Interview with Founding Headmaster Thomas Banyard
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.
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.
Any focus on Thai culture and history? Thai culture is incredibly important and this will be a big part of the Thai studies. We want our students to fully understand the country they are living in and its rich and exciting history. Please outline your anticipated demographics. Initially we open for ages 2-11 and then will welcome students up to age 14 in 2021. We will have a range of nationalities and we already have students from many different countries who will join us next year such as England, Belgium, Australia and, of course, Thailand! How do you recruit your teachers and from where? Teachers will mainly be recruited from the UK and we travel to Wimbledon in December to interview at King’s College School, Wimbledon. We are also using our connections to encourage teachers who have previously worked with us to join this new and exciting experience in Bangkok. We will have also look for the best teachers locally such as teachers of Thai studies and assistant teachers. How important is it for a school like King's Bangkok to be part of the local community? Incredibly! In Wimbledon we are very proud of our partnership programme which helps us work with many different organisations including 27 local primary schools. We will be actively looking to make links with other schools and charities and anyone interested in working with us should contact the school as we would be very interested in meeting them. | What about the extra-curricular activities for pupils? The extra-curricular activities are a huge part of the school and one of the reasons our students will be excited to be coming to school every day. There are clubs and societies at lunchtimes, two periods a week within their timetable for the older students and optional activities after school every day for reception age and upwards. These will be a big mixture of creative, academic and sporting options. We aim to allow every student to find at least one thing that they are passionate about and in which they can find success. What can parents expect in terms of their child’s education at King’s Bangkok and beyond? We wish for our students to enjoy their time with us but also to be successful in life. At school, we wish to build a strong character centred on ‘doing things in the right way’ and treating others with respect. They will study IGCSEs and A levels which are an incredibly well-recognised pathway to the best universities in the world. We have the full support of King’s Wimbledon to help us deliver the best careers guidance to help our students find the right universities. How will you link with King's Wimbledon in the UK? King’s College School, Wimbledon is a big part of our team and we work with them in so many ways. Every day we are in contact to work together on policies, marketing and education. We have a biweekly project management board which ensures we communicate well and work on all aspects together. We also have the help of King’s Wimbledon in recruitment; they recruit all senior leaders and we will travel there to recruit our teachers in December. They have set up a loan staff system so a teacher comes to work in Bangkok for a year and can then return to Wimbledon or stay with us for longer. We also have a gap year student programme in which Freddie and Jonathan are the first Wimbledon students to be helping with the school here. |