Thailand's first Chinese international school opened in Bangkok in August 2021 for students aged two to 12 years. Mandarin International School (MIS), offering a combined Chinese-UK curriculum to Thai, Chinese, and foreign students.

Thailand's first international school teaching a Chinese curriculum is open to students from Pre-school to Primary 2 (aged 2-12) for the 2021-22 academic year.

Mandarin International School (MIS) offers Early Years, Primary School, Lower Secondary, and Upper Secondary levels at a purpose-built campus. It has capacity for up to 1,000 students. Although clearly aimed at local Thai students and the growing number of Chinese students in Thailand, the school is also open to other nationalities. 

MIS says:

“Mandarin International School is the first Chinese international school to combine modern conceptions of Eastern wisdom with Western educational concepts. We aim to enrich students with an immersive bilingual teaching model, inspiring the next generation with our outstanding academic and enterprising spirit, to reform education and change the world with a mature way of thinking.”

MIS is founded and financed by Thailand’s Asia International Education Group, and the school has been approved by both the Office of Private Education Committee of the Ministry of Education of Thailand, and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Thailand.

The founding headmaster Professor Ye Yi, who has a Masters from the UK's University of Leeds.

The curriculum

The Chinese-English bilingual curriculum is taught by a team of Chinese, American, British, and Thai teachers, with many lessons being taught in Mandarin to both native and non-native speaking students. It combines China's STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) programme with the UK's curriculum, including the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). MIS has also partnered with Srinakharinwirot University to develop a Thai Language and Social Studies course. Class sizes are not small at around 25-30 students.

Teaching in the Pre-school focuses on play-based activities in handwriting, phonics, mathematics and literacy, as well as weekly PE, dance, music, Thai and Mandarin language courses. In the Primary school, students study mathematics and science in Chinese; there is specialist teaching in modern Chinese philosophy, kid-entrepreneur mindset, PE, art, design technology, and music. Students work towards HSK 3 in Primary 3 and HSK 4 in Primary 6; the HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi) is China's standardised proficiency test of Mandarin Chinese.

Once open, teaching in the secondary school continues to follow the UK curriculum in combination with China's STEAM programme, as well as intermediate Chinese, English and Thai. MIS plans to offer IGCSEs and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme; it also promises opportunities for older students to join summer camps in China or the UK during school breaks.

Campus and facilities

MIS has a purpose-built, 13,200 sqm campus on Ramkhamhaeng 68 in the Hua Mak district. Facilities at this modern school include a purpose-built Early Years building, STEAM lab, science labs, library, art room, indoor hall, two swimming pools, football pitch, and athletics trek.

Admissions and fees

Annual tuition fees range from THB 250,000 in Nursery up to THB 330,000 for Primary 6. There are one-time, non-refundable fees to pay including an application fee of THB 5,000, assessment fee of THB 3,000, and an enrolment fee of THB 88,000. It's a non-selective school, and students need only to submit an application form, health record and latest school reports for admission.

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