Schools In Songkla And Hat Yai

[mjochim]

After five years in Phuket (four of them teaching, mostly in a large international school), I'm ready for a change of scenery. I've heard really nice things about Songkla -- things that appeal to me more than, say, Koh Samui or Nakhon Sri Thammarat -- so I'm beginning to think about relocating to the south.

Can any board members let me know what the current job market is like -- do the schools hire year-round or just May/October, for example -- nice places to hang out, etc. I'm also (lesser) interested in Hat Yai so some information on that city would be nice to have as well...

[sabye]

Hat Yai is where I have my son going to school. he goes to a Catholic school called Sang Tong. It is very nice and well run and is considered the top school in Hat Yai and area. There are many international schools in Hat Yai and Songkhla with most of them hiring for year round positions. If you have the proper degrees the pay is decent and it is much cheaper to live down here than in Phuket. There are also many universities here in Songkhla that hire foreign teachers. The expat community is no where near as large as Phuket but is a more close knit group.

[vont]

Hat Yai is where I have my son going to school. he goes to a Catholic school called Sang Tong. It is very nice and well run and is considered the top school in Hat Yai and area. There are many international schools in Hat Yai and Songkhla with most of them hiring for year round positions. If you have the proper degrees the pay is decent and it is much cheaper to live down here than in Phuket. There are also many universities here in Songkhla that hire foreign teachers. The expat community is no where near as large as Phuket but is a more close knit group.

Yes, I can also vouch for SaengThong High School to be number 1 high school, even way back in 1958....

Many early graduates in 1958 and 1959 and thereafter went on to become physicians, scientists, physicists and experts in international affairs....

How do I know for certain?

Well, I was one of those early graduates.

If it would lend any credence, ask SUTHICHAI YOUND who became famous during the Gulf War. He was a graduate of SaengThong too. However, he was a few year my junior though. Some two decades ago, my profile also appeared in one of his publication.

If pecuniary return is one of your considerations, then perhaps this renown Catholic school with its sister institution called TeeDaNooKlock (exclusively females) might not offer the best salary.

However, perhaps to compensate for salary, you would find utmost parental cooperation and support. Most are merchants who won't tolerate hanky panky from their children.

And if you are not attached but still energetic, HaadYai will be your paradise on earth.... or almost....

When we consider HaadYai and SongKhla together, it is almost unbeatable from whichever way we may look....

As sabye already mentioned, it is much much cheaper and much much more fun and productive and rewarding to have a life in HaadYai-SongKhla, than in Phuket, Puttaya, HuaHin, ChiengMai, Udon and/or SuRard.... COMBINED....

Furthermore, unmatched and unmatchable.... if you ever get bored.... just take a bus further south and within 1.5 hrs, you would be in a totally different environ and world, so to speak...., you can partake in Malaysian foods and culture.... and did I mention Penang?.... MaMaMia.... :jap:

Edited June 6, 2011 by vont

[gabong]

That's right.

It is the only school that is almost all A/C. A first in hat yai.

Most kids who get in there are all from high society families.

You won't meet some push cart father or mother in there.

The good thing about hat yai is our neighbour.

Malaysia is a great place to visit.

Just cross the border and u can shop duty free!!!

[Jellyb3ans]

There is an international school in Songkhla

check out there website... Google "Fairview International School Songkhla Thailand"

Great teachers and students. Alot of students parents work at the Malay consulant and the others are half Thai and foreigner. There are also Thai kids there too.

It's a great family enviroment

[oilman79]

Regarding Saeng Thong School - "It is the only school that is almost all A/C. A first in hat yai.

Most kids who get in there are all from high society families.

You won't meet some push cart father or mother in there."

It is not the only school with A/C in Hat Yai. There are many others! The school is over crowded mixing primary children with secondary and college children in the same areas ensures that there are extremely serious pastoral care issues in the school especially as it being a 'Catholic' all boys school.

Saeng Thong may have been a good school in the 1950s, however as mentioned above with 40-50 pupils in a class you are not teaching but merely crowd controlling. Thai education has been on the decline for many years as teachers don't take Professional Development seriously and the pandemic corruption. Thailand spends 20% of its GDP on education that accounts to 123 Billion Dollars US. Where does all that money go?

Parents are having to send children to extra tutor classes just to pass exams. Which of course the teachers at the schools who write the exams are the tutor teachers! Parents are told their children have to take part in summer and after school programs to get into the next school year!

Thailand is a uniform society especially here in the south. Parents are scared to not send their children to a school like this! School pays graft money to universities to take a certain amount of their children. This graft money is funded from the graft money the school takes from parents to guarantee placement in the school. It's a vicious cycle.

​All this is common knowledge to all Thais. It is just an inconvenient truth that is chosen to be ignored.

All the royals, aristocrats and high society in Bangkok send their children abroad or to international schools in Bangkok. Why? because, they know the truth and do not subject their children to a sub-standard education. Nevertheless, it is good for them because it means the populous stay the same unquestioning blockheads they have been trained to be in school.

​Songkhla Province has only one accredited international school which has a license from the Ministry of Education is an International School Association of Thailand (ISAT) full member and Cambridge School. I am aware that this school is the only school that employs fully qualified western teachers. I think at the moment the school only caters up to year 5 and is going to be building a larger international campus for secondary. The name of the school is Songkhla International School. In my experience as I am sending my child there it is the only school that can provide an enriching academic experience for my child.

I encourage all readers to do a little research on the standards of the Thai education system.

[oilman79]

There is an international school in Songkhla

check out there website... Google "Fairview International School Songkhla Thailand"

Great teachers and students. Alot of students parents work at the Malay consulant and the others are half Thai and foreigner. There are also Thai kids there too.

It's a great family enviroment

Seriously! This school is located in the fifth floor of a university library and is given only half of that floor! They have no accreditation what so ever in Thailand. The teachers are all Philippine so it might as well be called Fairview Philippine School and there are serious pastoral care issues. I should know I used to send my daughter there. The classrooms are no bigger than the cupboard under my stairs.

[gnazi71]

Hello everybody !

My wife, me and our 2 daughters would like to expat in Nakhon Si Thammarat (my wife's city) from Switerland.

I already posted some topics.

We are not enough old to live (and have) with a pension, so we are looking for some jobs but it is very hard.

More than this we worried about the education of our 2 daughters (4 and 1).

Mixing all this and the result is that we think it is very very hard to expat.

We heard that there is an international school in NST, but don't have any information if it is "good" or not.

[LivinginKata]

yes it is very hard to find it a regular job in Thailand. even more so in country where there are no tourist related jobs. About the only chances are a job with a big hotel chain or start your own' business with all the government challenges that involves. I wish you the best of luck.