Schools & Hospitals

[mkmike]

I presently live in the UK with my Thai wife and 7 year old son, we are considering a move to Thailand in the next 12 months if we can sort out the finances etc.

My question is if anyone can recommend a good International school or Thai school that teaches English to a good level that we could place our son in. I have looked at various websites including the International Schools of Thailand site but would be interested in any recommendations.

I'm also trying to find out the costs of healthcare for the family, does anyone know which are the best companies from personal experience.

Thank you for any info.

[p_brownstone]

If you want your son to study under the British curriculum then by far the best option is Bangkok Patana School, it's expensive - probably the most expensive in Bangkok after I.S.B. (International School Bangkok - which teaches the US curriculum but does have International Baccalaureate syllabus in the Senior grades) but Bangkok Patana is certainly the most experienced and reliable.

There are MANY so-called International Schools in Thailand now but most are International in name only and standards vary wildly.

[Up2U]

Where are you going to live ?

Are you going to work for yourself, or a company ?

If in or around Pattaya, then the Regent School is good for farangs and yuppie Thais. My daughter goes to a reasonable Thai school (Aksorn Schools) where she is taught English as a foreign language. She is six.

Towards bangkok there are places such as Concordia, which teaches 40% in English, 40% in Mandarin Chinese and 20% in Thai. But don't ask me if that applies to every lesson, or if they teach geography in one language, history in another and maths in the third - and maybe change every year!

Concordia has a 100,000 baht registration fee, 8,500 baht per month (or is it semester? Can't remember - threw the brochure away).

Thai schools are less than that, but vary considerably, depending on location.

Although Thailand recognises that it is a good thing for the kids to be taught English, it doesn't seem to happen up-country - but then there are still many people up there with very basic education standards.

So, as I wrote at the top - where are you going to live ?

[Mig15]

ISAT fair at the Queen Sirikit center on 27-29 Feb. 2004. www.isat.or.th

International Schools Association of Thailand

[mkmike]

Thanks all for the info on schools. We will be based in Bangkok so I guess we need to do some legwork and take a look the schools that we shortlist.