By Arshi Banerjee
Freshly graduated from high school, I knew it was time for me to start applying to a good university for my bachelor’s degree. There was a long list of universities in Thailand that came to mind. However, as I saw the advertisement for Stamford International University on social media, I was instantly drawn.

Being an expat myself, I felt like I would fit in quite well at the university which made me take the decision to apply. I was told by my middle school friend who was also a student that it is very different from other universities in Thailand; I thought maybe she is referring to the campus or the laid-back dress code. Little did I know it is actually a different experience.

As I am just a term away from graduating, the recollection of all the time I spent and the experiences I have gained being a part of the Stamford family comes to mind. Looking back at the memories I had there, everything seems to have passed by rather quickly.

Being an international university, one thing that defines Stamford is the geographical diversity of the students and a melting pot of different cultures. Many expats including myself, as well as exchange students who decide to study in Thailand join Stamford for an international experience. This makes Stamford a great place to meet new people and learn about different cultures.

By Maxmilian Wechsler

Among the more than 70 international schools in Bangkok, Harrow International School stands out as one of the very best. Harrow first came to Thailand 22 years ago, but the institution was founded way back in 1572 under a Royal Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I in London.
 
Alumni include Winston Churchill and six other British prime ministers; the first  prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru; and monarchs like King Hussein of Jordan. The school has educated a long list of renowned business and sports figures, artists, actors and so on. Besides the Bangkok campus in Don Mueang district, the UK-based Harrow has overseas campuses in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The BigChilli is pleased to present an interview with Bangkok Headmaster Jon Standen, whose wife Suzie is Harrow Bangkok Ambassador.

“Our school in Bangkok is in a partnership with Harrow School in London,” said Mr Standen at the start of the interview. “Our coat of arms comes from Harrow London’s, which will be 450 years old in 2022. It is one of the most famous independent schools in the United Kingdom and one of the best.
 
“We have been in Bangkok 22 years and here in Don Mueang district for 16 years. We were the first of the branded British schools in Thailand. There are more and more international schools opening in Bangkok all the time, but none can match Harrow’s history of excellence, which extends to this Bangkok campus.
 
“How my wife Suzie and I got here is a good story. I was previously headmaster at Plymouth College, an independent school in the southwest of England. The college is particularly famous for swimming and aquatics. Suzie was originally an accountant there, and also did a lot of work at the college helping our physician and working with the parents. I was headmaster at Plymouth for just under four years, and gained a lot of experience and recognition there for my work.
 
“Suzie and I came to Southeast Asia to recruit foreign students to study and board at the school. One day I got the idea that when it came time to move another step up the career ladder to a bigger school, maybe we should look for a school in Southeast Asia rather than in England. Suzie thought about it and said ‘yes.’ She likes travelling and she loves this part of the world as much as I do.
 
“We agreed that when a position at the right school in this region became available we would apply. When Harrow International School Bangkok announced an opening we went for it, and here we are. There were a number of applicants. We were interviewed initially at Harrow in London and the final interviews were conducted here. This was in early 2018; 10 months later, in January 2019, we came to Bangkok.” ​

VERSO, a new international school located at Thana City, opens in August 2020 and is currently accepting applications and hosting campus tours.

Cameron Fox is the Founding Head of VERSO International School.
 
For the past 19 years, Cameron has served the American International School (AIS) in Hong Kong, as a teacher, vice-principal, principal, and since 2005, as the Head of School. As the school’s senior administrator, Cameron has a deep knowledge of the educational and operational requirements of a dynamic international school community. He is also an experienced Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Chair and regularly leads accreditation visits to international schools across the East Asian Region.
 
Cameron is originally from Scotland where he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Strathclyde in Politics and Industrial Relations. He moved to Hong Kong in 1993 and did a master’s degree through the University of York in the UK in Teaching English to Young Learners. This was followed by a post graduate diploma in Education at the University of Hong Kong, where he received his full teaching qualification.

Please provide details of the school – the history, background, and philosophy.
The starting point for VERSO International School began in 2014 with a simple question: How can we design a new international school that will truly prepare its students for a world that is changing faster than at any other time in human history?
 
When my team and I sat down to answer this question, we realized that this was a challenge because as educators, we were conditioned by years of being in a traditional school environment.
 
I decided to approach IDEO, one of the world’s leading design and innovation firms in San Francisco, with this same question. IDEO is recognized globally for using Design Thinking, a methodology that uses a human- centered design process to find solutions to a problem in a creative an innovative way.
 
I took this question to a group of people whose job was to innovate, create, and look at things from a different angle. I asked them to help reimagine what a school of the future could and should be,” Cameron explained, adding that the intention was to get a different perspective from non-educators on what a future school could be like.
 
Intrigued and challenged to design a new kind of international school, IDEO formed a team comprising their designers, and together with me and a group of international educators, we spent 4 months in Bangkok, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore, visiting more than 25 innovative schools, doing extensive field research, and looking for powerful insights on how to design a school for the future.
 
Using this research data, the IDEO team tested a number of school design prototypes with students, families and educators in Bangkok. This feedback and insight shaped VERSO’s unique purpose pillars, the mindsets and behaviors that our students will develop, as well as our signature learning experiences. The construction of the school began in 2017 with the hiring of the architects, interior designers. Contractors and landscape artists. Many of our teachers, who we call Learning Designers, joined in 2018 to help develop VERSO’s innovative curriculum, approach to teaching and assessment.
 
VERSO is located close to Suvarnabhumi Airport (15-minute drive) on a total project space of 168 rai, or 66 acres, making VERSO the largest school in the Bangkok metropolitan area. The school is divided into three sections which we call loops: Lower Loop (Early Years 2 – Grade 4), Middle Loop (Grades 5-8) and Upper Loop (Grades 9 -12) with a total capacity of 1,800 students.
 
What is the school’s philosophy?
VERSO is built on three simple beliefs. We are an international school that supports learners to develop a strong sense of personal and cultural identity along with a deep understanding of, and an ability to actively engage with the world around them. Our students will gain the confidence to lead their own journey and pursue any path they choose.

VERSO is the first international school in the world to be designed in partnership with IDEO. VERSO’s unique DNA fuses human-centered design with a progressive future-ready international school education.
 
VERSO is designed to give students a much more meaningful and personalized school experience. Our goal is to give students an international school education that empowers them to achieve their full potential. We see VERSO as offering students and teachers a highly creative and collaborative environment where kids are active participants because learning has relevance and purpose. When our students graduate, they will be confident young men and women who understand how to navigate the world around them, and that’s really what VERSO is all about.
 
What is the school’s chosen curriculum?
VERSO delivers an innovative American curriculum from Early Years 2 to Grade 12 that is aligned to New York State Education Department Standards with an emphasis on learning that is interdisciplinary, project based and increasingly personalized.
 
We chose the New York State Education Department Standards because they’re comprehensive, research based and internationally recognized. They also provide clear learning progressions for all students, outlining what learners should know and be able to do.
 
The key components of our curriculum include immersive language-learning, human-centered design, digital media arts, and a holistic approach to health, physical activity and well-being.
 
VERSO students will be organized into cohorts instead of single grade levels. A cohort combines two grade levels and is served by a dedicated team of teachers coordinated by a Cohort Leader.
 
Students will work in a variety of group settings, including one-on-one, small groups, and larger project teams. Our student to teacher ratio ensures that each student receives a high degree of personal attention and individual support. This is an essential piece of VERSO’s educational philosophy.
 
VERSO will be fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and our high school diplomas will be accepted by universities around the world. 

What are the demographics of KIS by nationality?
KIS intentionally strives for diverse national representation amongst its student body and teaching faculty. Towards that end, it uses nationality guidelines in its admission processes to ensure that it remains truly international. For both our foreign and Thai students, it creates an environment for global understanding and sharing of perspectives while offering a rigorous and well-rounded programme.
 
There are 55 different nationalities at KIS, all learning together in a multicultural, English speaking environment.
 
What criteria do you use when recruiting teachers?
We hire certified and experienced teachers from around the world, many with advanced degrees. In fact, we seek out teachers who are particularly experienced and heralded for their teaching of the IB programmes and who have a love of students and learning. Whatever their background, KIS teachers engage their students and want the best for them. KIS has very rigorous child protection standards that are a critical part of our hiring process and each candidate that makes the final stages of the hiring process will have had three different people from our hiring team interview them.

​What makes King's College International School Bangkok different and outstanding among Bangkok international schools?
We have a great location, outstanding facilities and will have some of the best teachers in the world, but our main strength is the way in which we educate. We truly believe that students need a community centred on kindness, good manners and wisdom and this makes King’s Bangkok a great school. We believe that Thai and English culture share the same aim of educating students to try their best and succeed through valuing others and showing respect. It is the well rounded and humble characters of our students that will set them apart.
 
What are the school's primary objectives?
We wish to provide an outstanding education for our students and to develop a community in which parents, staff and students feel a sense of identity centred on shared values. Our aim is to become one of the best schools in Asia and truly recreate the King’s College School, Wimbledon ethos in Bangkok.
 
What is your target market?
We want students who are eager to participate fully in sport, music, art, drama and a full range of extra-curricular activities. To do this, students must be interested in everything they do and have a ‘can-do’ attitude. For parents, we want them to share our values and to support the school on our journey.
 
What languages will the students learn?
All students will be taught in English and English is our main language. Thai is taught from the youngest students upwards and they all have four lessons a week in Thai language and culture. We also provide a number of Thai extra-curricular activities and celebrate the major national festivals as we wish all our students to value Thai. All Thai students will study Thai GCSE. Mandarin is our third language and all students from reception age and upwards will study Mandarin. In the future, we will also offer a range of languages for GCSE and we will listen to our parents and students to see what they are interested in studying before confirming these options.

​RIS Swiss Section Deutschsprachige Schule Bangkok
Principal Simon Dörig
Curriculum
Primary: all students will be led to multilingualism beginning with German and English. Bilingual English elements in selected subjects. Additionally, all students learn French from Grade 6 onwards up to the Matura.
Secondary: Subjects will be available in German, English and French and other basic classes. There also special weeks that allow students to explore learning that goes beyond the established curricular content.
Fees
Registration: 200,000 baht one time or 20,000 baht per semester.
Tuition: Nursery - Grade 12 starts from 300,000 - 645,000 baht per year.
Contact
Tel: 02 518 0340, 42-44
www.ris-swiss-section.or

Singapore International School Bangkok
Curriculum
Nursery - kindergarten: all subjects taught revolve around themes and integrate all the curriculum standards of Socio-emotional development, Literacy, Science and Social studies and etc.
Primary: Uses renowned Singapore curriculum which is ranked top in the world for Math and Science.
Sixth Form: The Cambridge IGCSE offers a flexible and stimulating curriculum, supported with excellent resources and training. The curriculum helps improve performance by developing skills in creative thinking, enquiry and problem solving.
Contact
Tel: 02 158 9090
www.sisb.ac.th​