International Schools - Big Money Making Machines

[tonititan]

I mentioned that technicians for example will not have that allowance,neither will have teachers like you.

I also don't have any info that there are 10.000 + children at internationals schools in Thailand other then Regents and St Andrews,I doubt there are that much.But never mind if you have that information then it proves again how connected you are to St Andrews.

Like another poster said, international school teachers DO usually get their child's education paid for, either fully or partially.

And I don't think his estimate of 10,000+ international school students is far off. FYI...Regents and St. Andrews are just 2 of many international schools in Thailand, in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and probably lots of other places I'm not even aware of. In Bangkok, there are several international schools that each have 1000-2000+ students. Add it all the smaller schools, and you're easily at 10,000. And no, just because I know that doesn't meant I'm connected to St. Andrews.

[whatchamacallit]

Go to the French school, it is sponsored by the French government.

They want us to speak French.

So it is much, much cheaper than other International schools.

Quite a few Brits and Americans there actually, in the bilingual classes, and as an added bonus, well, they'll speak French...

I hope they (the Americans and the Brits) don't become snobs like the French.... !!! Just kidding...

[huawei]

kid went to harrow school. Schooling plus boarding..800k baht per year ( average), best money i ever spent. Good environment, excellent education,good discipline,good teaches etc..paid myself, waiting list,there are alot of wealthy people out there mainly thai, some farang.

Agreed, you do get locked into the ever increasing spiral of costs and it does put alot of pressure on you as an individual and it does seem that its a money machine, and they don't seem to want to pay back the refunable upfront fee!

I see little alternative to an international school having experienced both.

[Rimmer]

Eight argumentative and off topic posts deleted. No more arguments on who gets fees paid and who does not please

[seadoo]

I agree with the Mod, I started this in response and protest to the key issue of the amount of fees that is paid to St Andrews Rayong.

I believe that any parent that has students at St Andrews Rayong should write an email to the Head Master, who is now running all the schools in the group, in protest about value for money etc.

In tough economic times, how could they justify increasing fees, surely to maintain and do what they could to keep students at the school would make more business sense rather than have students leave and loose more income....

At a recent parent meeting at the school, someone suggested that a group of parents with students of the same age should poach one of the teachers, find an appropriate teaching location and have that teacher teach their children, it would collectively save them hundreds of thousands each parent each year. Not sure what the maths was in terms of how many students it would take to cover the cost of the teacher and venue, but it has to be far less.

[basjke]

I agree with the Mod, I started this in response and protest to the key issue of the amount of fees that is paid to St Andrews Rayong.

I believe that any parent that has students at St Andrews Rayong should write an email to the Head Master, who is now running all the schools in the group, in protest about value for money etc.

In tough economic times, how could they justify increasing fees, surely to maintain and do what they could to keep students at the school would make more business sense rather than have students leave and loose more income....

At a recent parent meeting at the school, someone suggested that a group of parents with students of the same age should poach one of the teachers, find an appropriate teaching location and have that teacher teach their children, it would collectively save them hundreds of thousands each parent each year. Not sure what the maths was in terms of how many students it would take to cover the cost of the teacher and venue, but it has to be far less.

Not to forget the license to run a school of course.

[seadoo]

.[/font]

Not to forget the license to run a school of course.

Hi, the way they were talking was to copy the same study format as the school but operate like a home schooling format.

[PattayaParent]

I mentioned that technicians for example will not have that allowance,neither will have teachers like you.

I also don't have any info that there are 10.000 + children at internationals schools in Thailand other then Regents and St Andrews,I doubt there are that much.But never mind if you have that information then it proves again how connected you are to St Andrews.

Like another poster said, international school teachers DO usually get their child's education paid for, either fully or partially.

And I don't think his estimate of 10,000+ international school students is far off. FYI...Regents and St. Andrews are just 2 of many international schools in Thailand, in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and probably lots of other places I'm not even aware of. In Bangkok, there are several international schools that each have 1000-2000+ students. Add it all the smaller schools, and you're easily at 10,000. And no, just because I know that doesn't meant I'm connected to St. Andrews.

Yes, it doesn't take a maths teacher to calculate the approximate numbers.

And if the OP had taken the time to do some proper research he would know that his figure of 800 kids at St. Andrew's is WILDLY incorrect.

[PattayaParent]

I agree with the Mod, I started this in response and protest to the key issue of the amount of fees that is paid to St Andrews Rayong.

Yes but unfortunately the answer you got was

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=...t&p=3588462

"why are you complaining when your company pay the fees anyway?"

[tonititan]

I agree with the Mod, I started this in response and protest to the key issue of the amount of fees that is paid to St Andrews Rayong.

Ok, I'll stick to the original topic.

You said:

Here's how it looks on paper to me;

Term fee's are around 125,000 per term x 3 terms

375,000 per year ++ with around 15 students per class = 5,625,000 per class per year.

Less 1 Teacher per class get paid 90,000 per month on average = 1,080,000 per year.

Teachers Aid, if the class is young enough they have a Teachers Aid, usually a Thai National which are paid around 15,000 per month or 180,000 per year.

So;

5,625,000 class fee's plus plus per class, less

1,080,000 teacher (maybe a little more for work permit etc)

180,000 teachers aid

4,365,000 per class to cover admin, maintenance, security

I feel like you are implying that there is not much that needs to be covered by the extra 4 million baht, and that homeroom teacher salary is the main expense. Here are just a fraction of the expenses covered by tuition in most international schools (on top of classroom teacher salaries):

- Airplane tickets for teachers

- Teacher recruitment costs (job fairs are held around the world)

- Insurance for teachers

- Retirement funds

- Professional development for teachers

- Signing and longevity bonuses for teachers

- Salaries for nurses

- Salaries for librarians

- Salaries for specialist teachers (art, physical education, music, technology, etc.)

- Salaries for custodial staff

- Salaries for security guards

- Salaries for school counselors

- Salaries for Thai & foreign language teachers

- Salaries for ESL teachers

- Salaries for school psychologists, learning support teachers, and other professionals

- Salaries for cafeteria workers

- Salaries for HR staff, office staff, secretaries, A/V staff, etc.

- Salaries for maintenance workers, drivers, gardeners, etc.

- Salaries for principals and other administrators

- Fees/salaries for accountants/financial managers/lawyers

- Marketing expenses

- Special school events/productions/concerts/guest speakers/etc.

- Textbooks and curriculum materials, which must be periodically replaced

- Paper & copy machines

- Computers, software, projectors, & other technology, which must also be periodically replaced

- Electricity, water, internet

- Furniture (desks, tables, bookshelves, etc.), which must be periodically replaced

- Art supplies, paper, pens, markers, crayons, glue, paint, etc etc etc.

- Games, manipulatives, posters, etc., all of which must be continually updated/replaced

The list could go on and on, but hopefully I've made my point that there are a LOT of expenses involved in running a quality school program. Looking at only number of students and homeroom teacher salaries is not an accurate way to look at the "fairness" of tuition fees.

[ESB7]

I agree with the Mod, I started this in response and protest to the key issue of the amount of fees that is paid to St Andrews Rayong.

Ok, I'll stick to the original topic.

You said:

Here's how it looks on paper to me;

Term fee's are around 125,000 per term x 3 terms

375,000 per year ++ with around 15 students per class = 5,625,000 per class per year.

Less 1 Teacher per class get paid 90,000 per month on average = 1,080,000 per year.

Teachers Aid, if the class is young enough they have a Teachers Aid, usually a Thai National which are paid around 15,000 per month or 180,000 per year.

So;

5,625,000 class fee's plus plus per class, less

1,080,000 teacher (maybe a little more for work permit etc)

180,000 teachers aid

4,365,000 per class to cover admin, maintenance, security

I feel like you are implying that there is not much that needs to be covered by the extra 4 million baht, and that homeroom teacher salary is the main expense. Here are just a fraction of the expenses covered by tuition in most international schools (on top of classroom teacher salaries):

- Airplane tickets for teachers

- Teacher recruitment costs (job fairs are held around the world)

- Insurance for teachers

- Retirement funds

- Professional development for teachers

- Signing and longevity bonuses for teachers

- Salaries for nurses

- Salaries for librarians

- Salaries for specialist teachers (art, physical education, music, technology, etc.)

- Salaries for custodial staff

- Salaries for security guards

- Salaries for school counselors

- Salaries for Thai & foreign language teachers

- Salaries for ESL teachers

- Salaries for school psychologists, learning support teachers, and other professionals

- Salaries for cafeteria workers

- Salaries for HR staff, office staff, secretaries, A/V staff, etc.

- Salaries for maintenance workers, drivers, gardeners, etc.

- Salaries for principals and other administrators

- Fees/salaries for accountants/financial managers/lawyers

- Marketing expenses

- Special school events/productions/concerts/guest speakers/etc.

- Textbooks and curriculum materials, which must be periodically replaced

- Paper & copy machines

- Computers, software, projectors, & other technology, which must also be periodically replaced

- Electricity, water, internet

- Furniture (desks, tables, bookshelves, etc.), which must be periodically replaced

- Art supplies, paper, pens, markers, crayons, glue, paint, etc etc etc.

- Games, manipulatives, posters, etc., all of which must be continually updated/replaced

The list could go on and on, but hopefully I've made my point that there are a LOT of expenses involved in running a quality school program. Looking at only number of students and homeroom teacher salaries is not an accurate way to look at the "fairness" of tuition fees.

Really good post highlighting points people would not think are included in running a school, and as you say the list could go on. Lets not forget they are a business, not a charity and need to make a profit.

[Samuian]

So I'm guessing this is the first term that you've had your kids in St, Andrews Green Valley since the new fees are published every term and invariably go up.

I notice in your calculations you have fogotten to include the construction costs of the new buildings, library and learning centre building last year, 2 new kindergarden buildings the year before, a new canteen I believe this year.

Investment - Return

I wonder how fast the turnaround is then... cause here on the small Island of Samui,

these schools are pretty eager to plant themselves securely into the scene....

However I am well educated enough, on a state system school, to understand that they AREN'T social institutions....

[TJG]

I agree with the Mod, I started this in response and protest to the key issue of the amount of fees that is paid to St Andrews Rayong.

Ok, I'll stick to the original topic.

You said:

Here's how it looks on paper to me;

Term fee's are around 125,000 per term x 3 terms

375,000 per year ++ with around 15 students per class = 5,625,000 per class per year.

Less 1 Teacher per class get paid 90,000 per month on average = 1,080,000 per year.

Teachers Aid, if the class is young enough they have a Teachers Aid, usually a Thai National which are paid around 15,000 per month or 180,000 per year.

So;

5,625,000 class fee's plus plus per class, less

1,080,000 teacher (maybe a little more for work permit etc)

180,000 teachers aid

4,365,000 per class to cover admin, maintenance, security

I feel like you are implying that there is not much that needs to be covered by the extra 4 million baht, and that homeroom teacher salary is the main expense. Here are just a fraction of the expenses covered by tuition in most international schools (on top of classroom teacher salaries):

- Airplane tickets for teachers

- Teacher recruitment costs (job fairs are held around the world)

- Insurance for teachers

- Retirement funds

- Professional development for teachers

- Signing and longevity bonuses for teachers

- Salaries for nurses

- Salaries for librarians

- Salaries for specialist teachers (art, physical education, music, technology, etc.)

- Salaries for custodial staff

- Salaries for security guards

- Salaries for school counselors

- Salaries for Thai & foreign language teachers

- Salaries for ESL teachers

- Salaries for school psychologists, learning support teachers, and other professionals

- Salaries for cafeteria workers

- Salaries for HR staff, office staff, secretaries, A/V staff, etc.

- Salaries for maintenance workers, drivers, gardeners, etc.

- Salaries for principals and other administrators

- Fees/salaries for accountants/financial managers/lawyers

- Marketing expenses

- Special school events/productions/concerts/guest speakers/etc.

- Textbooks and curriculum materials, which must be periodically replaced

- Paper & copy machines

- Computers, software, projectors, & other technology, which must also be periodically replaced

- Electricity, water, internet

- Furniture (desks, tables, bookshelves, etc.), which must be periodically replaced

- Art supplies, paper, pens, markers, crayons, glue, paint, etc etc etc.

- Games, manipulatives, posters, etc., all of which must be continually updated/replaced

The list could go on and on, but hopefully I've made my point that there are a LOT of expenses involved in running a quality school program. Looking at only number of students and homeroom teacher salaries is not an accurate way to look at the "fairness" of tuition fees.

Really good post highlighting points people would not think are included in running a school, and as you say the list could go on. Lets not forget they are a business, not a charity and need to make a profit.

The point is not the level of the fees (and how expensive it is to run an international school, most of us are well aware of this), but the amount of the increase. Bearing in mind the current economic climate, and its deflationary effects, why is the school increasing the fees by over 6%. As a parent with a child at St Andrew's for 5 years now, I have never heard any suggestion that the school has previously been losing money. So the question is whether costs have risen by more this year than in previous years. I would suggest that this is extremely unlikely. In fact, the likelihood is that costs will have risen by less than in previous years due to the nature of the economy. Therefore, when fees rise by more than they have previously without any apparent justification, the obvious conclusion to draw is that there is a significant element of profiteering taking place at a time when most parents can least afford it. This is particularly hard to take when one considers that it is childrens' educations that stand to suffer.

[tonititan]

So the question is whether costs have risen by more this year than in previous years. I would suggest that this is extremely unlikely. In fact, the likelihood is that costs will have risen by less than in previous years due to the nature of the economy.

I will fully admit that I am not an economist, nor am I highly knowledgeable about the financial industry, so I apologize if this is way off base or completely naive....

But from what I have been reading all over the news (and in anecdotal stories here on TV), it sounds like the price of almost everything has continued to go up as the economy has worsened. Is that inaccurate? From what I've gathered, suppliers charge more, transporters charge more, banks charge more, etc., and those costs are then passed on to the consumer, or to the next person in the "chain." I have especially heard that in Thailand, when the demand goes down and the economy is weak, prices go way up. Isn't it entirely possible that school fees have been raised because goods and services cost the school more because of the current economy? No one wants to take a cut in profit or salary, so those extra costs may have been passed to the school. The school certainly won't want to take the hit, so they pass it to the parents. It does suck for the parents and the students, though.

[prk888]

interesting to note that after 44 posts it is clearly recognised that private schools are also there to make a business profit (doesn't matter how much, just like all commercial banks who we often forget provide holes in walls worldwide for bits of plastic to dispense cash for client convenience) and that parents have choices. Sounds OK to me.

[seadoo]

OK here's what I know from sending my kids there for years;

I feel like you are implying that there is not much that needs to be covered by the extra 4 million baht, and that homeroom teacher salary is the main expense. Here are just a fraction of the expenses covered by tuition in most international schools (on top of classroom teacher salaries):

- Airplane tickets for teachers - 1 return ticket for duration of contract

- Teacher recruitment costs (job fairs are held around the world)

- Insurance for teachers - Paid by the teachers themselves

- Retirement funds - I checked, no teacher in St Andrews gets a retirement fund , maybe the owners

- Professional development for teachers - Where do they get this is Thailand?

- Signing and longevity bonuses for teachers - Bonus for what? And not true

- Salaries for nurses - Thai Staff Member that gets around 15k a month

- Salaries for librarians - Mate, the parents run this, they are even asked to come in to help put plastic covers on the books

- Salaries for specialist teachers (art, physical education, music, technology, etc.) Already covered in my previous post

- Salaries for custodial staff - What custodial staff

- Salaries for security guards - 3 guards at 6,000 Baht each a month

- Salaries for school counselors - 1 Counselor for 800 kids covered in Admin costs and she doubles as a teacher

- Salaries for Thai & foreign language teachers - This is done by the normal Farang and Thai Teachers

- Salaries for ESL teachers - Provided by existing teachers

- Salaries for school psychologists, learning support teachers, and other professionals - The parents have to pay this if they want them to come to the school, just ask the parents

- Salaries for cafeteria workers - This is run as a separate business and Parents pay additional for this on top of school fees, have you seen the state of the canteen at St Andrews, up and till about a year ago, it was a shack

- Salaries for HR staff, office staff, secretaries, A/V staff, etc. - Normal admin costs that should be afforded when there are around 200 million gross income per year, after teacher expenses

- Salaries for maintenance workers, drivers, gardeners, etc. - Provided by parents who have done a deal with the school in lieu of fees

- Salaries for principals and other administrators - Every business requires this

- Fees/salaries for accountants/financial managers/lawyers - Normal business expenses

- Marketing expenses - They get this for free - St Andrews very rarely advertises anything, unlike Regents

- Special school events/productions/concerts/guest speakers/etc. This is passed onto the parents who are asked to pay more

- Textbooks and curriculum materials, which must be periodically replaced - Again, the parents have to pay extra for this

- Paper & copy machines - I remember about 2 years ago the teachers had to supply their own paper, come on

- Computers, software, projectors, & other technology, which must also be periodically replaced - Recently had a number of PC's donated by a parent as a trade off

- Electricity, water, internet - Normal expenses, although they get their water for free from dams etc

- Furniture (desks, tables, bookshelves, etc.), which must be periodically replaced - Have you been shopping at Index lately and seen how cheap it is

- Art supplies, paper, pens, markers, crayons, glue, paint, etc etc etc. - What school doesn't have this expense

- Games, manipulatives, posters, etc., all of which must be continually updated/replaced - Supplied by Parents and/or Teachers

The list could go on and on, but hopefully I've made my point that there are a LOT of expenses involved in running a quality school program. Looking at only number of students and homeroom teacher salaries is not an accurate way to look at the "fairness" of tuition fees.

Sounds to me like justification, maybe you work for the school.

You can't tell me there is not much left over when after teacher costs, they still gross 200+ million

Edited May 14, 2010 by seadoo

[seadoo]

interesting to note that after 44 posts it is clearly recognised that private schools are also there to make a business profit (doesn't matter how much, just like all commercial banks who we often forget provide holes in walls worldwide for bits of plastic to dispense cash for client convenience) and that parents have choices. Sounds OK to me.

The point is that they continue to raise fees without consultation even with the Parent & Teacher Association.

For some parents living here in Thailand, you don't have a choice of where you can send your child.

I know several parents here that have Farang kids, not 50/50, and the parents don't earn big money, but cannot send the kids to any other school because they are 100% Farang

[highchol]

interesting to note that after 44 posts it is clearly recognised that private schools are also there to make a business profit (doesn't matter how much, just like all commercial banks who we often forget provide holes in walls worldwide for bits of plastic to dispense cash for client convenience) and that parents have choices. Sounds OK to me.

you added a few more words to the debate than in your opening effort prk888, but your opening post still better summed up your attitude to the subject

[prk888]

interesting to note that after 44 posts it is clearly recognised that private schools are also there to make a business profit (doesn't matter how much, just like all commercial banks who we often forget provide holes in walls worldwide for bits of plastic to dispense cash for client convenience) and that parents have choices. Sounds OK to me.

The point is that they continue to raise fees without consultation even with the Parent & Teacher Association.

For some parents living here in Thailand, you don't have a choice of where you can send your child.

I know several parents here that have Farang kids, not 50/50, and the parents don't earn big money, but cannot send the kids to any other school because they are 100% Farang

Seadoo - i really do sympathise, especially as my wife is pregnant, but we all do have a final choice and they dont need to consult with anyone apart from shareholders. But it's fine to complain and, as someone said earlier, to vent spleen occasionally. Good luck.

[highchol]

interesting to note that after 44 posts it is clearly recognised that private schools are also there to make a business profit (doesn't matter how much, just like all commercial banks who we often forget provide holes in walls worldwide for bits of plastic to dispense cash for client convenience) and that parents have choices. Sounds OK to me.

The point is that they continue to raise fees without consultation even with the Parent & Teacher Association.

For some parents living here in Thailand, you don't have a choice of where you can send your child.

I know several parents here that have Farang kids, not 50/50, and the parents don't earn big money, but cannot send the kids to any other school because they are 100% Farang

spot on seadoo, the fees always did hurt, but the year upon year increases seem to bear no relationship to cost of living and the economic climate.

Edited May 14, 2010 by highchol

[tonititan]

Sounds to me like justification, maybe you work for the school.

You can't tell me there is not much left over when after teacher costs, they still gross 200+ million

No, I don't work for the school. And if you will notice, I stated that those were costs incurred at "most international schools." I never said it was St. Andrew's, and earlier in the thread I clearly stated that I was not affiliated with the school, but work at a different international school.

For "most" international schools, those things I said are all true. Teachers get incoming flights, annual home leave flights, and flights at the end of their contract. Insurance is usually a benefit provided by the school, unless the teacher has several dependents (in that case they may have to pay partial insurance). Many schools provide retirement fund matching if you provide a certain number of years of service to the school. My school will match up to 100%. As for professional development, you asked "Where do they get this is Thailand?" Well, most of the major international schools in Bangkok all provide professional development funds, as ongoing PD is essential for teachers to remain current in their fields. We get PD at various conferences and workshops around Thailand and also around Asia. Signing and longevity bonuses ARE true, again for "most" international schools. I have received them. Most schools offer a signing bonus and/or relocation allowance to help with moving expenses.

And as for all of the other things I listed that you said were "normal expenses" for any business or school, of course they are. I did not say they were unique to international schools, I said that they had to be included when looking at a school's income vs. expenses.

If your school really has NO custodial staff to clean the school, one part-time counselor for the whole school, no ESL specialists, NO support specialists, NO special events provided for students, NO supplemental specialist teachers like art/music/P.E. (since you said that was covered in your previous calculation of 1 teacher per classroom of children), NO curriculum materials provided by the school, and NO paper or books provided to teachers, then you might want to think about finding a new school for your children.

[tonititan]

- Salaries for specialist teachers (art, physical education, music, technology, etc.) Already covered in my previous post

- Salaries for ESL teachers - Provided by existing teachers

- Salaries for school psychologists, learning support teachers, and other professionals - The parents have to pay this if they want them to come to the school, just ask the parents

Oh, and I just looked at your school's website. It appears that you do have specialist teachers in P.E., music, art, drama, EAL (English as an Additional Language), and Learning Support (which is like Special Education). Do all of these individuals have their own group of students? Do they each have their own group of 15 students paying tuition, or are their salaries covered by the tuition paid by students in the homeroom classrooms?

[PattayaParent]

<Snip>

Sounds to me like justification, maybe you work for the school.

You can't tell me there is not much left over when after teacher costs, they still gross 200+ million

You have based you calculation of 200+ million gross on a WILDLY inaccurate number of kids at the school besides not taking into account legitimate costs and overheads that the school must pay and totally ignoring capital investment costs.

Do your research, recalculate and then come back to us with realistic figures.

If I were a teacher your report would say 'must do better'

[PattayaParent]

The point is that they continue to raise fees without consultation even with the Parent & Teacher Association.

For some parents living here in Thailand, you don't have a choice of where you can send your child.

I know several parents here that have Farang kids, not 50/50, and the parents don't earn big money, but cannot send the kids to any other school because they are 100% Farang

Well my local pub continues to raise the price of it's beer without consulting me or any of the other regulars.

Will you join me in a protest outside the pub to ask them to justify their price increases?

Or maybe I should just go to another pub where the prices are cheaper, much the same as you are able to do with your kids?

[tonititan]

And there are around 800 students at St Andrew's so at 15 students per class, that around 50 classroom x the above.

Taken from the school's website:

St. Andrews International School, Green Valley is a very unique school. We are located between Pattaya and Rayong in the Eastern Seaboard region of Thailand. With a population of nearly 400 students, from around 30 nationalities, we are able to maintain the family feel but are still able to offer the opportunities and diversity of a larger school.

That IS the school we're talking about, right? Hmm. "Nearly 400" or 800?

[PattayaParent]

And there are around 800 students at St Andrew's so at 15 students per class, that around 50 classroom x the above.

Taken from the school's website:

St. Andrews International School, Green Valley is a very unique school. We are located between Pattaya and Rayong in the Eastern Seaboard region of Thailand. With a population of nearly 400 students, from around 30 nationalities, we are able to maintain the family feel but are still able to offer the opportunities and diversity of a larger school.

That IS the school we're talking about, right? Hmm. "Nearly 400" or 800?

You should have made him do the research himself.

Anyway, just goes to show he's making numbers up from the top of his head so I would take them with a very large pinch of salt.

[tonititan]

Here's how it looks on paper to me;

Term fee's are around 125,000 per term x 3 terms

375,000 per year ++ with around 15 students per class = 5,625,000 per class per year.

Less 1 Teacher per class get paid 90,000 per month on average = 1,080,000 per year.

Teachers Aid, if the class is young enough they have a Teachers Aid, usually a Thai National which are paid around 15,000 per month or 180,000 per year.

So;

5,625,000 class fee's plus plus per class, less

1,080,000 teacher (maybe a little more for work permit etc)

180,000 teachers aid

4,365,000 per class to cover admin, maintenance, security.

And there are around 800 students at St Andrew's so at 15 students per class, that around 50 classroom x the above.

Here's another flaw in your calculations. You said that term fees are around 125,000 baht/term. If you look at the fee schedule on St. Andrew's website, you will see that the 125,000/term fee is approximately what the parent of a Year 10, only child would pay. Nursery students only cost 68,124 baht for 5 days, and it goes up with each grade level. In fact, term fees for all students up to Year 10 are significantly less than 125,000 baht. Add on top of that the fact that parents get a 7,000-18,000 baht discount (per term!) for subsequent children, and you should be able to see how wrong your calculations are. Unless of course you also want to argue that there are NO families at your school who have multiple children enrolled, and that ALL students at St. Andrews are in Year 10 or above.

[highchol]

I see the expensive school PR machine is in full flow....

[PattayaParent]

I see the expensive school PR machine is in full flow....

If you don't have any useful input then you don't have to read the thread.

[highchol]

I see the expensive school PR machine is in full flow....

If you don't have any useful input then you don't have to read the thread.

ditto