Berkeley International School

[MTS1978]

Hi All,

My 4 year old child is currently attending 'Charter International School'. A colleague has recommended / suggested I look into 'Berkeley Insternational School'. I have done a little online research, and what I have found seems to have negative undertones, suggesting that it is a fancy but superficial school, with no real certification by any international education associations, and no real pedigree with regard to their 'so called' international curriculum.

My wife did pay them a visit, and said the place looked very nice / impressive, however that does not mean it is a 'good' school.

I would appreciate anyones input / experience / opinion about the place.

Thanks in advance!

[vont]

For a child that age, imho, one of the most important elements in his learning to learn environments is quality personal interaction between the child and those around him.<br><br>Have you both as parents been positively interacting with him whenever he is awake?

<br><br>Making every waking moment counts toward his early development in seeking your approval and your qualified input, whatever those might be, while guiding him under your wing.

<br><br>If I were you, I would definitely be looking for the same qualities in nursery environ, whatever or wherever that school might be.

<br><br>Short of that, I would rather keep my precious kid at home hanging around me 24/7.

<br><br>And that is only one man's opinion and expectation.

  Am sure there are many other opinions around, while still other parents might seek external confirmation as well.<br><br>Surely hope and pray that you would emphasize quality over fame and fortune....  LOL  <br>

Edited April 23, 2011 by vont

[MTS1978]

For a child that age, imho, one of the most important elements in his learning to learn environments is quality personal interaction between the child and those around him.<br><br>Have you both as parents been positively interacting with him whenever he is awake?

<br><br>Making every waking moment counts toward his early development in seeking your approval and your qualified input, whatever those might be, while guiding him under your wing.

<br><br>If I were you, I would definitely be looking for the same qualities in nursery environ, whatever or wherever that school might be.

<br><br>Short of that, I would rather keep my precious kid at home hanging around me 24/7.

<br><br>And that is only one man's opinion and expectation.

  Am sure there are many other opinions around, while still other parents might seek external confirmation as well.<br><br>Surely hope and pray that you would emphasize quality over fame and fortune....  LOL  <br>

Thanks for the reply.

In principle I agree with your post - to make every minute count with a young child etc. - and we do. However it is (almost) equally important that a child interacts and learns social skills with other children, of their own age, and younger/older. School is the ideal platform for this, as well as forming the basis for more serious numerical and literacy education in a year or two.

At this stage, we are planning ahead for our childs education when she starts really learning..... at the age of 6 or 7..... and she is in school anyway.... so we want her in the right place now, such that her early childhood friendships etc. don't need to be broken and all the benefits that come from a familar routine and einvironment. Moreover, it can be difficult to get a child into other schools as they get older. We are already paying a small fortune for school fee's (or child is a "farang" child) and so I may as well have her in a "good" school, as a "not so good" school...... for the same money.

I am aware that at her age (4yrs) the quality of education is not so crucial, compared to the personal interaction learning and all that - it is the foundations that we are laying now for her later learning that I am planning for.

[kannon99]

Why not stay with Charter. It has a good reputation, and she is already accustomed to the school.

[MTS1978]

Why not stay with Charter. It has a good reputation, and she is already accustomed to the school.

There's no way to say this without it sounding crappy .......

She is in a small class which is shrinking. When she started there was an almost 50% ratio of 'luk krueng' students. For me, it is very important that she has a strong western influence in both her home and school life; that influence needs to come not only from authority figures, but also from her peers. Her teacher next year will not be "western", which has meant many of the parents (particularly of the luk kreung kids) have decided they are going to move their kids on ...... and a couple of them moved on earlier this year too. Their feeling is that a "western" school should have "western" teachers, and I do not deny that I would rather she was taught by a british / american / australian teacher...... but by next year, it seems there will be very few (I actually think none) luk krueng / westernised kids left and the teacher is not western either. This worsening situation is not acceptable to me.

It is a pity, because Charter has both good credentials and a good reputation - she is happy and settled there ....... but.......

[mauiguy90]

If you live in that area, you could take a look at St. Andrews School in Soi LaSalle, which is in Suk 107.

By the way, I agree that your explanation doesn't sound politically correct. However, everyone has the right to choose what they consider to be an appropriate education for their children.

Edited April 24, 2011 by mauiguy90

[LindaatKIS]

Hi, I work at KIS International School. If you are thinking about changing schools, perhaps you would like to come and visit KIS? I've been here for 3 years and really like the school. It's a caring environment and academically a good school. It has around 50% international students in the primary school and it's not as expensive as some of the bigger schools. Plenty more info on the school's website.

Good luck!

[champken]

Hi, I work at KIS International School. If you are thinking about changing schools, perhaps you would like to come and visit KIS? I've been here for 3 years and really like the school. It's a caring environment and academically a good school. It has around 50% international students in the primary school and it's not as expensive as some of the bigger schools. Plenty more info on the school's website.

Good luck!

OK so you work at KIS and are eager to promote it,....are you a teacher there? ..if so how qualified are you to teach?..don't be shy or diplomatic with the truth, lets have it, ?

[LindaatKIS]

Hi, I work at KIS International School. If you are thinking about changing schools, perhaps you would like to come and visit KIS? I've been here for 3 years and really like the school. It's a caring environment and academically a good school. It has around 50% international students in the primary school and it's not as expensive as some of the bigger schools. Plenty more info on the school's website.

Good luck!

OK so you work at KIS and are eager to promote it,....are you a teacher there? ..if so how qualified are you to teach?..don't be shy or diplomatic with the truth, lets have it, ?

Hi, No i'm the marketing director, so I am indeed eager for people to come and visit us if they are looking for a new school.

[champken]

Hi, I work at KIS International School. If you are thinking about changing schools, perhaps you would like to come and visit KIS? I've been here for 3 years and really like the school. It's a caring environment and academically a good school. It has around 50% international students in the primary school and it's not as expensive as some of the bigger schools. Plenty more info on the school's website.

Good luck!

OK so you work at KIS and are eager to promote it,....are you a teacher there? ..if so how qualified are you to teach?..don't be shy or diplomatic with the truth, lets have it, ?

Hi, No i'm the marketing director, so I am indeed eager for people to come and visit us if they are looking for a new school.

I apologize for my previous comment if you thought it was a direct swipe at you...it wasnt

There are so many so called International schools here charging ridiculous amounts for an education that can be at best described as inferior and who are employing unqualified teachers to teach our children......., it really is a problem for parents who are trying to do their best for their children's future to find value for money within the education system here when up against so many schools who promise this and that but in fact offer very little

[LindaatKIS]

Hi, I work at KIS International School. If you are thinking about changing schools, perhaps you would like to come and visit KIS? I've been here for 3 years and really like the school. It's a caring environment and academically a good school. It has around 50% international students in the primary school and it's not as expensive as some of the bigger schools. Plenty more info on the school's website.

Good luck!

OK so you work at KIS and are eager to promote it,....are you a teacher there? ..if so how qualified are you to teach?..don't be shy or diplomatic with the truth, lets have it, ?

Hi, No i'm the marketing director, so I am indeed eager for people to come and visit us if they are looking for a new school.

I apologize for my previous comment if you thought it was a direct swipe at you...it wasnt

There are so many so called International schools here charging ridiculous amounts for an education that can be at best described as inferior and who are employing unqualified teachers to teach our children......., it really is a problem for parents who are trying to do their best for their children's future to find value for money within the education system here when up against so many schools who promise this and that but in fact offer very little

Yes I agree with you on that. Luckily there are also quite a lot of good international schools out there. The challenge for most parents is to find schools that do offer good value. There are some which are pretty good at low cost also, but they would be more restricted on facilities and materials and you may expect that they pay their teachers less than other schools, so that they don't have the first choice when recruiting teachers. Having said that, there are many talented teachers out there who are motivated and qualified and not in the top salary scales. Also some schools offer scholarships to make the education accessible, especially for families who are unable to send their children to a Thai school.

[nocturn]

you say KIS is "not as expensive".

mind publishing a fee schedule?

[LindaatKIS]

It's on the website, not sure if I can post the link here? The web has the fees for the current academic year, the fees for 2011-12 will be published within the next few days. Just search for KIS International School, the fees are under the admissions link.

[bbradsby]

MTS1978: to your original post query, I wouldn't recommend it. I would also strongly disagree with your statement that during preschool, quality of education isn't important.

Edited April 30, 2011 by bbradsby

[MTS1978]

MTS1978: to your original post query, I wouldn't recommend it. I would also strongly disagree with your statement that during preschool, quality of education isn't important.

bbradsby - I should rather say that the quality of education is not as important. By that I mean, my child can count up to 50 and backwards from 50...... there's still learning to count to 20 in her class...... that's not poor teaching, it is just that I "teach" my child a lot at home; number games, correcting her grammer, etc. So, for me & my family, the "curriculum" is not so important right now, but she is moving into "reception" next year, which is where things start to get a bit more serious, as such.

All - thanks for everyones replies. We have dcided against Berkeley - on the basis of some of the negativity towards the place that I have uncivered in my research, I have a preference for a british curriculum anyway, and the place is a bit too far from my house..... individually none of these are decision making factors, but combined it would seem the place is not right for us.

Thanks to everyone.

[RBOP]

After having my child enrolled for 1 year at Berkeley International School on Banga, I can say the teachers are top notch. All expat teachers except for the teacher assistants and the Thai Culture teachers. Some of the expat teachers hired direct from overseas with some being lured away from other Bangkok international schools such as Harrow and New Sathorn International.

It's a brand new school that had 99 pupils enrolled in the first semester. More joined in the second semester but I never asked how many or how many they expect next school year which they have added another grade (7). As with any new school (or company) there were some growing pains but that's to be expected and continues to improve especially once they got their ISO9001 management accreditation.

There are 2 covered swimming pools (one Olympic size and 1 kiddy pool). Tennis and basket ball courts, soccer field, computer lab, science lab, music room (a bit lacking in instruments but ok for current size of enrolment and should be getting more as enrollment goes up, and an arts lab with a great art teacher. The library opened mid term and is impressive.

The school just passed there 1^st phase towards obtaining WASC accreditation which is a 4 year process.

As for the location, it's very convenient opposite Bitec, close to BTS which opens next year, close to Central City Bangna, and close to other International Schools such as St Andrews, Patana, CIS.

Go visit the school and see the plans for Phase 2 construction which will see an 8 - 10 storey multi-use coliseum which will house an 800 seat auditorium, sports facility etc.

Happy hunting.

Edited June 11, 2011 by RichardO

[mightyharriss]

nice if you can afford it

[jenigirl]

It's on the website, not sure if I can post the link here? The web has the fees for the current academic year, the fees for 2011-12 will be published within the next few days. Just search for KIS International School, the fees are under the admissions link.

Hi, we are also looking for an international school in Bangkok and KIS is one of our options. We will schedule a campus tour in 2 months and will be moving to Bangkok by January but until then, I was wondering if you can answer a couple of questions for me.

1. How many students are in the current Year 1 class and what is the maximum number of students for each class?

2. Are there teacher assistants in each class? How many?

3. Is the KIS curriculum inquiry-based?

4. Will you be able to give out the salary range of the teachers and the turnover rate?

5. What is the student ratio in the school based on nationalities?

One of my concerns is that it might be too far from where we will live. We will be staying at Naradhiwas 24, just 2 blocks from New Sathorn International School. I heard traffic can be really bad in BKK. Do you have any insights on how long the students travel on the school bus and what time they get picked up in the morning?

I thought of sending you a private message but I think the information above will benefit other parents as well. Thanks in advance!

[missapa]

It's on the website, not sure if I can post the link here? The web has the fees for the current academic year, the fees for 2011-12 will be published within the next few days. Just search for KIS International School, the fees are under the admissions link.

Hi, we are also looking for an international school in Bangkok and KIS is one of our options. We will schedule a campus tour in 2 months and will be moving to Bangkok by January but until then, I was wondering if you can answer a couple of questions for me.

1. How many students are in the current Year 1 class and what is the maximum number of students for each class?

2. Are there teacher assistants in each class? How many?

3. Is the KIS curriculum inquiry-based?

4. Will you be able to give out the salary range of the teachers and the turnover rate?

5. What is the student ratio in the school based on nationalities?

One of my concerns is that it might be too far from where we will live. We will be staying at Naradhiwas 24, just 2 blocks from New Sathorn International School. I heard traffic can be really bad in BKK. Do you have any insights on how long the students travel on the school bus and what time they get picked up in the morning?

I thought of sending you a private message but I think the information above will benefit other parents as well. Thanks in advance!

Are you considering the New Sathorn International School too at all since you are living next to it ?

is is a proper international school or just a money-making machine ?

I've heard there are lots of so-called "international schools" in Thailand.

I am interested as I am considering moving in the area from London.

Many thanks

Edited October 2, 2011 by missapa

[bkkjames]

I am now searching for a 'decent' school for my son who turns 3 next may. I want a bilingual school that is near the river, sathorn, silom area that doesn't cost 600,000+ baht a year.

One that promotes creativity, problem solving over memorizing would be a priority. Any reasonably priced suggestions? Thanks.

[jenigirl]

It's on the website, not sure if I can post the link here? The web has the fees for the current academic year, the fees for 2011-12 will be published within the next few days. Just search for KIS International School, the fees are under the admissions link.

Hi, we are also looking for an international school in Bangkok and KIS is one of our options. We will schedule a campus tour in 2 months and will be moving to Bangkok by January but until then, I was wondering if you can answer a couple of questions for me.

1. How many students are in the current Year 1 class and what is the maximum number of students for each class?

2. Are there teacher assistants in each class? How many?

3. Is the KIS curriculum inquiry-based?

4. Will you be able to give out the salary range of the teachers and the turnover rate?

5. What is the student ratio in the school based on nationalities?

One of my concerns is that it might be too far from where we will live. We will be staying at Naradhiwas 24, just 2 blocks from New Sathorn International School. I heard traffic can be really bad in BKK. Do you have any insights on how long the students travel on the school bus and what time they get picked up in the morning?

I thought of sending you a private message but I think the information above will benefit other parents as well. Thanks in advance!

Are you considering the New Sathorn International School too at all since you are living next to it ?

is is a proper international school or just a money-making machine ?

I've heard there are lots of so-called "international schools" in Thailand.

I am interested as I am considering moving in the area from London.

Many thanks

We did consider New Sathorn International School because of the proximity, but later decided against it as we wanted to enroll our son to an IB school or one with a British curriculum.

As of now we are considering NIST (wait list), KIS and St. Andrew's International. I have read good things about St. Andrew's and his current principal (International Kindergarten in Singapore) speaks highly of it. I hear it's a small school which is just what we want for our son. The nearest one will be the Sathon campus which is around 7km away.

We will be visiting Bangkok by end of November and will try to visit all these schools. Will post my comments then.