Advice on moving to Rayong province and schools

[DrChopper]

Hi All,

We currently live in Bangkok and are thinking about moving out to Rayong.

Wife is pregnant so we are planning for the long term and thinking about schooling options.

We've spent some time around Ban Phe and liked it.

We are going to take another trip soon but I would love to get input from those in the know;

How far past Ban Chang do we need to go to avoid the bad air and dirty sea?

Once we go past there what bilingual school options are there?

Many thanks in advance.

[Spacer]

There are a few bilingual schools in Ban Chang. As for the air quality it depends which way the wind is blowing.

[Ridge]

3 years in Ban Chang. Yes, the beaches get dirty but the areas where the restaurants are located get cleaned up. Experienced no air pollution yet.

Most of the time, the wind comes from the direction of Satthahib. That means if there is any pollution from Map Tha Put, it would be blown towards Rayong.

As for bilingual and international schools, there are Rayong English Language School (REPS), Garden International and some lesser known, more budget friendly places. Anyways, very conveniently located and quiet town. Immigration offices located in Map Tha Put, no traffic jams, no long waiting times etc.

[gmac]

As for bilingual and international schools, there are Rayong English Language School (REPS), Garden International and some lesser known, more budget friendly places.

Any chance of naming some names and locations for these lesser known budget friendly bilingual schools? I know of Garden International and REPS but even the latter one will cause a bit of a strain on the budget.

[Toosetinmyways]

Sorry to post this but if REPS is too expensive then a different area and thought plan might be of an advantage to your children's education. Nothing is cheap in Thailand.

[gmac]

Sorry to post this but if REPS is too expensive then a different area and thought plan might be of an advantage to your children's education. Nothing is cheap in Thailand.

Very helpful! Ridge indicated that other less expensive places were available, I merely asked for details.

[Dellie]

Sorry to post this but if REPS is too expensive then a different area and thought plan might be of an advantage to your children's education. Nothing is cheap in Thailand.

Very helpful! Ridge indicated that other less expensive places were available, I merely asked for details.

There's St Joseph's in Rayong town which I think is a bit cheaper than REPS. Don't know of any other english programs in Ban Chang other than REPS. There are 2 international schools though, Garden and St. Andrews.

[gmac]

Sorry to post this but if REPS is too expensive then a different area and thought plan might be of an advantage to your children's education. Nothing is cheap in Thailand.

Very helpful! Ridge indicated that other less expensive places were available, I merely asked for details.

There's St Joseph's in Rayong town which I think is a bit cheaper than REPS. Don't know of any other english programs in Ban Chang other than REPS. There are 2 international schools though, Garden and St. Andrews.

Thanks I was aware of those and have looked around the Ban Chang area for others without success. St Joseph's in Rayong would be too far away. I would actually be very surprised if there are any cheaper alternatives as this is a mainly Thai area with most expats on good salaries in the oil and gas industries and probably using the overpriced International options.

[Big Guns]

Sorry to post this but if REPS is too expensive then a different area and thought plan might be of an advantage to your children's education. Nothing is cheap in Thailand.

Very helpful! Ridge indicated that other less expensive places were available, I merely asked for details.

There's St Joseph's in Rayong town which I think is a bit cheaper than REPS. Don't know of any other english programs in Ban Chang other than REPS. There are 2 international schools though, Garden and St. Andrews.

Thanks I was aware of those and have looked around the Ban Chang area for others without success. St Joseph's in Rayong would be too far away. I would actually be very surprised if there are any cheaper alternatives as this is a mainly Thai area with most expats on good salaries in the oil and gas industries and probably using the overpriced International options.

The International schools aren't overpriced options. If you want fully qualified UK/Australian/US teachers with experience in those countries they are the only options. If you want your kids to study IGCSE & IB and go to a University in the UK, Europe or the US then international schools are the only option.

[gmac]

The International schools aren't overpriced options. If you want fully qualified UK/Australian/US teachers with experience in those countries they are the only options. If you want your kids to study IGCSE & IB and go to a University in the UK, Europe or the US then international schools are the only option.

The fact that they are the only options to gain a decent education almost guarantees that they will be overpriced. I don't know what it costs to get a grammar school education in the UK these days, if indeed it is still even possible, but in my day it was free. It should not be necessary to pay through the nose to get any sort of acceptable level of education and indeed is one of the main reasons why Thailand lags behind the rest of Asia in most things. Without decent schools for the masses the country will always remain at the bottom of the heap.

[chrisandsu]

Look into a decent Thai private school . my niece and nephew go to a waldorf school in bkk and they are very well rounded kids . The international schools are very overrated and about the same standard as a bog standard public (government ) school in the west .

[Big Guns]

Look into a decent Thai private school . my niece and nephew go to a waldorf school in bkk and they are very well rounded kids . The international schools are very overrated and about the same standard as a bog standard public (government ) school in the west .

Ultimately you choose a school based on your own criteria and of course on your own budget. A decent Thai international school is vastly different to an average UK state school. Just take a walk around both and compare the exam results. A decent Thai international school is far superior. UK independent schools are more expensive than Thai international schools. In terms of behavior kids at international schools are similar to UK independent schools. I've taught in UK state schools, UK independent and 11 years at international schools here. Sorry this doesn't help the original poster I just wanted to correct some of the false information given