Varee Chiang Mai School

[PeaceBlondie]

Chunkton, you have repeatedly misquoted both me and mapguy, and shown a basic lack of understanding English. AFAIK, neither of us prefers Prem nor plugs it.

There is no straight order among international schools in Chiang Mai. Nothing is clear. Generally, they are all vastly superior to the other schools. This is a terrible country to buy education cheaply. I'm sorry but that's the truth.

[Thakkar]

I was going to recommend the school my kids go to and reasons, but after reading Mapguy's post, I have to agree that there is no one size fits all solution. There is no meaningful ranking and there is no 'best' school. Even the often-praised Prem may not be the best for your kids. You really need to first examine yourselves and your kids, their proclivities and your hopes for them. Then examine the schools beginning with their websites, onsite visits, talking to teachers and other parents face to face. Forum discussions will not get you very far—too many conflicting opinions from too many people who may or may not know what they are talking about.

Finally you need to examine your finances and whether you'll be able to *comfortably* see your kids through all the years that they'll need to graduation and still have money for collage. School fees are not static and can increase by as much as double the rate of inflation. This is true about collage fees as well, all around the world.

If it helps, here are some of the things that I considered:

• Teacher qualifications: is the school clear and up-front about this and are these clearly listed in a school brochure, website or other material.

• Class size: In my view, anything above 25 students per class begins to undermine a teacher's effectiveness

• Does the school have an inclusive culture. Imagine if your child were gay/lesbian—would he/she be comfortable at the school? It's important that a culture of inclusiveness be deeply imbedded in our children in preparation for the post-racial world they are entering.

• While facilities in themselves don't make a good school, things like a well-stocked library with qualified, enthusiastic librarians, modern science and computer labs, fast, reliable internet connections and good sports facilities are essential tools for a modern education.

• Does the school communicate well with parents and is it responsive to parental inputs

Once you've decided on a school, choose to live within 20 minute drive of the school. Especially if your kids are young, long commutes twice a day every day are a real bummer and a waste of time.

Mapguy's also right that the home environment matters as much as the school your child attends, but it's not my place to tell parents how to be parents.

Hope you find the right fit for your child.

[iainiain101]

Chunkton, you have repeatedly misquoted both me and mapguy, and shown a basic lack of understanding English. AFAIK, neither of us prefers Prem nor plugs it.

There is no straight order among international schools in Chiang Mai. Nothing is clear. Generally, they are all vastly superior to the other schools. This is a terrible country to buy education cheaply. I'm sorry but that's the truth.

To be pedantic.....

Chunkton, you have repeatedly misquoted both mapguy and I, and shown a basic lack of understanding English. AFAIK, neither of us prefers Prem nor plugs it.

[PeaceBlondie]

Chunkton, you have repeatedly misquoted both me and mapguy, and shown a basic lack of understanding English. AFAIK, neither of us prefers Prem nor plugs it.

There is no straight order among international schools in Chiang Mai. Nothing is clear. Generally, they are all vastly superior to the other schools. This is a terrible country to buy education cheaply. I'm sorry but that's the truth.

To be pedantic.....

Chunkton, you have repeatedly misquoted both mapguy and I, and shown a basic lack of understanding English. AFAIK, neither of us prefers Prem nor plugs it.

You're joking. Ha ha. Rule 55: never pedant a pedant.

[Chunkton]

Chunkton, you have repeatedly misquoted both me and mapguy, and shown a basic lack of understanding English. AFAIK, neither of us prefers Prem nor plugs it.

There is no straight order among international schools in Chiang Mai. Nothing is clear. Generally, they are all vastly superior to the other schools. This is a terrible country to buy education cheaply. I'm sorry but that's the truth.

OK, thanks for that, no obvious pecking order of Int Schools, all are what they purport to be.

I can only apologise that my obviously limited education doesn't arm me with the tools to adequately comprehend English.

[PeaceBlondie]

Chunkton, you have repeatedly misquoted both me and mapguy, and shown a basic lack of understanding English. AFAIK, neither of us prefers Prem nor plugs it.

There is no straight order among international schools in Chiang Mai. Nothing is clear. Generally, they are all vastly superior to the other schools. This is a terrible country to buy education cheaply. I'm sorry but that's the truth.

OK, thanks for that, no obvious pecking order of Int Schools, all are what they purport to be.

I can only apologise that my obviously limited education doesn't arm me with the tools to adequately comprehend English.

I apologize for being so critical.

[idrankwhat]

The foreign teachers have nothing more than a high school diploma and a TEFL from my experience and they were proud to tell me. The school forced religion on my child and told her she was going to hel_l. I of course pulled her out an switched to a nonreligious school.

[haybilly]

The foreign teachers have nothing more than a high school diploma and a TEFL from my experience and they were proud to tell me. The school forced religion on my child and told her she was going to hel_l. I of course pulled her out an switched to a nonreligious school.

Excuse me?---what school are you referring to?

[philo]

Read through the thread. Didn't find the fees the op was asking for posted before. Here they are.

Are there any 'family dwelling' to be rented in the vicinity of the school (mooban house, single house or condo)?

[scorecard]

The foreign teachers have nothing more than a high school diploma and a TEFL from my experience and they were proud to tell me. The school forced religion on my child and told her she was going to hel_l. I of course pulled her out an switched to a nonreligious school.

I wonder about the sincerity of some posts. In this case, about Varee CM School, because I have recently done a lot of checking about many Primary and High Schools in Chiang Mai, including, in regard to Varee school:

- Talking in depth to senior staff at the schools and

- Finding current parents and seeking their valuable comments

In regard to qualifications. Unless there are a lot of lies going on, the school using totally unqualified farang staff would seem to be quite untrue.

Somehow I can't imagine that i). Parents would put up with obvious lack of any teaching quality/methodology for very long. and ii. I'm not sure I believe that the teachers would be bragging about the fact they are not qualified, and iii). I'm aware that work permit checks in regard to real qualifications are getting more and more strict: the need for specific qualifications according to the teaching job description, and the work permit officials are well aware how to check for fake certificates (I'm very aware of this point because of my own employment at a Thai university).

My discussions with Varee school show quite a concern for quality of education and also to be well focused on the factors which build and maintain a successful long-term business.

In regard to religion. My discussions with both the school and with parents indicates that this school does not force children to enage in christianity at all. Or to put it another way, there is very very small focus on christianity.

Several parents i've spoken to have mentioned this point specifically, they have about checked the quantity of christianity which the school engages in, and discovered that it's extremely small.

Beacuse of the comment about telling children they would 'go to hel_l, I rang one of the senior staff who I have spoken to several times and who appears to be very genuine, and mentioned this comment and asked for a comment from the school.

She was horrified and made it very clear that this is not the appoach of the school at all and that they would most certainy punish any teacher saying anything like this and even quite likely dismiss the teacher.

She also mentioned that recently the school owner/senior staff have heard a number of similar comments (supposedly coming from way outside of the school) and have carefully investigated the matter by talking to a number of students. They can find no support whatever for these claims.

It's hard enough to find a good school, this doesn't help.

Varee's website and the English language version is up and running and is quite comprehensive and does give a comprehensive table of fees, in both languages.

Finally to the poster, please give specific details to support your post.

[JimShortz]

I feel the need to address the much repeated idea that Prem is the only option for a good international education in Chiang Mai - clearly it isn't... You might even find that not everyone thinks that Prem's education is as fantastic as it's glossy publicity and beautiful grounds and buildings might suggest. Everyone has their own opinions...

For about half of the price of Prem you could check out Lanna (British System), CMIS, or NIS (American system). All basically offer a good education, but obviously each has it's strong points and weak points. You have to decide what you want. What are your priorities? (education system, location, school atmosphere, cost, quality of education, quality of buildings, etc.)

Check out their websites and see their prices, you might be surprised that they are not as expensive as you think (not so different to the more expensive Thai schools once you add in the cost of the English Programme). If you have looked at Prem's prices first you might be in for a pleasant surprise!

I teach at one of the international schools, but am not here to advertise my school. I'm just sometimes shocked to see what people pay for what is basically a Thai education with a few TEFL (low level English teaching qualification) foreign teachers teaching some English. If that's what people choose then that is their choice, but everyone should at least be able to make informed decisions and realise that the true cost differences are not so large, whilst from what I can gather (and I am friends with many teachers in both systems) the difference in the quality of education is a gaping chasm!