International Schools in Bangkok

[Andrew Reeve]

 

I often get asked, do I know what the best International schools in Bangkok are. The answer unfortunately is No. I have looked up several and listed them below in the hope that other people on the forum will comment and offer some insight on them. Please add on any other International schools that you feel would be relevant. Thank you

Regent’s International School

Shrewsbury International School Bangkok

Wells International School

Bangkok Patana School

Berkeley International School

American School of Bangkok – Green Valley

Australian International School Bangkok

Bangkok Prep

Brighton College International School

 

[DrDoLittle]

Which one out of the list would be considered to be n.o 1 i.e. best choice?

[DPat]

I know The American School of Bangkok charges up to 700k THB / yr - must be good for that price!?

 

[Andrew Reeve]

This article appeared on Thaiger news and I found it very helpful:

https://thethaiger.com/thai-life/top-5-international-schools-in-thailand

 

[Romi]

Best International school is the one where your child is happy (finding that one could take some time unfortunately).

[King Cotton]

Hear, hear!

Hi, Romi and welcome to T-T. Good to see you're getting your teeth into a topic or two in your first hour or two.

Cheers

KC

[BGood]

Best facilities and faculty hands down Verso International School Bangkok 

[TiT]

Thailand has a lot of very good international schools, they're incredibly expensive however.

[gummy]

On 5/13/2021 at 5:16 PM, Andrew Reeve said:

This article appeared on Thaiger news and I found it very helpful:

https://thethaiger.com/thai-life/top-5-international-schools-in-thailand

Strange that Harrow is not mentioned yet Regent's in Pattaya is

[TiT]

3 hours ago, gummy said:

Strange that Harrow is not mentioned yet Regent's in Pattaya is

I find that most of these top 10 lists are always dependent upon the author of said article's perspective...

[Nate]

 

I often get asked, do I know what the best International schools in Bangkok are. The answer unfortunately is No. I have looked up several and listed them below in the hope that other people on the forum will comment and offer some insight on them. Please add on any other International schools that you feel would be relevant. Thank you

Regent’s International School

Shrewsbury International School Bangkok

Wells International School

Bangkok Patana School

Berkeley International School

American School of Bangkok – Green Valley

Australian International School Bangkok

Bangkok Prep

Brighton College International School

QSI International School of Phuket is another one.

 

[Marc26]

On 6/4/2021 at 12:31 AM, Romi said:

Best International school is the one where your child is happy (finding that one could take some time unfortunately).

I wouldn't say that is true. Obviously it is great for your child to be happy. But you want them in a competent school, and in Thailand, that is something you have to be dilligent in your research in finding out......

[Rain]

On 5/12/2021 at 1:24 AM, DPat said:

I know The American School of Bangkok charges up to 700k THB / yr - must be good for that price!?

I suspect maybe not. 

Most are easily hoodwinked - 

[JTCarius]

On 5/10/2021 at 3:16 PM, Andrew Reeve said:

I often get asked, do I know what the best International schools in Bangkok are. The answer unfortunately is No. I have looked up several and listed them below in the hope that other people on the forum will comment and offer some insight on them. Please add on any other International schools that you feel would be relevant. Thank you

Regent’s International School

Shrewsbury International School Bangkok

Wells International School

Bangkok Patana School

Berkeley International School

American School of Bangkok – Green Valley

Australian International School Bangkok

Bangkok Prep

Brighton College International School

Hands down, International School of Bangkok.

Oldest, best funded, most prestigious and unfortunately the most expensive ( $31,000 U.S. a year avg.).

This is where the Thai and ex-pat elite traditionally send their children.

My father put five of us through through this hallowed institution and it was an incredible experience.

My 25 yea old little nephew from Austin, Texas finished a contract teaching there last year. So it all kind of came full circle. She was personal tutor to Mathew and Lydia Dean's son, Dillian and a child of one of the board of directors of Boon Rawd corporation who's long Chinese/Thai name I can't recall right now.

Here are a few of it's notable alumni :

 

• Robert A. Goodbary (1960) - Major General (US Army Ret.) (1948-2016)^[3][4][5][6]
• William E. Heinecke (1967) - Chairman and CEO of Minor Food Group companies ^[7]
• Pamela J. H. Slutz (1967) - Retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer; Ambassador to Mongolia (2003-6) and Burundi (2009–12)
• Ho Kwon Ping (1969) - Founder, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts and #19 on Forbes' Singapore's 40 Richest^[8]
• Charles Leavitt (1970) - Screenwriter for The Mighty, K-Pax, and Blood Diamond^[9]
• Michael Young (1970) - TV Personality & Host of "Kids Are People Too" (1978) Executive Producer "Shop Like a Star" (2008)^[10]
• Susan Schwab (1972) - Current Chief United States Trade Representative, and former president and CEO of the University of Maryland^{[citation needed]}
• Richard Powers (1975) Accomplished writer - Finalist, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2006 ^[11]
• Madolyn Smith (1975) Actress - Urban Cowboy, All of Me, Sadat^[12]
• Timothy F. Geithner (1979) - US Secretary of the Treasury in President Barack Obama's administration, ninth president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York^[13]
• Thant Myint-U (1983)^{[citation needed]} - Myanmar presidential adviser, prize-winning historian and author, conservationist, former United Nations official, grandson of U Thant, former Secretary General of the United Nations
• Rob McKenna (1984) - Former Attorney General for the State of Washington
• Tammy Duckworth (1985) - Senator of Illinois (D)- Elected November 8, 2016. Democratic United States House Representative in Illinois's 8th congressional district - elected November 6, 2012.
• Mary-Louise Parker - Nancy Botwin in hit TV series "Weeds".^[14] Sarah Ross in the movie "Red"^[15]
• Tom Cochran - Obama administration official
• Charm Onwarin Osathanond (2005) - Miss Thailand Universe 2006
• Sarunrat "Lydia" Visutthithada (2005) - Famous Thai Pop Star
• Maria Ehren (2010) Miss Thailand Universe 2017
• Amalie Iuel (2013) Olympic Track & Field Athlete - Member of Norwegian National Team in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, competed in 400m hurdles event, attended the University of Southern California  (Notable alumni, ISB, Wikipedia)

Tim Geithner graduated a few years before I started in 1982. But we both attended the original campus at the end of Sukhumvit soi 15. The new campus is amazing.
Senator Duckworth attended a year after we moved back to Washington D.C.
I would have liked to have gotten to know them (even though I am diametrically opposed to either of their political persuasions).

Any one of the schools you mentioned is likely to be very good, Andrew.
But the best is ISB without a doubt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2021 by JTCarius

[Stonker]

On 6/4/2021 at 2:31 PM, Romi said:

Best International school is the one where your child is happy (finding that one could take some time unfortunately).

I'd suggest it's also the one where a child will best develop what are now called "inter-personal skills", and the ability to relate to others including those from very different walks of life and very different backgrounds.

International schools generally have an unpleasant if often (but far from always) well deserved reputation for producing alumni who are unusually arrogant and entitled, and all too often divorced from and unable to relate to those around them who they've been sheltered from throughout their childhood while they've been growing up, maturing and developing.

I'd suggest that one way around this would be to look at international schools that offer genuine scholarships, as in scholarships that cover the fees rather than ones that just entitle the student to be called a scholar and so feel even more superior to their peers.

These schools will attract those who excel academically, as well as at sports, music, and the arts, regardless of just their parents' ability to pay exorbitant fees, and they'll enable your children to relate to those from different walks of life and backgrounds and to realise that being talented, gifted, enthusiastic, and hard working doesn't depend on just an accident of birth.

Sadly, very few international schools do that.

[gummy]

On 5/10/2021 at 3:16 PM, Andrew Reeve said:

 

I often get asked, do I know what the best International schools in Bangkok are. The answer unfortunately is No. I have looked up several and listed them below in the hope that other people on the forum will comment and offer some insight on them. Please add on any other International schools that you feel would be relevant. Thank you

Regent’s International School

Shrewsbury International School Bangkok

Wells International School

Bangkok Patana School

Berkeley International School

American School of Bangkok – Green Valley

Australian International School Bangkok

Bangkok Prep

Brighton College International School

 

As Shrewsbury was only an outcome of  "differences of opinion"  between the original owners  and investors of Harrow School some of whom we can not discuss even though they are Hong Kong based, and certain Banking families, why is Harrow not on that list ?

[Andrew Reeve]

Quote

Please add on any other International schools that you feel would be relevant. Thank you

Hi Gummy

It was the start of a list and the request was for help with other schools that members felt would be a good fit.

[Stonker]

On 8/25/2021 at 10:53 PM, JTCarius said:

This is where the Thai and ex-pat elite traditionally send their children.

No offence intended, but that more than anything else would be what would most put me off sending any children there.

While Harrow and Eton, for example, are still seen as where only "the elite" send their children, that's far from true now and things have changed dramatically in the last fifty years or so.

At Harrow (the original, not the international version) for example, over a quarter of the boys are there with a scholarship or a bursary and over half of those get more than 50% of their fees paid.  In addition to open competition for scholarships and bursaries a number are specifically for those at state schools and from "disadvantaged backgrounds", and a number every year have all their fees paid to enable them to go from a state primary school to a private prep school, then on to Harrow.

[gummy]

2 minutes ago, Stonker said:

No offence intended, but that more than anything else would be what would most put me off sending any children there.

While Harrow and Eton, for example, are still seen as where only "the elite" send their children, that's far from true now and things have changed dramatically in the last fifty years or so.

At Harrow (the original, not the international version) for example, over a quarter of the boys are there with a scholarship or a bursary and over half of those get more than 50% of their fees paid.  In addition to open competition for scholarships and bursaries a number are specifically for those at state schools and from "disadvantaged backgrounds", and a number every year have all their fees paid to enable them to go from a state primary school to a private prep school, then on to Harrow.

We are talking about Harrow International Scholl Bangkok, Not any others as this thread is about International schools in Bangkok.

[Stonker]

1 minute ago, gummy said:

We are talking about Harrow International Scholl Bangkok, Not any others as this thread is about International schools in Bangkok.

Sorry, but I was talking specifically about Harrow School, not Harrow International, as an example of where "the elite" send their children.

I think that under those circumstances it's a more than fair comparison.

[Stonker]

On 7/11/2021 at 11:09 PM, TiT said:

Thailand has a lot of very good international schools, they're incredibly expensive however.

Very true.

I realise absolutely that this is about international schools in Bangkok or Thailand and I don't want to divert from that, but I can't help observing that if you compare like with like and, for example, full fees (boarding, academic, and others) at Harrow International in Thailand with Harrow School at Harrow there isn't that much difference  -  and while there may not be too much difference academically, the difference in other areas particulary (rightly or wrongly) the doors opened is vast.

[gummy]

1 hour ago, Stonker said:

Sorry, but I was talking specifically about Harrow School, not Harrow International, as an example of where "the elite" send their children.

I think that under those circumstances it's a more than fair comparison.

In that case talking about the UK then you are absolutely right. Money will get you through anyway, does anyway fail their prep exams and get refused entry to Harrow (UK) if they come from monied families ? doubt it.

[Stonker]

2 hours ago, gummy said:

In that case talking about the UK then you are absolutely right.

Thanks.  The problem with schools for "the elite", whether Harrow, Eton, or the International School Bangkok, is that "elites" are comparative, and while going to an "elite" international school in Bangkok may serve alumni well in Thailand it simply doesn't open the same doors elsewhere - and whether that's right or wrong, if you're paying one or two million baht a year (including boarding fees) per child then you have to ask if you're getting value for money with an international school in Bangkok, as opening doors has to be something you're paying for otherwise you simply wouldn't be paying.

I'm not criticising international schools per se, but people need to be aware that what it says on the can may well not be quite what you get as far as the link and expected prestige or the "values" and "heritage" goes.

You may be being sold the international school on the basis of their link to the "parent school", whether Harrow, Wells, Brighton College, Shrewsbury, Rugby or Wellington, but the reality is that the links are tenuous at best and most have little or no direct link to their parent school in anything but name. The four Harrow International Schools, for example, in Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai, are all entirely owned by Daniel Chiu who is also their "head governor for life" and they're simply sub-licensed the use of the brand name by Harrow International Management Services Limited, which is owned by Asia International School Limited, who bought the brand for international schools from Harrow School Enterprises Ltd (the school's commercial trading arm).

That doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with the schools at all, as they're generally excellent, but bear in mind that part of your school fees at those international schools goes towards subsidising their parent schools - that's why they're allowed to use the name. 

To put the link to the parent schools into perspective, while the annual Harrow Record sent to all alumni covers Harrow School as well as Harrow International Schools in Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai, and John Lyon School (also in Harrow), out of the 140 pages only one page each, literally, is about each of the other five schools. 

2 hours ago, gummy said:

Money will get you through anyway, does anyway fail their prep exams and get refused entry to Harrow (UK) if they come from monied families ? doubt it.

You'd be surprised, as things have changed enormously in the last fifty years.

When I went there fifty years ago, after being lucky enough to get the one full scholarship awarded every five years, academic excellence was, let's say, not a requirement and the priority was coming from the right family (who had preferably gone to Harrow), having gone to the right prep school, and having a large wallet. That's now changed dramatically and there are far more bursaries and scholarships for a much broader background (before Harrow I was at another public school in London, but a day school), and now less than a third have parents who went to Harrow.  Unless you get a bursary or a scholarship you still won't get in unless you have enough money (and the fees are only the start), but there are only 160 places a year (Eton takes over 50% more), and even though you won't get past the first fence unless you pass the "Harrow Test" which includes two 15 minute interviews, no-one gets in without passing the Common Entrance Exam or getting a scholarship. 

That doesn't mean it's openly competitive, first past the post, but at least it means that if you "fail your prep exams" (CE) you'll be "refused entry".

Sorry to digress, but my point is that you shouldn't judge international schools in Thailand by their supposed parentage but by their performance and suitability, and that there are other alternatives.

 

[Rain]

19 hours ago, Stonker said:

 

Sorry to digress, but my point is that you shouldn't judge international schools in Thailand by their supposed parentage but by their performance and suitability, and that there are other alternatives.

Speaking in general tones, curricula and instruction isn't that terribly alternative - more of an homogenous bent than to what is promoted.