The Thailand expat forum for Travel, Lifestyle and Fun.

crocadile

I have a son who is turning 3 this year and was wondering if anyone had any advice on what was the best school in or around Pattaya for him to go to. Any advice would be appreciated as this is my first kid.

ntuc1980

Maybe you just need to be on the lookout for that for quite a while before you get anything desired.

sabang

If you are from Australia then probably Regents International is the best- not cheap though.

There is also an American stream International school.

pai nai ma

Post the question on ajarn as well. You will be inundated with advice (helpful and unhelpful).

Camel Toe

Right, teachers hate helping children. It's not their nature.

Just three, that'd be first year kindergarten in Thailand. I wouldn't worry about it too much, Kinder classes, from what I know, are about the same one to another, unless you want English-speaking teachers. And if you do good on you. I teach first grade in a private school and the few students I have who have done their three years in a a bilingual kinder excel by miles - not just in English. Be sure to examine the structure of classes as best you can, check the class rooms for quantity and quality of resources. Talk to some of the third-year students to get an idea of what they can do after three years in the program. 20 students per class is normal, 10 is ideal.

buriramboy

If you are loaded St.Andrews is the best around, if not then probably the Best school which has a 50/50 Thai/English ciriculum.

I'm personally a poor cnut so my daughter goes to a Thai private school which costs about 15,000 baht a term.

Loy Toy

There a many to choose from and according to your budget.

My 3 kids go to the Regents, which I believe is a good school (albeit very expensive) but my main concern is that they are Thai Nationals (half Australian, half Thai) and they are missing out on learning the Thai Language.

What good is it sending my kids to a school and they can speak the Queen's English but can't read or write in Thai.

Big problem if we decide to settle for life in Thailand.

Choose carefully and according to your long term plans mate.

good2bhappy

If you are able to give your kid English instruction then I would follow BB

Loy Toy

Yes, quite OK and will set you back about 50,000.00 Baht per term (2 terms) and the school is considered quite respectable.

Education starts at home and if you can spend some time with your child then he/ she will go well whatever school you select.

CSFFan

To me, sending a child off to school at the age of three is very young. Its not sending them to "school" but to a baby sitting service. Personally, I would suggest that you take an hour or so every day (just about the length of the attention span of a 3 year old over the course of many hours) and do it yourself...get the boy doing simple things like counting, picture recognition (ABC's) and eye/hand coordination exercises so in a year or so he can hold a pencil.

Take the time to teach your son yourself at this age....let him see you holding a book, teach him ABC's and how to count. Fuck the schools at this age, this is your time to get your child started.

DJ Pat

This roughly translates into being a parent right?

crocadile

Thanks for all the advice, as i am currently working in Australia i will have to reside to the gf doing the right thing with him and will take a look at the schools when i get there. big thanks

Khun Custard

Slightly off topic but .....

The best jnr. school for any kid will always be the one closest to home and affordable to the parents. Alienating kids from "the other kids in the street", sending them to primary schools where the parents financially struggle or the kid has 2 hours of travel per day rarely achieves a balanced, happy learning experience.

Invest your money at the time of higher education and take the kids on holidays that expose them to as many cultures and life experiences as possible.

Primary school Einsteins in old school ties, in Thai is a nonsense.

Obviously, been there and done that, (and produced two kids who now hold double, 1st class honours degrees from a real university) - my agenda is world education rather than primary school prefects!!

good2bhappy

You cannot totally depend on school for education, particularly here.
A parent must also take responsibility.

crocadile

Good points you both have made will take on board. many thanks