International Boarding in Asia, Middle East

Thailand

Thailand is becoming a regional hub for international education, with no fewer than 10 international boarding schools spread across Bangkok, Phuket, the Eastern Seaboard and Chiang Mai.

United World College Thailand 

• Curriculum: IB programme; Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the Diploma Programme (IBDP)
• Boarding options: Weekly or full time; Grade 8 (13 years old) and above (Grade 12)
• Boarding facilities: Boarding house with a maximum capacity of 84 students, and two satellite villas situated three minutes’ walk from the school campus for 26 Grade 11 and 12 students; lounge and study areas; access to the facilities at Thanyapura sports resort; 24-hour medical care
• Annual boarding fees: THB 571,573 (full time); THB 413,030 (weekly)
• Location: Phuket

This all through school is one of only a few schools in Thailand to offer the complete IB programme: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the Diploma Programme (IBDP). What really stands about UWCT, though, is its holistic educational programme that covers academia, mindfulness, service and outdoor education. Located next to a sports resort, the school also offers a well-rounded and competitive sports programme.

Students can board weekly or full time at the on-campus boarding houses from the age of 13; a trial boarding option up to two weeks is available for students who want to get a flavour for the boarding programme at UWC Thailand before committing to it.

Read our full review of UWC Thailand.

Harrow International School, Bangkok

• Curriculum: UK, IGCSEs, A Levels
• Boarding options: Weekly and full-time; Years 5-13 (nine to 18 years)
• Boarding facilities: Boarding complex with separate girls’ and boys’ houses; common rooms, kitchen facilities, 24-hour medical care; facilities such as the sports hall, swimming pool, sports fields, tennis courts and mountain bikes are available to boarders out of school hours
• Annual boarding fees: THB 407,000 (weekly) and THB 509,000 (full-time)
• Location: Bangkok

A boarding ethos is part of the Harrow DNA, and day and full boarding options are available to Bangkok students in Years 5 through to 13. Since opening its four boarding houses in 2016, the school has the capacity to board 40% of its students.

Boarders have a short walk across the playing fields from the junior and senior boys’ houses and girls’ house on the school grounds. As well as having the opportunity to sign up for supervised study sessions after school, boarders can enjoy some R&R in the Hub; the sports hall is open every evening; mountain bikes can be hired to explore the campus; and common rooms are equipped with pool tables, table tennis tables, board games and projection rooms.

Both boarders and day students are members of one of six houses, (Byron, Churchill, Keller, Nehru, Sonakul and Suriyothai), which are each presided over by a house master or mistress who is responsible for their pastoral care. And boarders have the added advantage of having tutors on hand when doing their evening prep in the study rooms within each house.

Read our full review of Harrow International School, Bangkok.

British International School, Phuket

• Curriculum: UK, IGCSEs, IBDP
• Boarding options: Full time, weekly and flexible options; Years 4-13 (eight to 18 years)
• Boarding facilities: Five boarding houses, each with a communal kitchen and common rooms; 24-hour medical care
• Annual boarding fees: THB 339,000 – 391,000 (weekly); THB 405,000-435,000 (full-time)
• Location: Phuket

Founded in 1996, BISP is Phuket’s largest international school. Students have every right to feel smug about studying at BISP. As well as enjoying all the benefits of living and working on a tropical island, they can enjoy the outstanding facilities on BISP’s 44-acre campus. From Olympic-sized swimming pools and a short game golf centre to the athletics track and even a trapeze rig, BISP feels as much like a training athlete’s paradise as it does a school.

BISP is home to 870 day and boarding students and it’s a truly international school with 45 different nationalities represented; approximately 20% of secondary students are boarders. There is a scheduled programme of supervised off-campus trips for boarders, such as snorkelling, wakeboarding, indoor rock climbing, kayaking and off-road quad-biking, as well as outings to the cinema, beach restaurants, and shopping centres.

BISP has become a breeding ground for sporting talent. As part of its Aspirational Curriculum, the school runs five sports academies – in swimming, football, tennis, golf and triathlon – which aim to develop and produce world-class athletes who can compete at the highest level.

Read our full review of British International School, Phuket.

Regents International School Pattaya

• Curriculum: UK, IB programme, IGCSEs, IBDP
• Boarding options: Weekend taster sessions, part time and full-time boarding; Years 3-13 (seven to 18 years)
• Boarding facilities: Single sex bedrooms (single rooms for seniors) for up to 160 students, as well as a fitness and weights room, snooker room, table tennis room, and TV lounges and kitchens; 24-hour medical care
• Annual boarding fees: THB 371,925
• Location: Eastern Seaboard

Part of the Nord Anglia family of schools, Regents International School Pattaya blends the English National Curriculum with the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme, and it offers both IGCSEs and the IBDP. This non-selective, fully inclusive school has a nursery, primary school and secondary school, and offers boarding to students from Year 3 upwards.

Based in the Eastern Seaboard, which is Thailand's centre for export-oriented industries, it attracts many expat families as well as the local Thai community. Regents is Nord Anglia’s flagship boarding school in Asia. Parents can choose from weekend taster sessions, part time and full-time boarding, study boarding for IGCSE and IBDP students as they approach their exams, and occasional boarding.

‘Buddy’ teachers support boarders with their homework, both after school and on Saturdays; students also have round the clock support from house parents. For some down time, boarders can sign up for after-school sporting and artistic activities on the Regents campus, as well as weekend excursions.

Read our full review of Regents International School Pattaya.

Bromsgrove International School Thailand

• Curriculum: UK, IGCSEs, A Levels
• Boarding options: Flexible day (4pm to 7.30am), weekly or full boarding; Years 5-13 (nine to 18 years)
• Boarding facilities: Two boarding houses on the Windsor Park campus – Windsor House for boys and Tudor House for girls – are home to around 180 boarders; communal facilities include a TV room, games room and study room; supervised access to school facilities including library, ICT, sports hall, field, performing arts centre, classrooms and science labs; 24-hour medical care
• Annual boarding fees: THB 2,100 (daily); THB 100,220 (weekly); THB 408,600 (full-time)
• Location: Bangkok

This Thai export of a prestigious UK public school offers students aged six to 18 years a typically British education on a large green campus. An all-through day and boarding school in the Min Buri district of Bangkok, BIST offers what has been coined the Bromsgrove Experience. From the uniform (minus the boater) through to the active house system (including weekly House Shirt Friday), BIST draws on many traditions that have made Bromsgrove such a highly respected public school.

BIST offers flexible day, weekly or full boarding options for students aged nine upwards at its two boarding houses on the Windsor Park campus. As well as offering supervised homework and tutoring sessions, the school runs a programme of afternoon activities, sports clubs and weekend trips.

Read our full review of Bromsgrove International School Thailand.

The Regent's International School, Bangkok

• Curriculum: UK, IGCSEs, IBDP
• Boarding options: Flexi (three nights per week), occasional and full boarding; Years 4-13 (eight to 18 years)
• Boarding facilities: Regent’s boarding facilities are housed on a separate campus to the school; facilities include a swimming pool, football pitch, large dining hall and common rooms; 24-hour medical care
• Annual boarding fees: THB 1,600 per night (occasional); THB 4,800 baht per week (flexi); THB 264,000-307,500 (full-time)
• Location: Bangkok

The Regent's International School, Bangkok is a day and boarding school for children aged three to 18 years that's widely regarded as one of the best international schools in Thailand. RIS delivers a typical British education that is based on the UK National Curriculum - from the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) at nursery level through to IGCSEs in Years 10-11. Post 16, the school adopts the more global International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP)

Regent’s offers flexible boarding options include daily boarding for students in Years 3 and above. Also, senior students have the opportunity to study at a British boarding school (Barnardiston Hall School) for up to one term.

Read our full review of The Regent's International School, Bangkok.

Prem Tinsulanonda International School

• Curriculum: IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), Diploma Programme (IBDP) and Career-related Programme (IBCP)
• Boarding options: Weekly and full-time, as well as weekend boarding; Grades 3-12
• Boarding facilities: Three boarding apartment block; access to the school’s swimming pool, sports hall and gym; 24-hour medical care
• Annual boarding fees: THB 291,560 (weekly); THB 398,340 (full-time)
• Location: Chiang Mai

This four-programme IB day and boarding school in Chiang Mai offers a well-rounded education in and out of the classroom. The school has nearly 500 students coming from over 30 countries. There’s a large boarding community here, with 35% of students living on campus on a weekly or termly basis. Every weekend there are a variety of activities available to all boarding students, including compulsory activities for all Grade 3 – 10 students.

Prem is an all-through school has an outstanding location, excellent facilities, a broad extra-curricular programme and offers students a seamless IB learning journey, from kindergarten through to Grade 12. As well as following the International Baccalaureate Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes, Prem is the only international school in Thailand to offer the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme (IBCP).

Read our full review of Prem Tinsulanonda International School.

Rugby School Thailand

• Curriculum: UK, IGCSEs, A Levels
• Boarding options: Daily, weekly and full-time options; Years 3-13
• Boarding facilities: Separate prep and senior school boarding houses; 24-hour medical care; access to school sports and arts facilities
• Annual boarding fees: THB 3,000 per night (daily); THB 347,000 (weekly); THB 410,000 (full-time)
• Location: Chonburi

Rugby School Thailand, which is the only sister school of Rugby School UK, opened its pre-prep, prep and senior schools from 2017. With its offering of boarding options, an extended school day and top-notch campus facilities, this British curriculum school has made a grand entrance in eastern Thailand. The school makes a great first impression. There aren’t many – if any – schools in Thailand that can boast a sprawling 74-acre green campus that’s home to a boating lake, golf course and numerous playing fields.

Boarding options are available from Years 3-13. Parents can choose between day boarding for up to three nights per week; weekly boarding from Monday to Friday; and full boarding for the entire term. Boarding facilities include separate houses for prep and senior students. As you’d expect at a UK prep school, the school day is longer than most and it runs from 8.15am (8.30am in reception through to Year 2) until 5pm (3.15pm in reception through to Year 2).

Read our full review of Rugby School Thailand.

Ruamrudee International School (Min Buri)

• Curriculum: US, AP, IBDP
• Boarding options: Weekly (five nights) and full-time; Grades 8-12
• Boarding facilities: Apartment-style rooms; dining room, study hall and recreation areas; 24-hour medical care
• Annual boarding fees: THB 304,000 (weekly); THB 359,000 (full-time)
• Location: Bangkok

One of Bangkok’s oldest and most established schools, RIS is a 50-year-old not for profit school with around 1,200 students. Founded and still led by the Redemptorist Fathers of Thailand, RIS is first and foremost a Catholic school that promises to provide “an interfaith, inclusive, and academically rigorous education for students”. This Catholic school is best-known for its dual offering of the Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate Diploma Programmes, as well as its religious and values-based education.

Students in Grades 8-12 can move into The Residence, which has apartment-like living spaces with private amenities, refrigerators in each room and 24-hour security. Located on campus, The Residences has communal facilities including a dining room, study hall and recreation areas. There’s a choice of boarding for five or seven days, and boarding fees are inclusive of meals, laundry, housekeeping, activities, and the use of campus facilities. Boarders have access to RIS facilities in their free time, as well as organised outings around Bangkok on weekends.

Read our full review of Ruamrudee International School (Min Buri).

American School of Bangkok (Green Valley)

• Curriculum: US, AP
• Boarding options: Full-time; Grades 1-12 (six to 18 years)
• Boarding facilities: Dormitory that can accommodate up to 100 students; cafeteria and recreation room; 24-hour medical care
• Annual boarding fees: THB 104,000 (Grades 1-5); THB 323,000 (Grades 6-12)
• Location: Bangkok

American School of Bangkok (ASB) is an American curriculum boarding and day school with standout features including mindfulness classes, a university preparation programme and a golf academy.

ASB has two campuses - Green Valley and Sukhumvit; the larger Green Valley campus is located in the Samut Prakan province, close to Bangkok Airport. The school offers pre-K through to Grade 12 at its modern, state of the art campus in the grounds of the Green Valley Country Club, which has libraries, soccer fields, two swimming pools, tennis courts, theatre, computer labs, and dance, music, drama, art and video production studios; students also have access to Green Valley's golf course. Boarding facilities are available for up to 100 students from six years and above.

Read our full review of American School of Bangkok (Green Valley).

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