harrow maybe a little expensive but it is worth it. It's a peaceful school. I used to go to Assumption College but not in BKK but all of them schools are very good. I went to Bangkok Patana School, full of alot of different nationalities, great school but the students need banging in the head sometimes... I think education is important however young you are because you start to pick up things better then you are younger and learning somewhere that is up to high standards help.

[sylvafern]

st johns god i wouldnt recommend that one of my friends went there he hated everything about and move to my school, harrow. I've been there for 10 years now. I have loved every bit about it the school has a great campus now and great teachers who help you alot throught tough times. Alot of the school passes to top Uni's in and outside of Thailand. I used to go to many other schools before, I know Harrow maybe a little expensive but it is worth it. It's a peaceful school. I used to go to Assumption College but not in BKK but all of them schools are very good. I went to Bangkok Patana School, full of alot of different nationalities, great school but the students need banging in the head sometimes... I think education is important however young you are because you start to pick up things better then you are younger and learning somewhere that is up to high standards help.

icebkk - are you a student at Harrow? You're not really doing the school any justice with your terrible spelling and grammatical errors and bad-mouthing of other schools. Readers, please do not think this is the quality of English we produce at Harrow and the attitudes we support. Great to hear the positive comments about Harrow though, icebkk.

[johnfb]

st johns god i wouldnt recommend that one of my friends went there he hated everything about and move to my school, harrow. I've been there for 10 years now. I have loved every bit about it the school has a great campus now and great teachers who help you alot throught tough times. Alot of the school passes to top Uni's in and outside of Thailand. I used to go to many other schools before, I know Harrow maybe a little expensive but it is worth it. It's a peaceful school. I used to go to Assumption College but not in BKK but all of them schools are very good. I went to Bangkok Patana School, full of alot of different nationalities, great school but the students need banging in the head sometimes... I think education is important however young you are because you start to pick up things better then you are younger and learning somewhere that is up to high standards help.

SJIS (Saint John's International School) is a very good school now. Your negative comments were based on experiences ten years ago, can I invite you to come and see my school now and I am certain you will be impressed. I know that both Harrow International School and Saint John's International School both offer an excellent education for students in Bangkok. Please send me a PM and come and look at SJIS and perhaps then you can post a more up to date and therefore accurate view.

[bruceboy]

What about some on the smaller international school fees?

[icebkk]

st johns god i wouldnt recommend that one of my friends went there he hated everything about and move to my school, harrow. I've been there for 10 years now. I have loved every bit about it the school has a great campus now and great teachers who help you alot throught tough times. Alot of the school passes to top Uni's in and outside of Thailand. I used to go to many other schools before, I know Harrow maybe a little expensive but it is worth it. It's a peaceful school. I used to go to Assumption College but not in BKK but all of them schools are very good. I went to Bangkok Patana School, full of alot of different nationalities, great school but the students need banging in the head sometimes... I think education is important however young you are because you start to pick up things better then you are younger and learning somewhere that is up to high standards help.

icebkk - are you a student at Harrow? You're not really doing the school any justice with your terrible spelling and grammatical errors and bad-mouthing of other schools. Readers, please do not think this is the quality of English we produce at Harrow and the attitudes we support. Great to hear the positive comments about Harrow though, icebkk.

im a teenager ur not expecting me to type like u r u? all i have to say is i can have my opinions about whatever school i want to ... people are all diff u know esp wen we r outside of skool.... u dont expect me to be the same person in and out of skool do u? i kno a lot more of the ppl in the skool that have worse spelling than me.... im not english ... i dnt wish to be im thai and proud

hello johnfb.. thanks for inviting me im good thanks but i am happy that you are improving the school i still have a few friends that go there at the moment too so its pretty good to hear that ur doing better

Edited November 9, 2008 by icebkk

[johnfb]

st johns god i wouldnt recommend that one of my friends went there he hated everything about and move to my school, harrow. I've been there for 10 years now. I have loved every bit about it the school has a great campus now and great teachers who help you alot throught tough times. Alot of the school passes to top Uni's in and outside of Thailand. I used to go to many other schools before, I know Harrow maybe a little expensive but it is worth it. It's a peaceful school. I used to go to Assumption College but not in BKK but all of them schools are very good. I went to Bangkok Patana School, full of alot of different nationalities, great school but the students need banging in the head sometimes... I think education is important however young you are because you start to pick up things better then you are younger and learning somewhere that is up to high standards help.

icebkk - are you a student at Harrow? You're not really doing the school any justice with your terrible spelling and grammatical errors and bad-mouthing of other schools. Readers, please do not think this is the quality of English we produce at Harrow and the attitudes we support. Great to hear the positive comments about Harrow though, icebkk.

im a teenager ur not expecting me to type like u r u? all i have to say is i can have my opinions about whatever school i want to ... people are all diff u know esp wen we r outside of skool.... u dont expect me to be the same person in and out of skool do u? i kno a lot more of the ppl in the skool that have worse spelling than me.... im not english ... i dnt wish to be im thai and proud

hello johnfb.. thanks for inviting me im good thanks but i am happy that you are improving the school i still have a few friends that go there at the moment too so its pretty good to hear that ur doing better

Well Icebkk the invite is given sincerely....just call the school and I will personally take you around St John's ok? It would be good to prove that SJIS is a really good school.

[torrenova]

I think the kid's English is a sign of the times and is more akin to SMS / text English without using predictive text. That he cannot differentiate between an SMS and a message board is worrying, especially if he is due to take exams. I understand that you cannot submit examination answers by SMS just yet !

[icebkk]

I think the kid's English is a sign of the times and is more akin to SMS / text English without using predictive text. That he cannot differentiate between an SMS and a message board is worrying, especially if he is due to take exams. I understand that you cannot submit examination answers by SMS just yet !

if your referring to me im hardlya kid, im a young adult, my english exams results were fine so it dont really matter the matter is i passed with a good pass. by the way im a female. insulting my english skills is not really what i call cool this is not an exam and i dont need to write perfectly... its just a message board most people know how to read both normal and text language. its not the end of the world to be typing in text talk to people over the internet its a time change so get back to the topic and dont spam it insulting my english ....

[torrenova]

I think the kid's English is a sign of the times and is more akin to SMS / text English without using predictive text. That he cannot differentiate between an SMS and a message board is worrying, especially if he is due to take exams. I understand that you cannot submit examination answers by SMS just yet !

if your referring to me im hardlya kid, im a young adult, my english exams results were fine so it dont really matter the matter is i passed with a good pass. by the way im a female. insulting my english skills is not really what i call cool this is not an exam and i dont need to write perfectly... its just a message board most people know how to read both normal and text language. its not the end of the world to be typing in text talk to people over the internet its a time change so get back to the topic and dont spam it insulting my english ....

I'll let it ride but it is obvious that your English is appalling and I certainly would not wish to send my daughter to any school which turned out a "young adult" with such poor grammatical understanding.

[icebkk]

I'll let it ride but it is obvious that your English is appalling and I certainly would not wish to send my daughter to any school which turned out a "young adult" with such poor grammatical understanding.

u can bash my learning difficulties all u like it dont make u a big person does it? if my english was so appalling i would of not of passed my IGCSE's would i? and good for u whatever u want to do ... there is nothing wrong with my school at all.. we have one of the best passing rates and lets get one thing straight... im not taking an exam right now im not being assessed in my english skills right now and this is the internet and it is like what 2008 times are changing... to talk text talk there is no right or wrong how to type on the internet... so if you really have a problem then go cry about it somewhere else i am not bothered about u.. ur lame get over it

[ArranP]

I'm about to move to Phuket.

Can those of you with relative knowledge make a contribution on schools in Phuket please.

Thanks.

Regards

Arran

[ArranP]

I'm about to move to Phuket.

Can those of you with relative knowledge make a contribution on schools in Phuket please.

Thanks.

Regards

Arran

Apologies, I don't seem to be able to amend the previous post.

I'm about to move to Phuket.

Can someone make a contribution on schools in Phuket please.

Also, I am weighing up "Thai System combined with English Program" vs "International School" routes.

I cannot discount the Thai system as I have met a Thai person who went through the Thai educational system and graduated a Thai University, I found this person to be well educated, well manered, hard working individual with a good job, own house and car, overall getting on well in life.

Thanks.

Regards

Arran

Edited November 15, 2008 by ArranP

[Colonel_Mustard]

I'm about to move to Phuket.

Can those of you with relative knowledge make a contribution on schools in Phuket please.

Thanks.

Regards

Arran

Apologies, I don't seem to be able to amend the previous post.

I'm about to move to Phuket.

Can someone make a contribution on schools in Phuket please.

Also, I am weighing up "Thai System combined with English Program" vs "International School" routes.

I cannot discount the Thai system as I have met a Thai person who went through the Thai educational system and graduated a Thai University, I found this person to be well educated, well manered, hard working individual with a good job, own house and car, overall getting on well in life.

Thanks.

Regards

Arran

There are, to the best of my knowledge, 3 international schools in Phuket:

British International School

Quality Schools International

Phuket International Academy

QSI and PIA work to an American curriculum, while BIS uses a British one. BIS and QSI have been around quite a while, whereas PIA has only just opened and all building works aren't yet complete. BIS and PIA are priced similarly but I'm not sure about QSI's pricing.

My 2 daughters attend BIS and my stepson attends PIA, though I intend to transfer my daughters there also when all the building is complete and the school is running 100%.

I have never been particularly impressed with the quality of facilities or teaching at QSI. BIS is much better equipped and staffed IMO but for me the class sizes are starting to get too big there and that is one of my reasons for my planning on moving my daughters to PIA next year.

If PIA develops as planned it should be a pretty impressive facility with small class sizes and therefore would be my number one choice on the island. If not, then I would stick with BIS.

Sorry, but I don't really know much about the Thai system combined with an English program but there are a few threads on the Phuket forum about some of them.

[Pakeha]

Why on earth is this topic pinned?

Can anyone give a straight answer as to the cost of schools?

Please can people just give their evaluation of price for the following:

Price of International schools:

BKK

Outside of BKK

Price of Thai system combined with English program -

BKK

Outside of BKK

Thank you in advance. If this can be answered this topic may be useful.

[fiddlehead]

It always amazes me the comments parents make about their young childrens education. The first years are the most important, that is where you lay the foundation for the rest of their years not vice versa. People who think I will send my child to an okay or adequate school until they are older really do their children a diservice in my opinion. Once they have formed their attitudes and learning styles it is very hard to change them when they reach an age that some of you seem to think suddenly matters when is that? 10? 12? university? It would be better to give them the best schools at the youngest age so they develope the ability to learn discover and challenge themselves. This they will carry with them the rest of their lives. Think about it, you build the foundation of anything 1st to serve as the support and strength for all that will come after.

I agree totally.

The years 3 to 6 are the most important in a persons life as far as forming personality, learning logic, how to think, getting along with others, learning to get things done, etc.

I don't make a lot of money but have saved up and can afford 3 years of good school for my child. He started in the Montessori school (here in Phuket) about 2 months ago. (at the age of 3 years, 3 months) (sorry i don't know any schools in Bangkok, I've never lived there.)

Looking for Nobel Peace Prize winners? How about the founders of: Google (both of them), Amazon.com, Wikipedia. All Montessori school learners from an early age.

As for the big registration fee. I questioned it also. The only answer they could give me is that every school in Thailand does it.

It's definitely a feather in their cap because once you pay it, you want to keep your child there just to keep from paying it again somewhere else, aye?

[FairwayJack]

Our young children go to a bi-lingual school for 30K baht per yr each. They get picked up and bought home, fed twice and are taught by a teaching staff that includes British and Philippine personnel (along with Thai of course). The teaching material covers all the basic subjects. We are quite happy. However, to ensure proficiency in the key subjects of math and English, we enroll them in a Kumon program at our local mall. They attend twice a week and receive daily homework assignments. I'm doing the best I can. I cannot afford the exhorbitant fees of an international school.

[Geekfreaklover]

Our young children go to a bi-lingual school for 30K baht per yr each. They get picked up and bought home, fed twice and are taught by a teaching staff that includes British and Philippine personnel (along with Thai of course). The teaching material covers all the basic subjects. We are quite happy. However, to ensure proficiency in the key subjects of math and English, we enroll them in a Kumon program at our local mall. They attend twice a week and receive daily homework assignments. I'm doing the best I can. I cannot afford the exhorbitant fees of an international school.

If don't mind my asking, which school do they attend?

[scorecard]

Dear think_too_mut,

This morning I posted the following in response to another similar thread:

"I have been searching for quite a while for a b-lingual school for my granddaughter (100% Thai, daughter of my adopted Thai son and his Thai wife.)

- I will be the sponsor for all my granddaughters education and I just couldn't afford full international schools. We wanted a school in Bangkok.

- I eventually found Amnuay Silpa school on Sri Ayuthaya Road, in the Phaya Thai area. (Luckily just 10 minutes from our condo).

- It's not a family business, it's run by an Educational Foundation started many years ago by an old student who went on to be a prime minister.

- Their website is quite poor but the ongoing checking by myself, my son and his wife (both son and wife are teachers in the Thai system) revealed a pretty good picture.

- We called and they asked if we would like to visit the school for a meeting, to take a tour etc., we quickly did that and we were all impressed, in many ways. Some examples:

--- A Thai admissions lady was assigned to meet us plus another lady who spoke excellent English was assigned. They worked well as a team, always ensuring that everything discussed was well understood, and always asking if we had questions.

--- Initially they asked if we would please view their video presentation which was about 20 minutes. What impressed me any my son and daughter in law was that the video didn't focus on ceremonies and beautiful buildings, etc., it did focus on education, and it answered most of my prepared questions about teaching methodology, etc.

- We were then taken on a visit of the school and stepped into several class rooms, instantly made very welcome by the various teachers, etc., who introduced my granddaughter to the students and it was all very pleasant.

- The school follows a British/Thai curriculm and they claim to have quite a few examples of farang children who have had no difficulty to transer from Amnuay Silpa to the same levels back in UK.

- Several times I asked high school students questions in English and their English was instant and quite advanced, and no hesiattion to engage in a conversation.

- During the visit I spoke to several of the Western teachers. They all gave the impression that they were real professionsals not back-packers.

- Lots of professional equipment in all the class rooms.

- Most class rooms are air-conditioned.

- Sports facilities are excellent including a full soccer pitch just being renovated to be covered in plastic turf, plus an excellent swimming pool.

- Canteen facility excellent and very clean

- Costs:

---- Start up fee (as laid out in their brochure and regisration documents, all in Thai and English) = 45,000Baht

---- 'Gift to the school' zero baht! My son was concerned that they might ask for this outside of the meeting but was quickly told that 'we don't do anything like that here, you definitely won't be asked for further money'.

---- Fee for first semester (Kindergarten) 33,000Baht, includes books, lunch, sports equipment usage, music lessons as part of the normal syllabus, etc.

---- Three semesters per year X 33,000Baht = 99,000Baht for one year.

---- Per semester fees rise a little into higher grades and they mentioned that in the near future they will need to raise all fees.

---- Extra: 1.) Uniforms (3 full girls uniforms, sleeping clothes, sports clothes = 2,800 Baht), 2). Any Extra curricular activties outside of normal syllabus (e.g. actually join the orchestra), etc.

- We have completed the registration and paid the start up and first semester fees. My granddaughter has completed and passed the entrance test (she has already attended another nursery/kindergarten which has prepared her very well in terms of English and Thai alphabet, counting in Thai and English, and a quite large vocabulary of individual English words (but no sentence construction). She is just four years old, she will transfer to Kindergarten 1 at Amnuay Silpa.

- And just this morning my son and his wife went to a half day 'Introduction For Parents of New Students'.

So far so good. "

There's one more point I forgot to mention above, maximum number of students is 24 in any class (school policy), however most classes are then split into two groups of twelve.

Obviously the above is only usefull if your located in Bangkok.

Since you mentioned that your daughter is 3 years old, I'll continue with a bit more detail of the nursery/kindergarten my granddaughter has been attending:

- School name is 'IM-M', located in Petchaburi Soi 13, Bangkok. (One soi away from First Hotel (Soi 11). PAntip Plaza is on the opposite side of the raod about 300 metres away.)

- It's part of a Baptist church and most of the staff are Christian however they don't push religion.

- It's definitely not just a 'child minding service'.

- School follows a British curriculum which has been approved by the Thai education ministry.

- I think maximum per class is 18.

- Teachers are all Thai, seem to have good training, and every time you look into the classroom you can see there is something constructive going on. Most rooms have a teachers assistant who always seem to be busy getting things prepared etc.

- Teachers speak very little English but owner speaks good English and is very approachable.

- Although teachers cannot construct much English they are good at teaching and reinforceing the English alphabet and my granddaughter has learned a large English language vocabulary of objects and a few basic verbs.

- Granddaughter has just turned 4, she can repeat both Thai and English alphabet as good as any adult, and identify the letters. She can write all letters in both alphabets, and can write about 20 words in both languages, mostly: her name (nickname, first name and family name), and a range of other words: mum / dad / cat / door / Honda, and more

- Seem to have a lot of teaching aids specific to nursery and kindergarten.

- Very nice attitude to the children, very caring, if parent indicates child needs medicine throughout the day this is taken seriously and child is watched carefully.

- Very clean premises. Lunch is good and very careful about hygiene, food preparation, etc.

- Western children are welcome but the owner is very quick to explain that the primary langauge is Thai.

- Costs:

----- Registration10,000Baht.

----- Additional gift - NIL.

----- Per semester, includes lunch and most materials and books, about 12,000Baht (X 3 semesters = 36,000Baht per year).

----- Summer additional semester, optional , just finishing, about 8,000Baht.

----- Compulsory uniforms, about 400Baht per set.

If I can offer any other information please send me a PM.

[bogi]

HI!

I'm having a hard time to figure out which schools are that I really have to pay for education,or just have the name 'international' which means barely nothing but the same as a bilingual education system. I'm a junior grade highschool student,right now in the US, and I want to find a good,but not too expensive international,or bilingual highschool in Bangkok,for my last high school year. I don't speak thai,and I don't know a lot about bilingual high schools.Do they require to speak thai? do they have ONLY english speaking classes? Does anyone know a good international school (fees around baht 100,000-200,000/YEAR)

I really ask for someone's help!!

Thank you!

[konungrid]

I know we all have to watch our spending at a time like this but it doesn't matter how much you pay, it's not worth it (or worth the saving) if you end up at a school like the one in today's Bangkok Post article:

Police seize war weapons from home of school owner

[can't post URL at the moment, so just go to the Post's website - it's one of the main news at the moment]

Obviously, I don't know the full story behind this but the report suggests that this is affecting school life. I don't care how much this school charges, just not where you'd want children to be.

[think_too_mut]

Dear think_too_mut,

...

Obviously the above is only usefull if your located in Bangkok.

...

Since you mentioned that your daughter is 3 years old, I'll continue with a bit more detail of the nursery/kindergarten my granddaughter has been attending:

- School name is 'IM-M', located in Petchaburi Soi 13, Bangkok. (One soi away from First Hotel (Soi 11). PAntip Plaza is on the opposite side of the raod about 300 metres away.)

If I can offer any other information please send me a PM.

Thanks for the info, noted. I would consider seriously the school recommended if we were to move back to Bangkok.

We are all in Japan and my daughter is now 5, attending International school here (we pay ourselves, no company sponzorship as I am a local hire in Japan). We intend to stay for at least another 4 years.

Edited May 24, 2009 by think_too_mut

[Smee]

Finding the right school anywhere is a difficult proposition. As parents, we want the best for our kids, but unless we are teachers ourselves, its almost impossible to truly determine if what we think we are being told and what we think we are seeing is a true reflection of what actually our kids will experience once we entrust them to the tender - or otherwise - mercies of a school. Certainly, the fees some international schools charge are beyond the reach of most expats whose kids' school fees are not covered by their company. However, many companies are now cutting back on expat allowances, either giving a lump sum towards educating children or simply withdrawing the privilege altogether. This will, in time, no doubt affect admissions and the mix of cultures and natinalities represented in many internaitonal schools particulalrly those that serve the upper bracket. For most of us who pay our children;s school fees ourselves, the challenge is to find a school that, as one poster earlier mentioned, our kids wil actuallt enjot and look forward tro attending., This does nOT mean that the academic standards are therefore of a comparable level to othjer schools. Our mown experience has clearly shown that academic achjievment and standards are not related to teh fees charged in some cases. We discovered this when we were force to remove 2 of our kids from a Ramkamhaeng school becaus ethe fees kept going up and up and we simply couldn;t afford to keep thiem thre anymore, On placing them elsewehjre (we quickly discovered that they were far behind their new classmates in terms of reading, writing and other academic skills, The same sitation was rported by other parents, particulalrly of Year 2 students, that had removed their kids for the same reason and placed them in other schools. Which shows clearly that while we and our kids may believe we are getting (and paying for) a quality educatin, this is sometimes not the case.

A quick word on non-refundable "registration fees". According to Thai law (well, according to our lawyer and to the Judge hearing a case we are pursuing for the return of these fees from a trilingual school in Samut Prakan), non-refundable registration fees are regarded as "unfair and unenforceable". If you want to other suing school to get nthem back,m you wl eventually after or 3 yea) be awarde a pro-rated return of the deposit and the school fees paid in advance. A school's defence that you may have signedan agrement accepting the deposit is non-refundable is unenfoceable in a court of law. Personallyy I have since found a number of schools, including Ascot, where we have placed our 2 kids aged 7 and 4, that do not charge these fees at all. I believe no one should agree to pay these non-rfundabldeposits because few parents are tuly qualified to assess the truth of what schools tell them when they are canvassing to place their kids, and, as oeeacher told me, it huas little t do with teh quality offthe teacher in teh fnal analysis, and much moer to do with the relationship that velops betwee students and educators. A highly qualified teacherthat your chiold doesn;t get on with with pass on farrless knowledge than a less well-qualified teacher that your kids gets on with. Again, it is inpossinle to determine how well ornot you child will get on with a teacher that, in many cases, you will not even meet before you enroll your child. Byt thatb timel you wil have spent possibly hundreds of thusands of baht before your kid even enters the classroom as a student. Many schools prefer not to accept any responsibility for the return of your money regardless of whatmay have transpired between your kids and their teachers or other sudents to persuade theparents to reove their kids. This islarly nfair and unreasonable, and, as I say, Thai courts will eventually rule in favor of the parents in such cases that are filed and pursued to the bitter end. So better to avoid schoolshat demand deposit in teh firplace in my opinion.

Finally, in caseyone os still reading this, here are some comments I posteed onmy blog gegarding lookig for a school in Thailand that may be of some help tt parents seeking to place their kids in an international school.

Location is everything: where you live will determine the school you choose to enroll your child at. Traveling times, and costs, can be significant. Most schools have buses that can take the onus of picking up and /or delivering children, but if you live far away from the school, the kids can spend literally hours sitting in the school bus every day.

So once you decide where you are going to live you can look at the schools available, or, perhaps a better alternative, you could choose the school first and then find somewhere to live nearby.

If price is no object, Bangkok Pattana is commonly regarded as one of the best options. Several other International schools are up and coming, but it can be difficult to assess the value offered as the criteria for judging this is difficult to determine and most are stronger in some areas and weaker in others. Many are likely to be far superior overall than what your child may be used to elsewhere.

I would recommend visiting a school and meeting the teachers before committing to enrollment. Aside from location, the primary factors to look for, in my opinion, are: the curriculum being taught; the facilities, the quality of teaching staff and the relationship between the faculty and the school administrators. I believe a good judge of this is to ask what the expat classroom teachers are being paid. As a rule of thumb, if its below THB80,000 a month, I would say it’s going to be a hard slog for parents and teachers. If it’s above 100,000, the teachers are probably well-qualified and more likely to be happy in their jobs. The teacher/ student relationship is of primary importance to your child’s education, and is probably the most important factor to consider overall. This is essentially a matter of personality. Some teachers gel better than others with different kids.

The other thing to remember is that expat teachers tend to move on after a few years. The continuity of teaching staff many of us experienced at our own schools is lacking in International schools, which does impart an air of impermanence and fluidity no matter how impressive the facilities and the curriculum may appear on the surface.

[Smee]

er--- sorry for all the typos in my previous, dyslexic not am I, yes arthritic

[scorecard]

Finding the right school anywhere is a difficult proposition. As parents, we want the best for our kids, but unless we are teachers ourselves, its almost impossible to truly determine if what we think we are being told and what we think we are seeing is a true reflection of what actually our kids will experience once we entrust them to the tender - or otherwise - mercies of a school. Certainly, the fees some international schools charge are beyond the reach of most expats whose kids' school fees are not covered by their company. However, many companies are now cutting back on expat allowances, either giving a lump sum towards educating children or simply withdrawing the privilege altogether. This will, in time, no doubt affect admissions and the mix of cultures and natinalities represented in many internaitonal schools particulalrly those that serve the upper bracket. For most of us who pay our children;s school fees ourselves, the challenge is to find a school that, as one poster earlier mentioned, our kids wil actuallt enjot and look forward tro attending., This does nOT mean that the academic standards are therefore of a comparable level to othjer schools. Our mown experience has clearly shown that academic achjievment and standards are not related to teh fees charged in some cases. We discovered this when we were force to remove 2 of our kids from a Ramkamhaeng school becaus ethe fees kept going up and up and we simply couldn;t afford to keep thiem thre anymore, On placing them elsewehjre (we quickly discovered that they were far behind their new classmates in terms of reading, writing and other academic skills, The same sitation was rported by other parents, particulalrly of Year 2 students, that had removed their kids for the same reason and placed them in other schools. Which shows clearly that while we and our kids may believe we are getting (and paying for) a quality educatin, this is sometimes not the case.

A quick word on non-refundable "registration fees". According to Thai law (well, according to our lawyer and to the Judge hearing a case we are pursuing for the return of these fees from a trilingual school in Samut Prakan), non-refundable registration fees are regarded as "unfair and unenforceable". If you want to other suing school to get nthem back,m you wl eventually after or 3 yea) be awarde a pro-rated return of the deposit and the school fees paid in advance. A school's defence that you may have signedan agrement accepting the deposit is non-refundable is unenfoceable in a court of law. Personallyy I have since found a number of schools, including Ascot, where we have placed our 2 kids aged 7 and 4, that do not charge these fees at all. I believe no one should agree to pay these non-rfundabldeposits because few parents are tuly qualified to assess the truth of what schools tell them when they are canvassing to place their kids, and, as oeeacher told me, it huas little t do with teh quality offthe teacher in teh fnal analysis, and much moer to do with the relationship that velops betwee students and educators. A highly qualified teacherthat your chiold doesn;t get on with with pass on farrless knowledge than a less well-qualified teacher that your kids gets on with. Again, it is inpossinle to determine how well ornot you child will get on with a teacher that, in many cases, you will not even meet before you enroll your child. Byt thatb timel you wil have spent possibly hundreds of thusands of baht before your kid even enters the classroom as a student. Many schools prefer not to accept any responsibility for the return of your money regardless of whatmay have transpired between your kids and their teachers or other sudents to persuade theparents to reove their kids. This islarly nfair and unreasonable, and, as I say, Thai courts will eventually rule in favor of the parents in such cases that are filed and pursued to the bitter end. So better to avoid schoolshat demand deposit in teh firplace in my opinion.

Finally, in caseyone os still reading this, here are some comments I posteed onmy blog gegarding lookig for a school in Thailand that may be of some help tt parents seeking to place their kids in an international school.

Location is everything: where you live will determine the school you choose to enroll your child at. Traveling times, and costs, can be significant. Most schools have buses that can take the onus of picking up and /or delivering children, but if you live far away from the school, the kids can spend literally hours sitting in the school bus every day.

So once you decide where you are going to live you can look at the schools available, or, perhaps a better alternative, you could choose the school first and then find somewhere to live nearby.

If price is no object, Bangkok Pattana is commonly regarded as one of the best options. Several other International schools are up and coming, but it can be difficult to assess the value offered as the criteria for judging this is difficult to determine and most are stronger in some areas and weaker in others. Many are likely to be far superior overall than what your child may be used to elsewhere.

I would recommend visiting a school and meeting the teachers before committing to enrollment. Aside from location, the primary factors to look for, in my opinion, are: the curriculum being taught; the facilities, the quality of teaching staff and the relationship between the faculty and the school administrators. I believe a good judge of this is to ask what the expat classroom teachers are being paid. As a rule of thumb, if its below THB80,000 a month, I would say it’s going to be a hard slog for parents and teachers. If it’s above 100,000, the teachers are probably well-qualified and more likely to be happy in their jobs. The teacher/ student relationship is of primary importance to your child’s education, and is probably the most important factor to consider overall. This is essentially a matter of personality. Some teachers gel better than others with different kids.

The other thing to remember is that expat teachers tend to move on after a few years. The continuity of teaching staff many of us experienced at our own schools is lacking in International schools, which does impart an air of impermanence and fluidity no matter how impressive the facilities and the curriculum may appear on the surface.

Dear Smee,

I too am quite intested in this subject, for the education of my granddaughter (the daughter of my Thai adopted son).

Can I suggest to search my old posts on this subject and especially in regard to the bilingual school Amnuay Silpa on Sri Ayudatha Road here in central Bangkok.

A quick update - My granddaughter (four years and three months) has now been attending Amnuay Silpa for about two months (lower kindergarden) and I'm very impresssed.

She comes home with a nicely constructed quick report every day and it's not repetitious, plus homework every day (perhaps 20 minutes to complete) which reinforces the daily work.

There are two teachers in the room all day, one Thai, one farang plus a trained Thai teaching assistant. The maximum in any group is 12 students. The farang teacher is a British lady, she has specific training in teaching English as a second language to young children, and she is passionate about her work.

My granddaughter's correct pronunciation of both the Thai and English alphabet has jumped significantly and she is already saying short English sentences (with correct grammar).

The school is run by a Thai education foundation set up decades ago by a previous Thai Prime Minister. In fact three PMs are from this school.

The initial registration fee is just 45,000Baht and this is all stated very clearly on the brochures and registration forms.

Before enrolment my son asked very carefully about any other payments and he was very quickly and very politely told that we would not be asked for any other payments in any way. Fees per term are around 30,000Baht from memory.

Regards

[emeraldina]

Hi to everyone!

What about kindergartens and schools and their fees in Pattaya?

Any ideas?

Thanx!

[eurasianthai]

I thought quite a bit about it for my son who is 3 years old.

I actually wanted him to go to an English speaking school but just could not find a suitable one

- Too expensive

- Or I just did not know the level

So I finally decided to put him in the French school

- It is cheaper

- I know the level

- They teach in both French and English

Only one disadvantage, the teachers are French...

Edited September 20, 2009 by Farangrakthai

[geovalin]

I thought quite a bit about it for my son who is 3 years old.

I actually wanted him to go to an English speaking school but just could not find a suitable one

- Too expensive

- Or I just did not know the level

So I finally decided to put him in the French school

- It is cheaper

- I know the level

- They teach in both French and English

Only one disadvantage, the teachers are French...

Can you give the link of this school web site?

Thank you

[eurasianthai]

Here is the link to the French school website

Lycée Français International de Bangkok

And where it is located

[kerr17]

I been reading the full thread and I'm a bit worried.

Unfortunately I cannot afford to pay those kind of money for a 2-3 years old kid.

Anyone can recommend if there is any decent international school up to 2-250,000 per year in Bangkok?

[momay]

Do anyone know about Ruamrudee Intl. school? I am about to enroll my son there. It is very expensive but it is close to where we are going to live. Thanks.

Mo