Schools In Phayao

[manjara]

My wife and I are considering relocating from BKK to Phayao this year. My wife is from the area (Ngao) and I can run my company from up North just as easily as from Bangkok. I've had some conversations with Naresuan University and should be able to hire some grads from there.

Our only problem/concern is with schooling. We have 2 daughters (4 and 2), the oldest has started at St Andrews school in Sathorn and her English has come on tremendously. The youngest still speaks Thai 90% of the time, but she was going to start at the school next year.

What schools are there in Phayao (or within a reasonable commute) that have some native English capability? Where do other members send their kids? If there are enough people with similar needs then it might be possible to pool resources...

Any advice you have would be great!

[lukamar]

What schools are there in Phayao (or within a reasonable commute) that have some native English capability? Where do other members send their kids?

There maybe one with an English program according to my wife. There is english in the main schools from about grade 6, but it's not too good quality. (heavy on grammar light on speech) Unless you really have a love for Phayao it may be a better choice to move to Chiang Rai as the schools there are much better. We have a great house in Phayao and when we move back we would not even consider sending our Son, now 2, to one of the Phayao schools.

A couple of other things to consider, is almost no one speaks english, but they do speak Northern all the time. That can take some getting used to. In 2547 when we were there I was the "Token Farang" other than a couple of Backpackers i met on their way through you didn't get a lot of English conversation, unless you talk to yourself. It may have changed in the last couple of years but i don't think so, from the people i talk to on a regular basis.

[manjara]

We have a great house in Phayao and when we move back we would not even consider sending our Son, now 2, to one of the Phayao schools.

A couple of other things to consider, is almost no one speaks english, but they do speak Northern all the time. That can take some getting used to. In 2547 when we were there I was the "Token Farang" other than a couple of Backpackers i met on their way through you didn't get a lot of English conversation, unless you talk to yourself. It may have changed in the last couple of years but i don't think so, from the people i talk to on a regular basis.

Thanks for the response, Lukamar.

What will you do about your son's education when you move back?

As I said, my wife is from the region, so 'Phasa Nua' is not all that strange to me, I hear it a lot. There are a few farang in Ngao (2 or 3) but I see a lot more in Phayao. There are a lot of tourist buses going through there now. We have been going up there 5 or 6 times a year for a week or so each time and I have noticed quite a change in the last couple of years.

There's now a Tesco Lotus in Phayao and quite a few bars along the lake front, not sure if they're for the tourists or not, but they look like it.

Naresuan also looked like it was undergoing some major expansion, based on my visit there last week.

I agree that there is very little English spoken in the region, even the basics, but I was hoping there might be enough Farang / luk kreung kids that it might be about to change. Tesco seems to have brought quite a few farang out of the woodwork, I always see 3 or 4 every time I go there. I'm paying around 300k baht per year for my daughter, so it will be >600k per year by the time the second one starts. They were advertising for an (native) English teacher for Chiang Rai, at around 23,000/month.... seems like there should be a way to get a reasonable English capability up there...

[lukamar]

What will you do about your son's education when you move back?

That is a big struggle for us at the moment. We feel that Chiang rai is a much better alternative than Phayao, and Chiang mai may be better than either of them. A lot will depend on his Thai skill level when we move back. Where we locate is totally dependent on his education. We have thought about home schooling and even thai schools but.... If we did go that route we would have to hire a tutor/teacher. It looks like we don't have to decide for a while yet though.

We have been going up there 5 or 6 times a year for a week or so each time and I have noticed quite a change in the last couple of years.

There's now a Tesco Lotus in Phayao and quite a few bars along the lake front, not sure if they're for the tourists or not, but they look like it.

The places along the lake by the park and statue are all quite good and inexpensive. There never was a lot of tourist traffic except the odd tour bus stopping for a short break and to take pics.

I agree that there is very little English spoken in the region, even the basics, but I was hoping there might be enough Farang / luk kreung kids that it might be about to change.

My feeling is it will be some time until there are enough well funded Farang kids to support a school. Unless.... there were a few parents who actually funded starting one like a Montessori, etc. It probably would not be all that expensive. You could start 1-3 and then add a year over the next 3 until you got to Grade 6. Phayao is a bit of a backwater still and it's going to take some time to catch up to the facilities that are available even in Chiang Rai. INHO

[manjara]

... We feel that Chiang rai is a much better alternative than Phayao, and Chiang mai may be better than either of them. A lot will depend on his Thai skill level when we move back. Where we locate is totally dependent on his education. We have thought about home schooling and even thai schools but.... If we did go that route we would have to hire a tutor/teacher. It looks like we don't have to decide for a while yet though.

....

My feeling is it will be some time until there are enough well funded Farang kids to support a school. Unless.... there were a few parents who actually funded starting one like a Montessori, etc. It probably would not be all that expensive. You could start 1-3 and then add a year over the next 3 until you got to Grade 6. Phayao is a bit of a backwater still and it's going to take some time to catch up to the facilities that are available even in Chiang Rai. INHO

It's unfortunate, but I think you are right, Chiang Mai is best for international education in the North, even Chiang Rai looked pretty basic.

I'm going up to Naresuan to check out the IT students on the 9th Feb, and if I meet any that I think can work for me, then I will probably open an office in Phayao anyway. That would at least encourage me to look into ways of getting an English Curriculum somewhere in Phayao.

From some back of the envelope calculations I think it would take about 1.5 million to run a school covering 3 years (excluding the initial land and building investment). adding additional years might be around 400k each, so for a viable school you would need around 10 kids for each year paying around 50k per year (at least, remembering that BKK is 300k)

The thing that makes me wonder about this is that a lot of parents, like you and I, will locate based on what's best for their kids education. If the facility was available in Phayao, perhaps more people would locate there?! (incidentally, I just met an English guy in BKK who had a 5 month old, and his wife is from .... Phayao, so now I know of at least 4 kids below 4 with a link to Phayao)

[cm das]

I've been living in Phayao and teaching at Naresuan University for about a year and a half. I don't know of any native speakers teaching at local schools in Phayao, I'm currently the only one at NU, a university of maybe 10,000 students. Life in Phayao is great - laid back pace, friendly people, beautiful scenery. But I wouldn't consider sending a child to school there, no way. Probably half of my current students are products of Phayao schools. They're polite and fun to teach, but their level of education is poor. English is at a barely functional level after 10 years of study. Not only that but they seem to have an extremely limited grasp of many subjects - geography, history, science, etc. And just as importantly, I rarely see students with any kind of enthusiasm for learning. Of course there are a few bright ones who seem to have managed to get a decent education, but they are the rare exceptions.

All this experience with students in Phayao contrasts greatly with my previous experience teaching in Chiang Mai. In Chiang Mai, and I'm talking about students at regular Thai schools like Yuparaj, Montfort, Varee, the kids I taught had much better English, a greater understanding of the wider world in general, and more motivation. And the CMU students I've known were mostly in an entirely different league than those at NU Phayao.

I don't want to sound like I'm bashing Phayao. I feel that living there has many advantages, even over Chiang Mai, but the education infrastructure is a major drawback.

Good luck with your move.

[manjara]

I've been living in Phayao and teaching at Naresuan University for about a year and a half. I don't know of any native speakers teaching at local schools in Phayao, I'm currently the only one at NU, a university of maybe 10,000 students. Life in Phayao is great - laid back pace, friendly people, beautiful scenery. But I wouldn't consider sending a child to school there, no way. Probably half of my current students are products of Phayao schools. They're polite and fun to teach, but their level of education is poor. English is at a barely functional level after 10 years of study. Not only that but they seem to have an extremely limited grasp of many subjects - geography, history, science, etc. And just as importantly, I rarely see students with any kind of enthusiasm for learning. Of course there are a few bright ones who seem to have managed to get a decent education, but they are the rare exceptions.

All this experience with students in Phayao contrasts greatly with my previous experience teaching in Chiang Mai. In Chiang Mai, and I'm talking about students at regular Thai schools like Yuparaj, Montfort, Varee, the kids I taught had much better English, a greater understanding of the wider world in general, and more motivation. And the CMU students I've known were mostly in an entirely different league than those at NU Phayao.

I don't want to sound like I'm bashing Phayao. I feel that living there has many advantages, even over Chiang Mai, but the education infrastructure is a major drawback.

Good luck with your move.

Not particularly encouraging, perhaps I should just settle on Chiang Mai instead, except it doesn't give me all that much benefit over Bangkok.

A little closer to the inlaws, nice area, but still a bit of a metropolis.

I suppose Chiang Mai has a lot more professional parents, and hence, kids with a bigger view of the world and perhaps a greater desire to see it for themselves.

I found a school that offers an English curriculum in Phayao, although it is a boarding school (for kids of 11 and up) and looks a little bit militaristic.

The school claims that they expose the kids to native speakers and they have 3 classes, which would suggest that they have some foreign teachers, but I didn't see much evidence on the website. Anyway, the website is http://www.sw-phayao.ac.th/ , at least the english on the site isn't atrocious , unlike most other Thai attempts at multilingual sites!

If you're around on the 9th Feb, it would be good to have a chat over a beer

[cm das]

The weekend of Feb. 9 I'll be in Chiang Mai, but if you come through there I'll be happy to get together. If you decide Phayao doesn't cut it for you but you're not excited about moving to Chiang Mai, or Chiang Rai, how about Lampang? Some of my better students at NU are from Lampang and I know there are quite a few foreigners teaching there. Also it's not far from Ngao. I personally don't think the city of Lampang is all that attractive but I do like the surrounding area. Just a thought.

[lukamar]

Anyway, the website is http://www.sw-phayao.ac.th/ , at least the english on the site isn't atrocious , unlike most other Thai attempts at multilingual sites!

I asked my wife about the school but she didn't know much. Her best friend has told her that it is very popular at the moment. Maybe it's a case of the best choice of all the poor choices.

[rlb99c]

What will you do about your son's education when you move back?

That is a big struggle for us at the moment. We feel that Chiang rai is a much better alternative than Phayao, and Chiang mai may be better than either of them. A lot will depend on his Thai skill level when we move back. Where we locate is totally dependent on his education. We have thought about home schooling and even thai schools but.... If we did go that route we would have to hire a tutor/teacher. It looks like we don't have to decide for a while yet though.

We have been going up there 5 or 6 times a year for a week or so each time and I have noticed quite a change in the last couple of years.

There's now a Tesco Lotus in Phayao and quite a few bars along the lake front, not sure if they're for the tourists or not, but they look like it.

The places along the lake by the park and statue are all quite good and inexpensive. There never was a lot of tourist traffic except the odd tour bus stopping for a short break and to take pics.

I agree that there is very little English spoken in the region, even the basics, but I was hoping there might be enough Farang / luk kreung kids that it might be about to change.

My feeling is it will be some time until there are enough well funded Farang kids to support a school. Unless.... there were a few parents who actually funded starting one like a Montessori, etc. It probably would not be all that expensive. You could start 1-3 and then add a year over the next 3 until you got to Grade 6. Phayao is a bit of a backwater still and it's going to take some time to catch up to the facilities that are available even in Chiang Rai. INHO

I am a part of a group of 3 families that are considering moving to Phayao next year (summer of 2009) but the thing that has been holding us up has been the education situation. We've talked about the possibility of starting a school for farang kids but didn't know of others in the area. Also, we've talked about doing a homeschool co-op, where we share the teaching load. If you are still interested, shoot me an e-mail . [email protected]