International Schools in Chiang Mai

[HenryWS]

Good day, I am moving with my wife and kids (will be aged 6 and 7 in January) to Chiang Mai. We are focusing on finding a suitable school for the kids who are currently on British Curriculum in Singapore. I do like the look of Prem, but the price seems high. Is it worth the extra ??? Of the other schools, in particular NIS and Lanna, does anyone have any good advice.

Priorities are;

Good curriculum

Smaller Class Sizes

Sports activities

Classroom facilities

Well behaved kids.

Asking for a lot I know, but a shy baby gets no milk.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[DavidOxon]

Lanna is the only one offering a British curriculum.

[LarryBird]

I've heard a lot of good things about Lanna. The campus isn't the most beautiful, but it is my understanding that they are moving to a new location. Price seems reasonable as well.

[mcm991]

No school is perfect. Of that you can be sure .......

Lanna is British Curriculum if that is what you are looking for. Varee also offers it but as a dual stream.

Prem is by far the most beautiful campus and teaches IB. - at a price. (Prem is IMO greatly improved academically of late)

A few of the others - CMIS, Grace, AP are very Christian based which may or may not fit your needs.

My advice - You need to go and see them all. Then you can make a decision.

[naboo]

At age 6-7, Lanna is currently the only British curriculum school. In Chiang Mai, all other international schools at Primary age are American curriculum, except perhaps Prem - not sure what primary curriculum they run.

Varee, mentioned above, has a British curriculum option at secondary level bit currently only has Thai curriculum, with a very good English Program, at Primary age.

Lanna is very good, expanding in the next few years, I would recommend it as best for the OP's needs.

[mcm991]

At age 6-7, Lanna is currently the only British curriculum school. In Chiang Mai, all other international schools at Primary age are American curriculum, except perhaps Prem - not sure what primary curriculum they run.

Varee, mentioned above, has a British curriculum option at secondary level bit currently only has Thai curriculum, with a very good English Program, at Primary age.

Lanna is very good, expanding in the next few years, I would recommend it as best for the OP's needs.

Prem teaches PYP at at Primary level. It is part of the International Baccalaureate program.

http://www.ibo.org/

[JaseTheBass]

You won't get sensible class sizes at Varee. Around 35 a class.

[baywatch82]

American Pacific International School also teaches PYP (primary years) IB program, and also started MYP (middle years).
Have 2 campuses - one close to the town and one in the mountains.

Edited November 5, 2015 by baywatch82

[DaamNaam]

Great for elementary school kids. Bilingual and all the kids speak English and Thai very well. You have to se it to believe it.

http://www.panyaden.ac.th

[HenryWS]

Guys, many thanks to you all for your advice and guidance. We will take all on board and utilise it in our decision making process. It is very encouraging to see what an inclusive and helpful society there is in CM, looking forward to joining.

Henry

[Puwa]

You'll find that the quality of teachers and administration is much better at international schools in Singapore, owing in part to higher salaries, in part to the greater education level and socio-economic status of the families.

But honestly, your kids are young enough that a few years in school here won't hurt, and they can enjoy all the other great benefits of living in Chiang Mai

[MickeyMaow]

Just curious, how much would an international school like Lanna cost annually?

[flare]

Just curious, how much would an international school like Lanna cost annually?

This is their fee schedule- http://www.lannaist.ac.th/admissions-fees/fee-schedule/

[anto]

Just curious, how much would an international school like Lanna cost annually?

This is their fee schedule- http://www.lannaist.ac.th/admissions-fees/fee-schedule/

Outlandish for something thats free in most Western Countries .I guess most though are the children of Company employees ,whose Company pays in an expat package .

[Rob13]

Just curious, how much would an international school like Lanna cost annually?

This is their fee schedule- http://www.lannaist.ac.th/admissions-fees/fee-schedule/

Outlandish for something thats free in most Western Countries .I guess most though are the children of Company employees ,whose Company pays in an expat package .

Public schools are free same as Thai gov schools; private schools like Lanna are much more expensive in the West.

[TheSiemReaper]

Just curious, how much would an international school like Lanna cost annually?

This is their fee schedule- http://www.lannaist.ac.th/admissions-fees/fee-schedule/

Outlandish for something thats free in most Western Countries .I guess most though are the children of Company employees ,whose Company pays in an expat package .

Public schools are free same as Thai gov schools; private schools like Lanna are much more expensive in the West.

Note: In England a "private" school is in fact a public school (e.g. it is funded with public money). A "public" school is a state school (e.g. it is funded by the government). A private school in the UK would be some form of institution for those with physical/mental health issues.

Those fees are a giveaway. I attended a public school in the UK (though I was on a full scholarship and not paying fees) and their current fees are £80,000/year or roughly $120,000 or more than 4 million Baht. Uniform, sports, etc. costs were close to an extra £10,000 a year on top of the fees when I was a kid; I'd guess they were a lot more now.

[jingjoke]

I've heard a lot of good things about Lanna. The campus isn't the most beautiful, but it is my understanding that they are moving to a new location. Price seems reasonable as well.

At least students aren't clipped about their heads like one teacher used to regularly do in the pre-Prem days.

[Greenside]

Note: In England a "private" school is in fact a public school (e.g. it is funded with public money). A "public" school is a state school (e.g. it is funded by the government). A private school in the UK would be some form of institution for those with physical/mental health issues.

SiemReaper Post #16

I think you got your schools a bit muddled. Just so it doesn't go forward to become fact, the main types of school in England (other parts of the UK differ) are:

English Public schools which are educational institutions for young people between the ages of 13 and 18 whose parents pay for their education. The students most often live at the school during the school year and are likely to have attended a Preparatory (Prep) School between the ages of 7 and 12. Public schools are so called because when founded they were non-denominational or occupational, (i.e. open to the public) at a time when education was exclusively provided by faith or Guild based institutions, nevertheless, many public schools have strong ties to the Church Of England They tend to have long and cherished histories, antiquated rules and rituals, very high fees and favour The Establishment. Many were single sex (boys, of course - why waste good money on someone who's just going to stay home and have babies?) but social and economic pressures have induced some to change over the last 50 years. American speakers usually refer to these as private schools on the basis that they are not government funded, but they are actually more akin to US Prep Schools. Wikipedia has a good article on Public Schools, here.

In England, Private Schools (also known as Independent schools) are fee-paying schools, governed by an elected board of governors and independent of many of the regulations and conditions that apply to state (government) funded schools. The main difference between these and Public Schools is one of history (see the Wikipedia link above) and many are very long established and well respected institutions who like to present themselves as "minor" Public Schools with fees and facilities to match. Another good article here.

Those with physical, mental or developmental issues are catered for by Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) schools although the provision is often patchy depending on where you live and the modern tendency is to integrate students into a 'normal' state school where possible. These are almost all government funded.

There are also a confusing number of other categories of state (government) funded schools including Academies, Free Schools and State Boarding Schools which you can read about here.

SiemReaper, which school costs £80k? That's really outrageous!

[EWC]

My son has been in Prem for 7 years....very good all around

[Greenside]

Beyond affordable for most of us and even at that price I know of people who were less than happy.

[Dante99]

Beyond affordable for most of us and even at that price I know of people who were less than happy.

Yes more than a few less than happy with Prem. Many are unwilling to admit it because they are paying or have paid so much. Most kids there do not end up with an IB Diploma but that surprise is saved for the end usually.

[Benjie]

We are very happy with Panyaden, I guess you either love it or hate it from some of the comments here. Will be a British Curriculum International School from later this year. I also hear very good things about Lanna International School although I'm sure their fees will shoot up to pay for building their new school.

[scorecard]

Just curious, how much would an international school like Lanna cost annually?

This is their fee schedule- http://www.lannaist.ac.th/admissions-fees/fee-schedule/

Outlandish for something thats free in most Western Countries .I guess most though are the children of Company employees ,whose Company pays in an expat package .

At all such schools in Thailand the student body is made up of:

- Thai students (mostly wealthy / very wealthy families).

- Look Krung kids, mostly with western fathers (and in some case western mother). Father / mother working outside Thailand.

- Look krung kids / adopted Thai kids, father possible retired: western, Singaporean, Japanese, Korean, etc. (At one CM school I'm aware of there are many kids from this category.)

- Non-Thai kids from non-Thai families who have decided to come to Thailand for a few years / forever at their own cost, or to start a new business.

- Some international schools have growing numbers of kids from China, children of the wealthy Chinese / new wealthy Chinese.

- Kids from full expat families where company is paying 100% or a % of education costs of the ex-pat kids.

In Chiang Mai I doubt the total number of students in the 'full expat' families category would be large or dominate the overall student numbers.

Edited April 18, 2016 by scorecard

[laolover88]

We moved our daughter out of Varee as it was just a Thai school. at a price.She was better off. in the local village school where there were no "Chelsea Cruiser" parents. Actually as everywhere in LOS there were no parents. We moved our daughter out of Panyaden as the teachers/administration were totally incompetent. I think the so called "Science" teacher boasted he had a degree from some Bible College and Neil the Head was a whizz on refugees but we were not.

Christian Canadian Americans with little clue about anything. Other parents moved their children to the Asia=Pacific. The Panyaden staff were looking at Lanna for their children. Lanna is somewhere in 1960.

Drugs are a very big problem at Prem. There is nothing in Thailand let alone Chiang Mai that compares with Singapore. Dara and Montfort are basically your choices but they are both huge and aggressively Thai. You have to accept that schools in Thailand are lousy and if international expensive. English Programs are taught by Phillippinos and Cameroonians annd are a complete waste of time and money at 20000 Baht a term. Sorry to be depressing, but based on experience!!

[mcm991]

Drugs are a very big problem at Prem.

What ??

[Puwa]

CMIS and Lanna are probably the best of what is a mediocre lot.

[Rancid]

I had my kids in Bilingual schools, always suspected they were inflating the grades. One changed to a Catholic School and the grades immediately dropped 50%, but eventually increased again. Hmm.

Eventually did the right thing & took the kids back home to finish education in a school back home. Did research and moved into the zone for the school with the best reputation, lots of Chinese were doing exactly the same.

Took 2 years for their excellent conversational English to get up to an academic level, after that all ok.

The time in Thailand wasn't wasted as are fluent in Thai, but you need give time to adapt. By entering school back home they can, in my country, then do the tests for university entry for an easy transition.

Don't think for the most part there are great opportunities for luk krung here, far better back home. We just opened a business and collected a few more dollars while they were at school. They all miss Thailand but also all believe they have better future in the west.

[Fookhaht]

I know quite a few graduates from Grace International. All are outstanding. Worth checking out.

[dunrudin]

We moved our daughter out of Varee as it was just a Thai school. at a price.She was better off. in the local village school where there were no "Chelsea Cruiser" parents. Actually as everywhere in LOS there were no parents. We moved our daughter out of Panyaden as the teachers/administration were totally incompetent. I think the so called "Science" teacher boasted he had a degree from some Bible College and Neil the Head was a whizz on refugees but we were not.

Christian Canadian Americans with little clue about anything. Other parents moved their children to the Asia=Pacific. The Panyaden staff were looking at Lanna for their children. Lanna is somewhere in 1960.

Drugs are a very big problem at Prem. There is nothing in Thailand let alone Chiang Mai that compares with Singapore. Dara and Montfort are basically your choices but they are both huge and aggressively Thai. You have to accept that schools in Thailand are lousy and if international expensive. English Programs are taught by Phillippinos and Cameroonians annd are a complete waste of time and money at 20000 Baht a term. Sorry to be depressing, but based on experience!!

I would suggest that, if you cannot prove a drug problem currently at Prem, you are making a defamatory statement. I recall an issue around ten years ago. No mention on this thread of NIS. How does that rate?

[Ricardo]

Would be interesting to know what the OP decided upon, after starting this thread some four months ago, and why ?