Satit School, Pattaya - Should I send the kid there?

[Farang0tang]

Satit Udom Seuksa School - Pattaya.

Moved house, and this school is about the nearest (affordable).

We were going to enroll the kid in time for the upcoming new semester. The wife asked around and heard some poor reports.

Fast turnover of teachers, children left to "freestyle" - whatever that means, poor discipline, maybe that's what it means.

And after reading another TV thread on this same school, albeit from 2008, we are having second thoughts.

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So, would appreciate if anybody who has had recent dealings with this school give us the low-down.

Has it improved I wonder?

Also, if not Satit School, which other alternative school should we be looking at, near to the same area (and approximate same tuition fee's).

Thanks in advance.

[TheAceFace]

Depending on the childs age, if under 12 you want to look at Phoenix school, it is near by Satit (On Suk Road)...Google search will give you directions.

Terms fees for the English program are pretty similar also.

Thanks Marcus for your useful input

[bkkjames]

My 4 year old son really enjoyed it. Teachers were good as far as we could tell - always available by phone. Van service good. Unlike the school he goes to know in Bangkok, he was given (so were the other kids) actual homework to do. I would send him back there if we ever moved back to Pattaya.

[bkkjames]

My 4 year old son really enjoyed it. Teachers were good as far as we could tell - always available by phone. Van service good. Unlike the school he goes to know in Bangkok, he was given (so were the other kids) actual homework to do. I would send him back there if we ever moved back to Pattaya.

btw, this was last year until we moved back to bangkok in december.

[Thailaw]

Depending on the childs age, if under 12 you want to look at Phoenix school, it is near by Satit (On Suk Road)...Google search will give you directions.

Terms fees for the English program are pretty similar also.

Thanks Marcus for your useful input

TFA is, I think, correct -- Pheonix is better (much) than Satit School, and they are in the same area and are comparably priced. The head of the school at which my daughter just finished recommended Pheonix and recommended against Satit. We opted against both schools (we never really considered either school seriously, given the reputations of the two schools) and put our daughter in an "international" school, but the tuition is three times that of Satit/Pheonix. Maryvit School is another, probably better option, but it is in north, not south, Pattaya. The options for good, reasonably priced schools in the Pattaya are are, unfortunately very limited. Good luck!

[bkkjames]

Depending on the childs age, if under 12 you want to look at Phoenix school, it is near by Satit (On Suk Road)...Google search will give you directions.

Terms fees for the English program are pretty similar also.

Thanks Marcus for your useful input

TFA is, I think, correct -- Pheonix is better (much) than Satit School, and they are in the same area and are comparably priced. The head of the school at which my daughter just finished recommended Pheonix and recommended against Satit. We opted against both schools (we never really considered either school seriously, given the reputations of the two schools) and put our daughter in an "international" school, but the tuition is three times that of Satit/Pheonix. Maryvit School is another, probably better option, but it is in north, not south, Pattaya. The options for good, reasonably priced schools in the Pattaya are are, unfortunately very limited. Good luck!

Interesting observation - exact opposite opinion we got from mom's (thai) who sent there kids to school there ...about phoenix.

[Scott]

Troll posts and replies deleted. The topic is about a school. Stay on the topic. Unsolicited comments about the area are not welcomed.

[Thailaw]

I am not berating the views or opinions of parents (Thai or otherwise) with children at Satit School who view the school positively, but generally the views expressed by parents with young children that have attended Satit (and Phoenix) about those schools is not good. Another school, BEST, falls in the same camp. If you look in this forum, you will find a general voice of concern regarding the quality of the school environment and education at each school. Five years ago (or there abouts), Phoenix was "hot" and regarded as a very good Thai school and parents were flocking to enroll their children there. We almost did with our daughter. But noticeable problems started to develop and many parents took their children out of Phoenix. So, I think that it is a fair assessment to say that the quality of Phoenix School has been on the decline for some time, but it is still, from what i am told, far better than Satit. We know three families who had children at Phoenix, who in every case looked at Satit and chose Phoenix, who have now moved their children to other schools, 2 to Maryvit, not sure about the other. No one has chosen Satit as an alternative to Phoenix, before or after. It is a small sample, I know, but is representative of a broader view of the schools, I think. As I mentioned, the head of my daughter's last school (a pre-school that she has now completed) told me that Phoenix would be "ok' for a short time (about 3 months) until the new school year started at the International Schools in August. She recommended against Satit, even for a short period. We chose instead to start her in the third term of 1st grade now and not wait for the new school year and send her to Phoenix in the interim, which I see now was the right choice. She is adjusting to her new school wonderfully and enjoys it.

I am not faulting the "affordable" Thai schools. They have a very difficult job -- they don't charge much in the way of fees and they don't pay much in the way of teachers' salaries. So, getting and retaining qualified, motivated teachers is very difficult for them, and some (like Maryvit) do a better job than others, but it still may be below the standards that most western parents require (subject to being able to pay the fees, of course). Thai parents, I think, expect less and are satisfied with lower quality schools because the quality at the Thai private schools like Phoenix and Satit (and BEST) is much better than what is provided in Thai public schools, which is horrible by any objective measure, and they are affordable for a middle class Thai family. So, frankly, I would not put much weight on the opinions of the average Thai parent, simply because their standards/requirements are very different than most western parents. And if i could not afford an international school for my daughter, she would attend Maryvit, and certainly not either of Phoenix or Satit, although of the two, I believe that Phoenix is the better school, which is what I think that the OP was asking. But it also must be said that both schools have many students enrolled in them, so many parents (almost all Thai, I expect) are satisfied with the education that their children are receiving at those schools, at least in relation to the fees that they are paying (and the distance and time that they would be required to travel from their homes), which unfortunately is an evaluation/assessment that most parents are required to make. If you have young children, education for them is one of the more difficult aspects of living here -- the better/good choices are limited and expensive, and the worse/bad choices are abundant and cheap. Can you guess in which group Satit and Phoenix (and BEST) lie? Cheers,

Depending on the childs age, if under 12 you want to look at Phoenix school, it is near by Satit (On Suk Road)...Google search will give you directions.

Terms fees for the English program are pretty similar also.

Thanks Marcus for your useful input

TFA is, I think, correct -- Pheonix is better (much) than Satit School, and they are in the same area and are comparably priced. The head of the school at which my daughter just finished recommended Pheonix and recommended against Satit. We opted against both schools (we never really considered either school seriously, given the reputations of the two schools) and put our daughter in an "international" school, but the tuition is three times that of Satit/Pheonix. Maryvit School is another, probably better option, but it is in north, not south, Pattaya. The options for good, reasonably priced schools in the Pattaya are are, unfortunately very limited. Good luck!

Interesting observation - exact opposite opinion we got from mom's (thai) who sent there kids to school there ...about phoenix.

[bkkjames]

That's a long post mate - all I can say is my son in his time there loved it.

4 years old, learned Thai, Eng and Chinese (option) 2x a week. Homework, computers, swimming class, no traffic, clean facility, new vans and so on. We picked it not because it was cheaper than Maryvit or Phoenix, it was chosen because it's relatively close to our house, ticked all the boxes in terms of balanced education / safety / no sukhumvit highway.

edit to add - this is first hand experience from our side - not hearsay.

would I send my son back there - yes.

do i get a discount for saying good things about it - no.

Edited April 24, 2014 by bkkjames

[Farang0tang]

Thanks for all the replies, (except from one poster, which stopped me from checking back for a few days - post(s) now removed - thanks Mods).

And particularly Thailaw and bkkjames for their good input - even though they seem to disagree.

Also I now have the proper name of the other school the wife said we should look at "Feenit".(Phoenix - ha ha).

Good point raised was not requiring to cross/travel Sukhumvit. And there is a big chance it may only be for 1 semester (2 maximum) as we will be moving abroad if all goes to plan. Yes, unfortunately its all down to which is the best of the "affordable" schools. Will definately check Phoenix and Maryvit out.

Cheers

[JesseFrank]

Thanks for all the replies, (except from one poster, which stopped me from checking back for a few days - post(s) now removed - thanks Mods).

And particularly Thailaw and bkkjames for their good input - even though they seem to disagree.

Also I now have the proper name of the other school the wife said we should look at "Feenit".(Phoenix - ha ha).

Good point raised was not requiring to cross/travel Sukhumvit. And there is a big chance it may only be for 1 semester (2 maximum) as we will be moving abroad if all goes to plan. Yes, unfortunately its all down to which is the best of the "affordable" schools. Will definately check Phoenix and Maryvit out.

Cheers

Phoenix will be at least double, and Maryvit triple, of the price from Satit.

[sotonfarang]

hi this has been useful

we visited satit today for the 2nd time and phoenix schools today, also we went to aksorn school at the end of last week.

phoenix term started today so we saw the school with the pupils there, all congregated on mats in the `playground`.

saw many farang and 1/2 farang there. the 3 or 4 year olds then came past in their pyjamas single file with their hands behind there backs ( not tied i may add ) it made me and my Thai wife chuckle, looked like a scene from a thai prison movie.

all the kids seemed really happy and there was a good feel about the place, it only has 300 pupils and is a really small place with hardly any grounds .

the office claimed that at phoenix the standards are high and each class has 2 teachers , 1x thai and 1 farang. i find this hard to believe.i saw no farang adults at all. the pool had no cover/shade and i can , with an hour a weeks swimming lessons, see the kids getting frazzled. you can pretty much see the whole set up just by standing inside the gate.

satit reminds me very much of my international school in hong kong, a grand building with really nice, well kept grounds with a beautiful pool and fountains.

they told me today that my daughter would be taught by a fillipino teacher who is bi-lingual in a class of no more than 30, but should be on entrance so far 18-20

all the farang teachers are for secondary education. there are about 800 kids here, 300 at phoenix.

phoenix costs about 1/4 more per term.

satit just seems more professional to me in every way but who knows.

i shall enroll my 6 year old next week to start on the 18th of may, new term and keep you posted.

hard decision for us but her little cousin goes to nursey there so thats another reason for our choice.

aksorn was a joke, they are about half the price of satit but they were full and suggested she drop into the nursery for a year, their cirriculum involves 2 hours a day sleeping in the afternoon, i was shocked, put my 6 year old in with 3 to 4 year olds, typical thai way, give me the money, who cares about your kids future. babysitters.

anyway, i am a little sad reading satits reviews but cant afford £1000 per month for international school.

satit or bust

it costs about 85,000bht to enroll at satit after signing on fees, 1st term, uniform, books etc

phoenix about 100,000 bht

there are 2 terms per annual year so need to pay about another 50,000 in about 5/6 months time.

[zeichen]

Satit is usually hard to get into. Their entrance exams are very tough, unless you have connections. Most Statit schools throughout the country have a good standard and are a good option for those that cannot afford international schools. I also have always liked the demonstration school philosophy. How close and accurate a school/teachers adhere to it are always subjective though.

[Thailaw]

Satit is usually hard to get into. Their entrance exams are very tough, unless you have connections. Most Statit schools throughout the country have a good standard and are a good option for those that cannot afford international schools. I also have always liked the demonstration school philosophy. How close and accurate a school/teachers adhere to it are always subjective though.

What a totally nonsense post! None of the Thai private schools are 'difficult" to get in to, assuming that you are alive and breathing. They are all "for profit" schools and increase revenues as enrollment increases, simple as that. Regardless of what they may say, admission tests are used only to determine the grade level of a child and not whether to admit the child. There are 800 students at Satit -- how difficult can it be if that many children are enrolled? I have never heard of any child being refused admission at any Thai private school, never! The only "connection" required is to adequate funds in your bank account!

The only school that I know of that has refused admission to a child is Mooltreepakdee, and that was because it was full at that class level. It has constraints with class size limits, class room space and foreign teachers -- but, within those constraints, anyone that will pay the fees is welcome (perhaps with the exception of a mentally or physically handicapped child). If you really believe that Satit (or Phoenix or Maryvitt) is difficult to get into, I have a bridge to Koh Larn that I will sell to you at a really good price.

[sotonfarang]

Satit is usually hard to get into. Their entrance exams are very tough, unless you have connections. Most Statit schools throughout the country have a good standard and are a good option for those that cannot afford international schools. I also have always liked the demonstration school philosophy. How close and accurate a school/teachers adhere to it are always subjective though.

What a totally nonsense post! None of the Thai private schools are 'difficult" to get in to, assuming that you are alive and breathing. They are all "for profit" schools and increase revenues as enrollment increases, simple as that. Regardless of what they may say, admission tests are used only to determine the grade level of a child and not whether to admit the child. There are 800 students at Satit -- how difficult can it be if that many children are enrolled? I have never heard of any child being refused admission at any Thai private school, never! The only "connection" required is to adequate funds in your bank account!

The only school that I know of that has refused admission to a child is Mooltreepakdee, and that was because it was full at that class level. It has constraints with class size limits, class room space and foreign teachers -- but, within those constraints, anyone that will pay the fees is welcome (perhaps with the exception of a mentally or physically handicapped child). If you really believe that Satit (or Phoenix or Maryvitt) is difficult to get into, I have a bridge to Koh Larn that I will sell to you at a really good price.

haha thailaw,

yep they just want money as usual regardless of class sizes etc although Aksorn school is full for this term which surprised me, maybe full just means 350 pupils in each class

by the way i would be interested in the bridge you have for sale, i would move it on my pick up to chumpon and then we can all drive to samui

[Thailaw]

Satit is usually hard to get into. Their entrance exams are very tough, unless you have connections. Most Statit schools throughout the country have a good standard and are a good option for those that cannot afford international schools. I also have always liked the demonstration school philosophy. How close and accurate a school/teachers adhere to it are always subjective though.

What a totally nonsense post! None of the Thai private schools are 'difficult" to get in to, assuming that you are alive and breathing. They are all "for profit" schools and increase revenues as enrollment increases, simple as that. Regardless of what they may say, admission tests are used only to determine the grade level of a child and not whether to admit the child. There are 800 students at Satit -- how difficult can it be if that many children are enrolled? I have never heard of any child being refused admission at any Thai private school, never! The only "connection" required is to adequate funds in your bank account!

The only school that I know of that has refused admission to a child is Mooltreepakdee, and that was because it was full at that class level. It has constraints with class size limits, class room space and foreign teachers -- but, within those constraints, anyone that will pay the fees is welcome (perhaps with the exception of a mentally or physically handicapped child). If you really believe that Satit (or Phoenix or Maryvitt) is difficult to get into, I have a bridge to Koh Larn that I will sell to you at a really good price.

haha thailaw,

yep they just want money as usual regardless of class sizes etc although Aksorn school is full for this term which surprised me, maybe full just means 350 pupils in each class

by the way i would be interested in the bridge you have for sale, i would move it on my pick up to chumpon and then we can all drive to samui

I am not sure if you are agreeing or disagreeing with my post. There may be short term constraints in admitting additional students, even at Thai private schools, but they are less strict and more flexible than at the international private schools, where there are strict class size limits and the need to hire additional foreign, English speaking teachers to increase the number of classes. It is not so difficult to add an additional Thai teacher if the economics justify it and you have an empty room. One poster in another thread, actually speaking highly of Maryvitt School, said that its success/growth had noticeably reduced its quality, with students beginning lunch at 11:00 because of the number of lunch periods (3 as I recall), bathrooms not being cleaned regularly, and swimming lessons reduced to once or twice a week. But, regardless, there will always be room for 1 more student that can pay the fees -- "money talks, nobody walks....". That is not to say that money is the only motivating factor for the Thai private schools, but it is a major factor and may well be the primary factor. IMO, that is fine, so long as they also maintain a "high" (acceptable) educational standard. Some do a better job of that than others. But, in no case is admission selectivity any part of the effort to maintain educational standards at the Thai private schools, which was the point of my post. Even at the better private international schools, it is an "open door" policy, at least in Pattaya/Chonburi -- you pay for the better instruction and facilities, and not for a more select student body (except to the extent that higher fees can/are paid by higher income families where there generally is a greater emphasis on education). It may very well be (no doubt is) different in the good private international schools in Bangkok.

The bridge is for sale, and you sound like you will make a very happy owner. It is everything that you can imagine! I will send you pictures (sorry, they are a bit blurry, and it looks a lot like the Golden Gate Bridge) and my bank account number on request. Sold "as is, where is", with no representations or warranties expressed or implied -- delivery/relocation is strictly your responsibility.

[sotonfarang]

my daughter, aged 6, started at Satit Acadamy school today and loved it. I looked through all of her textbooks and they look relevant and are smilar to the ones which she had in the UK which is reassuring.

her class only has 12 kids in it, 1 fillipino teacher and a thai teaching assistant.

started off well, just hope the education is good

[johnnybgood]

Anyone care to update on the Pattaya area secondary schools, please?

Next year our oldest will be looking for a new school (starting M4 at 15 years old).

She's been at Maryvit since 3 years old and is now currently in M3 at Assumption, Sri Ratcha.

The international schools are not an option, so we're looking at Satit, are there any others similar locally?

(Sod's Law Regent's School is on our doorstep but waaaay out of my pension grade)

[OKOK23]

If you want your child to study university in Thailand like chulalongkorn or thamasart or other public university in , i recommend it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sotonfarang]

further to my previous posts on this, we have actually been looking at other schools to move our 6 year old to.

The Satit education system is rubbish, all they seem to do is train up for their next show performance.

seems like they will become dancers later in life but certainly not doctors, paying for a new fancy dress outfit and hunting them down all over the city seems to be our new job as parents.

because my daughters thai is not the best she was put back a year so is in a class with kids as much as 18 months younger than her. you can really tell the difference in her development, she has to go down to there level to communicate.

we are currently thinking and have been to visit REPS ( Rayong English Programme School) it has an expat teacher in each class at primary 1 level, not fillipino like Satit. The Dean of the school is South African and is very switched on and walking around constantly checking up on the teaching.

It Cambridge level cirriculum and has a great library with the same books as my daughters old school in the UK had.

the school is owned by the same company as Garden International School and is connected by a bridge so that they can share the swimming pools.

REPS is a bit scruffy inside, if it wasn`t we would move her immediately.

we are going to think about it over christmas.

it got to the point at Satit that I was marking and correcting my daughters home book, which is the communication between parents and teachers, correcting the grammer, spelling and general bad english that her fillipino teachers had written, I find that outrageous.

does anyone have any experience of REPS or Satit Academy to share?

any feedback would be fantastic.

[mark131v]

further to my previous posts on this, we have actually been looking at other schools to move our 6 year old to.

The Satit education system is rubbish, all they seem to do is train up for their next show performance.

seems like they will become dancers later in life but certainly not doctors, paying for a new fancy dress outfit and hunting them down all over the city seems to be our new job as parents.

because my daughters thai is not the best she was put back a year so is in a class with kids as much as 18 months younger than her. you can really tell the difference in her development, she has to go down to there level to communicate.

we are currently thinking and have been to visit REPS ( Rayong English Programme School) it has an expat teacher in each class at primary 1 level, not fillipino like Satit. The Dean of the school is South African and is very switched on and walking around constantly checking up on the teaching.

It Cambridge level cirriculum and has a great library with the same books as my daughters old school in the UK had.

the school is owned by the same company as Garden International School and is connected by a bridge so that they can share the swimming pools.

REPS is a bit scruffy inside, if it wasn`t we would move her immediately.

we are going to think about it over christmas.

it got to the point at Satit that I was marking and correcting my daughters home book, which is the communication between parents and teachers, correcting the grammer, spelling and general bad english that her fillipino teachers had written, I find that outrageous.

does anyone have any experience of REPS or Satit Academy to share?

any feedback would be fantastic.

I have no information about the schools you are asking about in Rayong but we have gone through very similar to you with my daughters education....

What you are describing about spending most time practicing for performances (spending a full week learning how to clap and cheer for the sports day which again all needs one off uniforms for the day springs to mind!!) but this was with Phoenix not Satit so it appears to be common in the Thai private sector as is spending time sleeping during the day

As a direct result of this and also because they changed my daughters teacher mid term without even having the decency to tell the parents we moved her to Mooltripkadee International School (MIS) in Nongplalai

MIS is certainly a step in the right direction and complies with the UK curriculum but with 3 terms a year at B70,000 per year it aint cheap and when the child gets older you still have the problem of trying to find a suitable secondary school

Long story short we have decided to give up on Thailand and return to the UK at least until the sprog finishes school (6 years old at the moment)we have found that unless you are on an expat package with a good school allowance then even the lower International Schools such as MIS, which are still very expensive are still way below a good UK state school

If you have the money and accept that the schooling will not be as good as the price point would indicate then I would recommend MIS, the expat teachers are good and very professional and there does not appear to be much turnover of staff, they also do not seem to waste time learning to clap and so forth and nor do kids sleep in the daytime, it certainly was in our experience the best of a bad bunch by a good margin but still not worth the money...

Good luck with whatever you decide...

[sotonfarang]

Thank you. There is a huge margin between these schools and the private ones for sure.

where is MIS? not sure i know that place

breeding a country of singers, dancers and sleepers

[mark131v]

Thank you. There is a huge margin between these schools and the private ones for sure.

where is MIS? not sure i know that place

breeding a country of singers, dancers and sleepers

Hi Sotonfarang, I had not seen your reply but I have attached the link to the website:

http://www.mis.ac.th/

link to the map:

http://www.mis.ac.th/maps.html

Like I said a good school if a little expensive but the best of a bad bunch of the ones we saw or used in that area

For us it was not a long term solution as we were just putting the problem off for a little while before having to find her another at age 11 and going through all the same issues again

We have just heard back that my Daughter has been accepted into a UK school rated as exceptional by Offsted so I am happy and the flights are booked, I can rest easy knowing that my daughters education is now in safe hand's and when she finishes there she moves onto a Offsted rated exceptional secondary, big sigh of relief ...

[sotonfarang]

thats great news well done

hope it all works out over there for you