Bangkok Pattana, Shrewsbury, NIST Experiences

[fletchsmile]

Our girls are currently in Shrewsbury International School in what I'd refer to as Primary School (under 11).

We're considering switching to Bangkok Pattana or NIST.

Anyone have any experiences of these 3 schools they'd like to share. What they like(d), disliked(d). Pros / cons etc

Cheers

Fletch

[nikmar]

I used to teach a lady conversational English on a private basis. She sent her 10 yr old to Pattana due to some bullying issues in her original school.

Both Mother and daughter raved about it and i saw her daughter grow from a shy and very timid, insecure little girl into a happy and confident young lady.

[fletchsmile]

Thanks. for the feedback

Our eldest is very shy by nature, particularly with people she doesn't know. So one of the concerns about these schools were they are so big. Pattana we'd heard very good things about, and it has about 8 classes per year compared to 5 at Shrewsbury. So nice to hear shy kids can flourish even somewhere that's so large.

The bullying element is an interesting one too.

One thing we particularly liked at Pattana is the way they limit any particularly nationality. I think it's capped at 20% on local. What this means is that a more diverse culture can be had, so I would guess they are more tolerant and accepting of people that are different, so I would expect less bullying based on nationality/ ethnicity if any.

Some of the "international" schools are very Thai dominated, so the international kids are something of a minority. I'd put Shrewsbury in this category. What it means is that they are sometimes more likely to be looked at as outsiders. Also although Thai isn't supposed to be spoken in classrooms as teachers can't be with all kids at all times, it does happen, and also outside the classrooms. This can make it more difficult for international kids to integrate with the whole class. In primary school this seems to be a bit of a limiting factor on friendships. Not sure whether it carries through to secondary school or not.

[Deserted]

I've taught at both Shrewsbury and Harrow, there was a noticeable difference between the two. I taught grade 7 and the children had discipline issues at Shrewsbury and not at all at Harrow.

[fletchsmile]

I've taught at both Shrewsbury and Harrow, there was a noticeable difference between the two. I taught grade 7 and the children had discipline issues at Shrewsbury and not at all at Harrow.

We also get the impression sometimes that Shrewsbury isn't as tough as it should/ could be on kids' behaviour because their clients are mainly Thai from the top end of society in terms of wealth. Given the Thai ownership, connections and commercial profit making nature they seem to be a bit wary of upsetting their clients sometimes Even within the children you can see Thai hierarchies developing that mirror those of parents status.

Pattana gave us the impression that stating who your family were, wouldn't make much difference to your school life and discipline Similarly NIST.

Another side of discipline though is in terms of regular and consistent work loads/ homework. Shrewsbury seems to be more pushy when it comes to consistent volume of work, probably again a reflection of volume in Thai schools and pressure from parents to give homework etc. This might be an advantage for kids who need continually pushing.

[Deserted]

I can't comment about Pattana because I have never worked there but I was surprised/disappointed with the lack of discipline that existed at Shrewsbury, they let the kids get away with far too much and teaching there wasn't anywhere near as pleasant as Harrow, Don Muang.

[puffy]

I have run extra curricular activities at both Pattana and Shrewsbury.

The children at Pattana were far better behaved. I always felt much more

comfortable in Pattana and as far as discipline goes at Pattana the children

are definitely treated equally. I have 2 daughters who will start school soon.

Pattana would be my first choice for them.

[MrJohnson]

BP and NIST have much more independent management structure than Shrewsbury so less interference from owners and parents so more 'academic' integrity. They both also have a smaller cohort of Thais and more diverse cohort of students generally. Both are good schools. Look at their graduate outcomes and it shows. Fees are in the same ballpark. Two basic differences, if I am correct. Firstly, NIST is exclusively an IB school - from start to finish. BP offers 'A' levels and IB from Year 10 only. The other difference is that BP has great sports facilities and lots of open space. NIST, being in downtown Sukhumvit has less open space. It does however have a swimming pool, tennis courts, gymnasium,s sports field etc. (I have two kids at NIST - and the whole family is happy with the experience. Been there 6 years now)