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[Aza90]

mark51mark, on 2010-08-10 00:15:38, said:

alankatana, on 2007-07-23 14:38:42, said:

Try Praht Thai School in Minburi -- new and very different...exciting too.  
Very low fees for what you get.

www.prahtthai.com

sounds interesting. especially as i'm sitting at home in england and my 11month old daughters with her mother in minburi. came outta work 3 months ago and its looking bleak. . . any idea on the fees.

Sounded interesting to me to but they are now closed. We live in Lad Krabang and I read about Praht Thai School about 18 months ago on this forum. Went to see them and whilst the premises were small, they were due to move into a newer and larger campus last year I think. Very impressed with the facilities they had and also spoke to a couple of teachers there. About 3 months ago, went to go and see them again but the school is no longer there. Have tried to find out where they are now located but the numbers on the website don't work and cannot find out any information about the school, not even that it is closed. Very disappointing as we had earmarked this school for our Daughter to attend. Due to where we live, there is not, it seems, a huge choice. We are now looking at the Prawet area where Charter, St Georges and Berkeley are located but prices, I find are expensive. A very pleasent pre-school called Talents is located in soi Pattanakan which is also a consideration for us and whilst I have some reservations, this is looking the favourite. Good luck in your search, Paul

[bkkbasher]

Does anybody have any insights into the Traill International School on Rhamkamhaeng? It's fees are relatively low compared to many of the other British curriculum schools. I was wondering whether it was lacking in any way because of this. I've not visited the school myself, but from what I can see from the website, it all looks pretty good. Its exam results are supposed to be among the best as well.

[tonititan]

teatree, on 2010-06-23 16:42:04, said:

The early years are indeed important, so why would anyone leave the education of their child to a group of strangers?  If you want your child to receive a good education the responsibility is on YOU to educate them.  Especially in the early years, schools should just be about 'topping up' the education provided at home and giving the child a chance learn social skills.

Yes, that is true and sounds great.  The problem is that many parents these days aren't willing to put in the time or effort to focus on development at home.  Kids end up sitting in front of the tv, or playing on their own instead of receiving valuable language input.

[GooEng]

think_too_mut, on 2007-07-08 13:45:26, said:

Ah, forgot to say....there are 185 teaching days at expensive schools...so, for 400,000B first year my daughter would be on 2,200 baht per day. Geez, in wife's village whole family is happy to have that money every 2 weeks.

Oh, and what a day it is? from 8:30 to 12:30 is not a day....only 4 out of 24 hours.

Edited by joe ekkamai, 2010-11-13 12:39:49.

[lannarebirth]

bkkbasher, on 2010-09-02 17:33:53, said:

Does anybody have any insights into the Traill International School on Rhamkamhaeng? It's fees are relatively low compared to many of the other British curriculum schools. I was wondering whether it was lacking in any way because of this. I've not visited the school myself, but from what I can see from the website, it all looks pretty good. Its exam results are supposed to be among the best as well.

My best friend, a Thai doctor, sent his two boys there.  It cost him nearly 50% of his gross income  The eldest is now a first year Medical student at Thammasat and the youngest will be enrolled at Chulalongkorn's Architectural School next year. They're both fine and intelligent boys.  I'm sure their tenure at Traill must have had something to do with that.

[samran]

Just found out that the fees at the Australian international school - primary school run under the NSW system is 80000 per term, three terms per year.

[Kuruzovich]

I provided a list of international school fees in a separate post, as well as a recommendation for the school I work at--Wells International School. Although an employee of any institution will inevitably be biased, I tried to provide a solid rationale as to why we provide a good education at a much lower cost than many other major international schools:

Original post link

[Trembly]

icebkk, on 2008-11-10 04:34:51, said:

sylvafern, on 2008-11-05 20:06:14, said:

icebkk, on 2008-11-01 06:08:52, said:

st johns god i wouldnt recommend that one of my friends went there he hated everything about and move to my school, harrow. I've been there for 10 years now. I have loved every bit about it the school has a great campus now and great teachers who help you alot throught tough times. Alot of the school passes to top Uni's in and outside of Thailand. I used to go to many other schools before, I know Harrow maybe a little expensive but it is worth it. It's a peaceful school. I used to go to Assumption College but not in BKK but all of them schools are very good. I went to Bangkok Patana School, full of alot of different nationalities, great school but the students need banging in the head sometimes... I think education is important however young you are because you start to pick up things better then you are younger and learning somewhere that is up to high standards help.

icebkk - are you a student at Harrow? You're not really doing the school any justice with your terrible spelling and grammatical errors and bad-mouthing of other schools. Readers, please do not think this is the quality of English we produce at Harrow and the attitudes we support. Great to hear the positive comments about Harrow though, icebkk.

im a teenager ur not expecting me to type like u r u? all i have to say is i can have my opinions about whatever school i want to ... people are all diff u know esp wen we r outside of skool.... u dont expect me to be the same person in and out of skool do u? i kno a lot more of the ppl in the skool that have worse spelling than me.... im not english ... i dnt wish to be im thai and proud

hello johnfb.. thanks for inviting me im good thanks but i am happy that you are improving the school i still have a few friends that go there at the moment too so its pretty good to hear that ur doing better

Purrrlease. So this is 'Teenage' Thai spelling is it? You wan't to demonstrate that you're proud of your Thai heritage by writing retarded English? Are you sure you're proud to be Thai? I used to be a Thai teenager at HIS and thought that it was utterly geigh and pretentious when the extra keystrokes required spell properly are negligible. Are you even old enough to remember when txt spk was kind of necessary?

Sorry I'm turning into an affectation-nazi. Oh well, mai pen rai I suppose.

Folks, I had a cracking time at BPS kindergarden, hated being a strangeboy at BPS but had no problem being myself at HIS. I didn't realise it until I went to England but Harrow in Bangkok are really quite rigorous. What Icebkk says about the other schools was in the inter-student grapevine when I was last one about 8 years ago. If you've got the cash then Harrow will really get some booklearning* into your little darlings  . . . and I wouldn't worry too much about them turning into snobs unless you know them to be weak of character.




* if they can't already think for themselves or educate (in the original Greek sense of the word) themselves outside the school then a strapping dose of booklearning is probably their best bet to begin with anyway.

Edited by Trembly, 2011-06-19 13:17:58.

[kerr17]

Anyone is sending his child to Garden International School in Sathorn or has any feedback to share?

[inquisitive]

esbobes, on 2007-09-09 16:43:13, said:

think_too_mut, on 2007-07-08 13:45:26, said:

Ah, forgot to say....there are 185 teaching days at expensive schools...so, for 400,000B first year my daughter would be on 2,200 baht per day. Geez, in wife's village whole family is happy to have that money every 2 weeks.

Oh, and what a day it is? from 8:30 to 12:30 is not a day....only 4 out of 24 hours.

Stop being a Cheap Caharlie

Education is important

You pay for what you  get

Do you drink cheap homemade whisty?

Yes, my friend, but the issue here is whether you get what you pay for.  (And as my three year old has been taught: it's not polite to call people names)

[PattayaParent]

esbobes, on 2007-09-09 16:43:13, said:

think_too_mut, on 2007-07-08 13:45:26, said:

Ah, forgot to say....there are 185 teaching days at expensive schools...so, for 400,000B first year my daughter would be on 2,200 baht per day. Geez, in wife's village whole family is happy to have that money every 2 weeks.

Oh, and what a day it is? from 8:30 to 12:30 is not a day....only 4 out of 24 hours.

Stop being a Cheap Caharlie

Education is important

You pay for what you  get

Do you drink cheap homemade whisty?

Yes, but what has that got to do with education?

[MrJohnson]

inquisitive, on 2011-09-13 00:01:48, said:

esbobes, on 2007-09-09 16:43:13, said:

think_too_mut, on 2007-07-08 13:45:26, said:

Ah, forgot to say....there are 185 teaching days at expensive schools...so, for 400,000B first year my daughter would be on 2,200 baht per day. Geez, in wife's village whole family is happy to have that money every 2 weeks.

Oh, and what a day it is? from 8:30 to 12:30 is not a day....only 4 out of 24 hours.

Stop being a Cheap Caharlie

Education is important

You pay for what you  get

Do you drink cheap homemade whisty?

I went through this whole thing with both of my girls a while back. As their mother is Thai we wanted them to have a good grounding in the Thai language as it is their first language (L1). This becomes very important later on. We put our girls into Anuban 1 (Kindy) when they were 3 yrs old. The older one stayed unti Pratom 4 (5th class - 9 yrs old)) and the younger  Prathom1 (2nd class - 6 yrs old). the older one has excellent Thai skills especially literacy. The younger is fluent in speaking and listening but a little behind in reading and writing.They went to a good private Thai girls school but it still had all of the inherent problems of a typical Thai school. ie. emphasis on memorizing, large class sizes, all teacher talk no student talk etc. However I must say, in the big scheme of things it was OK and now at least the kids can appreciate the  their new school.  So we have now moved them to NIST. We shopped around and looked at  Bangkok Prep, Bangkok Pattana, Harrow, Shrewsbury and a host of others. My main concern with the newer, smaller schools was teacher turnover (seemed very high) and lack of breadth across subjects And, most importantly, the lack of a solid English language support system. If your child is only 3 then this will not be such a big deal. The other thing that I know from friends that have worked in various of the newer privately owned schools is that there seems to be a lot of interference by the owners in the running of the school. This often comes from Thai parents complaining about grading, access to coursebooks etc. This can be very destructive and is one of the fundamental problems in the Thai system. To be honest when I went into the nitty gritty of it all, for my kids and the stage they are at, it boiled down to a choice between Bangkok Pattana and NIST. This was based on the integrity of their programs, quality of their teaching staff, general resourcing, facilities and the fact that they offer the IB system. I personally believe the IB system to be brilliant in terms of preparing a child for the real world. A system that is based on imparting  'thinking' skills' as opposed to skills for passing exams. The quota for Thais at these schools is also strictly enforced so you really feel like you are in an international school rather than a schools that is full of English-speaking Thai kids.  I sympathize with your situation. It is a lot of $$$. Good luck in choosing the right school.


Yes, my friend, but the issue here is whether you get what you pay for.  (And as my three year old has been taught: it's not polite to call people names)

[missapa]

Hello,
I have briefly visited a school in Yannawa called New Sathorn International School as I am considering moving in the area (am in London now). Has anyone anything to say about it ?
I have two children, a boy (11) and a girl (9).
For some reason it didn't seem really "international", there were only 4 or 5 white faces in the playground, all the other kids looked thai or oriental, but maybe it was just coincidental.
Fees however seemed less outrageous than at Shrewsbury's which is also in the area.

Any advice ?
Many thanks

[sparebox2]

The reason for the high prices for good international school is because they don't employ Khao San Tourist. These tourists get 15,000 baht per month, no housing, working for small private schools.

The good qualified expat teachers (ISB, Bangkok Pattana, Shrewsbury, etc) gets about 200,000 to 300,000 baht per months plus housing (range from 70,000 to 150,000 baht) on top. The cost is factor into the fee.

There are lots of cheap local school doing EP programs. Their semi-qualified teachers (Philippinos, Aficans, etc) gets 25,000 to 45,000 baht per months plus a small room (value at 5,000 Baht/month).

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for.

[sparebox2]

missapa, on 2011-10-03 05:38:31, said:

Hello,
I have briefly visited a school in Yannawa called New Sathorn International School as I am considering moving in the area (am in London now). Has anyone anything to say about it ?
I have two children, a boy (11) and a girl (9).
For some reason it didn't seem really "international", there were only 4 or 5 white faces in the playground, all the other kids looked thai or oriental, but maybe it was just coincidental.
Fees however seemed less outrageous than at Shrewsbury's which is also in the area.

Any advice ?
Many thanks

NSIS is Korean own and have many Korean kids. It is located under a flat, hence facilities is limited.

Shrewsbury & Harrow don't have a lot of White either. Mostly rich thai, plus a lots of expat Asian. Like the UK branch, their acadamic records are impressive.

For white dominated school, your choice are limited only to ISB & bangkok Patana. may be NIST too, but I have never visited this one. HOWEVER, you have to pay a white man price too.

Rock bottom in your area, try Sarasas Ektra bilingual program. 99% Thai student though.

Edited by sparebox2, 2012-01-18 13:56:05.

[sparebox2]

kerr17, on 2011-08-07 20:56:15, said:

Anyone is sending his child to Garden International School in Sathorn or has any feedback to share?

Unlike their sister school in Kuala Lumpur, Garden bangkok is ultra small. More like more schooling. Class size? some as small as 3 children.

[mrtoad]

sparebox2, on 2012-01-18 13:49:17, said:

The reason for the high prices for good international school is because they don't employ Khao San Tourist. These tourists get 15,000 baht per month, no housing, working for small private schools.

The good qualified expat teachers (ISB, Bangkok Pattana, Shrewsbury, etc) gets about 200,000 to 300,000 baht per months plus housing (range from 70,000 to 150,000 baht) on top. The cost is factor into the fee.

There are lots of cheap local school doing EP programs. Their semi-qualified teachers (Philippinos, Aficans, etc) gets 25,000 to 45,000 baht per months plus a small room (value at 5,000 Baht/month).

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for.

Err they don't get 200,000 - 300,000 per month - although they do get a reasonable salary and allowances. I'd say for a standard teacher 9not a depart head) at those places more like 150,000.

[fletchsmile]

sparebox2, on 2012-01-18 13:55:12, said:

missapa, on 2011-10-03 05:38:31, said:

Hello,
I have briefly visited a school in Yannawa called New Sathorn International School as I am considering moving in the area (am in London now). Has anyone anything to say about it ?
I have two children, a boy (11) and a girl (9).
For some reason it didn't seem really "international", there were only 4 or 5 white faces in the playground, all the other kids looked thai or oriental, but maybe it was just coincidental.
Fees however seemed less outrageous than at Shrewsbury's which is also in the area.

Any advice ?
Many thanks

NSIS is Korean own and have many Korean kids. It is located under a flat, hence facilities is limited.

Shrewsbury & Harrow don't have a lot of White either. Mostly rich thai, plus a lots of expat Asian. Like the UK branch, their acadamic records are impressive.

For white dominated school, your choice are limited only to ISB & bangkok Patana. may be NIST too, but I have never visited this one. HOWEVER, you have to pay a white man price too.

Rock bottom in your area, try Sarasas Ektra bilingual program. 99% Thai student though.

@Missapa
You're observations on NSIS are correct. Not many white faces, it is international in outlook though and many of the kids are Asian, with a popular Korean influence as mentioned. The curriculum is also international, as are the teachers. A reasonable school and a cheaper alternative to Shrewsbury. It seems better than Garden International, which looks a bit dated. Nice gardens are fine, but its really what's inside for teaching that counts. St.Andrews completes the main International schools in this area if you're looking at Sathorn, it's a bit cramped though, and a nightmare for traffic at peak times.

@Sparebox
When you say "located under a flat", it'd be a bit more accurate to say located alongside/ together with Bangkok Gardens condo, which is a good quality condo complex. They share outdoor facilities of swimming pools. While the location does restrict outdoor sports facilities as you say, the indoor facilities are fine for classrooms. Worth noting also that this is the old site for Harrow International, until they became more established and expanded so moved. When Harrow flooded last year, NSIS also took in some of the pupils on a temporary basis, and helped provide alternative facilities for Harrow. NSIS was founded in 2004, and has been growing since, and with that they have generally been improving facilities such as the library as well as general running.

[LucidLucifer]

sparebox2, on 2012-01-18 13:49:17, said:

The reason for the high prices for good international school is because they don't employ Khao San Tourist. These tourists get 15,000 baht per month, no housing, working for small private schools.

The good qualified expat teachers (ISB, Bangkok Pattana, Shrewsbury, etc) gets about 200,000 to 300,000 baht per months plus housing (range from 70,000 to 150,000 baht) on top. The cost is factor into the fee.

There are lots of cheap local school doing EP programs. Their semi-qualified teachers (Philippinos, Aficans, etc) gets 25,000 to 45,000 baht per months plus a small room (value at 5,000 Baht/month).

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for.

While I whole-heartedly agree that you get what you pay for, (sadly) the international schools do not pay anywhere near what you are talking about. Not even close.

Some of the higly experienced class teachers at ISB, Bangkok Pattana, Harrow and a couple of others (the better paying schools) may be getting around 150000per month, including housing.

Housing depends a lot on whether you are single, have a non-teaching spouse and have children. It is certainly never, ever close to what you say. The figures you quote are closer to what some of the schools pay annually (unless that is what you meant, in which case you're under).

Shrewsbury certainly do not pay that much, nor do many of the other 'better' international schools. I know this as undisputable fact, because I have copies of the salary scales for most of them.

Edited by LucidLucifer, 2012-04-13 11:52:52.

[mjj]

Whilst qualified farang teachers on the whole are probably better than none QTS teachers, its no guarantee. Some of the teachers I've had through school and uni in England were shockingly bad. All I'm saying is that a QTS teacher is not the holy grail some people think it is.

[LucidLucifer]

mjj, on 2012-04-16 15:48:20, said:

Whilst qualified farang teachers on the whole are probably better than none QTS teachers, its no guarantee. Some of the teachers I've had through school and uni in England were shockingly bad. All I'm saying is that a QTS teacher is not the holy grail some people think it is.

Yes I agree that QTS doesn't make a great teacher. I've seen unsatisfactory, and only just satisfactory, teachers in UK schools. I've also mentored PGCE students from two different universities. One of which passed her course to get QTS, despite mine, and others, serious reservations.

However, once you have QTS, you still need to pass induction which takes another year. Any school worthy of calling itself a school will put in place extra help and professional development for those missing, or only just making, the required standards. Where would you get this with a TEFL cert or CELTA? You simply wouldn't.

As an note about the above mentioned PGCE student I mentored. She still had to go out and find a job, which she couldn't do, and has now left the profession forever. Good ridence in my eyes!!

With the better international schools, they only look at practitioners with experience and a proven track record (although i do conceed that some may slip through the net).

[harryfrompattaya]

sparebox2, on 2012-01-18 13:49:17, said:

The reason for the high prices for good international school is because they don't employ Khao San Tourist. These tourists get 15,000 baht per month, no housing, working for small private schools.

The good qualified expat teachers (ISB, Bangkok Pattana, Shrewsbury, etc) gets about 200,000 to 300,000 baht per months plus housing (range from 70,000 to 150,000 baht) on top. The cost is factor into the fee.

There are lots of cheap local school doing EP programs. Their semi-qualified teachers (Philippinos, Aficans, etc) gets 25,000 to 45,000 baht per months plus a small room (value at 5,000 Baht/month).

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for.

I agree as my wife used to teach their, and her familiy is connected with school as owners. Sorry that you say "I'm turning into an affectation-nazi."  To use free grammerian's we say peple like you are pink slime.

[Frogmountain]

Anyone ever tried to negotiate school fees? Thinking of giving it a go. My husband's employer no longer pays school fees and we're taking a bath.

[kurnell]

Frogmountain, on 2012-04-27 10:16:00, said:

Anyone ever tried to negotiate school fees? Thinking of giving it a go. My husband's employer no longer pays school fees and we're taking a bath.

I did. In fact most people I know did

[Frogmountain]

That's awesome, tho now I feel like a dolt for not doing it sooner.