Hi everyone,

So, this is not actually a question about teaching, but for teachers and parents.

I have to move back to BKK in a few months and I am looking for a decent school for my 9 yr-old daughter which will not break the bank. Her English is not nearly good enough for the international schools (not that I could afford them anyway).

I'm looking for a school of good standard which charges somewhere in the 20k-50k per term range. Any advice which you have would be great.

Does anyone have anything to say about these schools:

Daroonpat School

Thai Christian School

St. Joseph's (in general or any of the specific campuses)

Assumption (especially the one in Bang Na)

Triam Udomsuksa

Any other bilingual schools or schools with EP

Thanks everyone.

BBTJ

PS- I, myself have been a teacher for 8 years, so I know firsthand that the tuition and prestige of a given school does not always (or even mostly) translate into a superior education, so I wanted to get you guys' opinions.

In what area of BKK will you be living? I would chose a school reasonably close to where you live.

There are a lot of bilingual and EP programs around, so you should have a wide variety of choices.

And, yes, you are right, there may not be a correlation between the price and the quality.

Haven't decided yet where we'll be living. I'll be working at UNESCO near Ekamai, but I want to choose a school first, then a place to live.

BBTJ

I'd be reluctant in an open forum to make judgements about schools the OP has mentioned, or others, because they'd be based on hearsay. I could talk about my own school, but would need to know what the OP's priorities are and what he would regard as indicators of a good school for his purposes. For example, would you choose one school over another because it has smaller class sizes, but the fees are higher? Would you prefer a single-sex school over a co-educational one? Is it better if nuns are running the school or laypeople? Do you want a school with an EP/bilingual section or a school that is fully bilingual? And so on.

Haven't decided yet where we'll be living. I'll be working at UNESCO near Ekamai, but I want to choose a school first, then a place to live.

BBTJ

TCS is perfect if you are working in Ekamai

I've worked at two of the schools mentioned above, and would say that it is certainly possible for students to get a good education there. The main issue is lack of consistency and continuity. It is not unusual for a school to change dramatically from year to year, usually because of either lack of management or some arbitrary decisions on the part of management leading to a mass exodus of teachers. Building up the quality of school can take several years, but one incompetent school director can ruin a school in one semester.

I would recommend finding out what the average staff turnover is at the schools you are interested in. If 50% or more of the teachers leave each year, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. If the turnover is less than 30%, it's probably a good bet.

Otherstuff, I like your suggestion, BUT some schools have low rates of turnover because the staff is largely unqualified and very unlikely to get a job elsewhere. Schools can, and do, deteriorate quickly.

You could look at the national test scores and where the school ranks. Like staff turnover, this won't be the end-all or be-all of the school, but combining a few of these things should give you a good idea of overall performance.

Otherstuff, I like your suggestion, BUT some schools have low rates of turnover because the staff is largely unqualified and very unlikely to get a job elsewhere. Schools can, and do, deteriorate quickly.

You could look at the national test scores and where the school ranks. Like staff turnover, this won't be the end-all or be-all of the school, but combining a few of these things should give you a good idea of overall performance.

National test scores really only tell student's performance in Thai language based subjects. Working in an EP for many years, I would hazard to guess that most of these schools are non-selective in terms of the candidate students they admit. Yes they all have 'entrance exams' and the results are secondary to whether you can pay the fees or not. This creates great gaps in knowledge of students, with the gap widening through the years.

Thus, it might be best to ask potential schools about the success rate of students entering good university programs. Generally speaking, they best students, from my school at least, enter the likes of the international programs in Chula, Thammasart, Mahidol, etc. Those not doing so well end op at Bangkok Uni, Rangsit, UTCC, etc. Quite a few also go into good Thai language based programs.

I agree about schools deteriorating quickly; this often happens with a change in management - but they can also improve quickly with good management, though the changes are slower. In terms of staff turnover _ I have found that this has increased when schools use recruitment agencies - the majority of these teachers are new to Thailand and tend to move on quickly - especially when they realise their salary is almost half of the non-agency staff! Ive been in my school 10 years, and quite a number are 3+ and 5+ years now. Its not that we can;t get another job, but rather most of us are settled here and have families, large mortgages, etc.

In my years working in a bilingual program, the Thai exam scores and the English exam scores have a high correlation. Very, very seldom do we have students who do well in the Thai subjects and not in the English subjects.

Students who have attended a strictly Thai school have some catching up to do, but they generally catch up and their grades will track about the same. Schools need to have some educational mechanism for assisting new students who may be lagging in English skills. This is especially true of the schools that don't cater to the wealthier segment of society where English would have been a part of a students education for many years.

There probably isn't one criteria by which you can judge a school. Take a look around the school, does the staff look professional and happy? Does the atmosphere appear to be relaxed, but not chaotic? Do the students seem to feel comfortable with the teachers?

Try and talk to a couple of the foreign teachers and ask about the books and their impression of the school.