When you move to Thailand and look at the available schools to send your children to, there are three main types from which you can choose. Many expatriates will send their children to international schools, and below this, you have the private schools, and at the bottom are the government schools. If you are new to Thailand and have no idea about education in the country, below are some of the differences between the schools to help you decide where to send your children.
International Schools
The standard of teaching in the Thai international schools is high, and there are international schools throughout the country that you can send your children to for their education. You can start younger children off at an international nursery before sending them to upper school, and these are the most expensive schools in the country. You find that most of the lessons will be taught in English unless the curriculum is from a different country. The schools teach from various curriculums, including:
- American
- French
- Australian
- British
- Chinese
- Swiss
The term times are also slightly different compared to private and government schools as they tend to follow more of a European schedule.
Private Schools
Private schools also offer a high-quality education for their students, and there are schools right across Thailand. The cost of these schools is often much cheaper than the private schools, but still more expensive than the government ones. The class sizes are also usually bigger than international schools, with around 30 students per class, which is still fewer than government schools. Private schools will often be well equipped with excellent facilities for their students, and most schools will have an English program where lessons are taught in both Thai and English.
Government Schools
The government schools in Thailand are the cheapest options when it comes to educating your children. However, some government schools are highly sought after, and you can get tens of thousands of students applying to the top schools in Bangkok. These schools do most of their teaching in Thai and will have a couple of English lessons every week. However, the better schools may also have an English program that students can attend. Although these schools can provide an excellent education for children, depending on which one they go to, the one drawback to them is the size of the classes. At a typical government school, each class can have anywhere between 45 and 60 students, making the classroom a loud and hectic place to be.
