Africanteacher

To get back to the ops original subject, I do have a child in Darasamut's English program and I have another joining P1 next year.

The English part of the EP is very good.  The teachers seem genuinely interested in the children's development and are always available to discuss the child's progress.  They have a low teacher turnover and in fact most of the same teachers have been there for the 3 years my child has been in the program.  In the later years of the program the children do have the opportunity to earn Oxford English qualifications which are internationally recognised and I'm told that the children's results in those tests have been very good.

They do have weaknesses.  The Thai administrators of the school insist on making the program very exam result orientated which I really think is wrong during the early school years.  Still I am generally pleased with the English part of the program.

The Thai part of the program is still very much Thai style education.  It is not how I think education should be and my children do not enjoy it.  Just the same the school has a reputation for being one of the better Thai schools in Phuket.

Contrary to what some posters have been suggesting, you do not have to send your children to an international school to give them a good future or to feel morally superior about yourself.  Sure it would be nice if everyone could afford to send their children to expensive schools but it is not the only thing that will decide their future.

You have to remember that if your children are half Thai and likely to treat Thailand as their home, then good Thai language skills are also going to be important to them and they will not get those from an international school.

Money can buy a lot but in the end it is the amount of care and attention that parents give to their children that will be the biggest factor in determining their future.