Rugby School Thailand (RST) is delighted to have gained approval on an ambitious new school sandbox scheme, which offers a benchmark to fellow international schools. It is their aim to lead the way into schools across the country fully reopening as soon as possible.
Mr Grindlay, the new School Principal, initiated the sandbox proposal, which has been modelled on Thailand’s successful ‘Phuket Sandbox’ tourism scheme. “A beautiful campus is little without the buzz of its students. Arriving into this situation, with no end in sight, I wanted to explore every possible way to bring children back on site”. “The core principle of Phuket’s sandbox has been to allow Covid-free people into a safe, monitored environment that affords freedom within. Mr Grindlay saw the potential to emulate this at RST.
The journey from pitch to approval has involved a lot of hard work and planning. Mr Grindlay engaged the School’s leadership team to help form a meticulous and detailed sandbox proposal and RST worked closely with ISAT to lobby the Ministries of Education and Public Health. Assiduous requirements were set to push such a proposal through, but after several weeks of meetings, RST was granted permission to open a boarding bubble.
There are 258 international schools in the country and RST is one of five that has been granted permission to open a boarding bubble. However, it is one of the only schools to be able to offer face-to-face teaching within its boarding bubble. RST has a large 80-acre campus, within which its international teaching staff live; by sealing the community within a bubble, the School is able to invite students back as boarders in a safe environment that mitigates risk.
Mr Grindlay, the new School Principal, initiated the sandbox proposal, which has been modelled on Thailand’s successful ‘Phuket Sandbox’ tourism scheme. “A beautiful campus is little without the buzz of its students. Arriving into this situation, with no end in sight, I wanted to explore every possible way to bring children back on site”. “The core principle of Phuket’s sandbox has been to allow Covid-free people into a safe, monitored environment that affords freedom within. Mr Grindlay saw the potential to emulate this at RST.
The journey from pitch to approval has involved a lot of hard work and planning. Mr Grindlay engaged the School’s leadership team to help form a meticulous and detailed sandbox proposal and RST worked closely with ISAT to lobby the Ministries of Education and Public Health. Assiduous requirements were set to push such a proposal through, but after several weeks of meetings, RST was granted permission to open a boarding bubble.
There are 258 international schools in the country and RST is one of five that has been granted permission to open a boarding bubble. However, it is one of the only schools to be able to offer face-to-face teaching within its boarding bubble. RST has a large 80-acre campus, within which its international teaching staff live; by sealing the community within a bubble, the School is able to invite students back as boarders in a safe environment that mitigates risk.
The School has invited students from Year 7 upwards into the boarding bubble. It is an opt-in scheme that involves living on-site for 18 days at a time. There will be regular testing for the whole community and rigorous safety measures, but effectively the students in the sandbox will be able to benefit from the full RST boarding experience, with face-to-face teaching, sports and co-curricular provision. Evenings and weekends will also be full of enriching activities to keep the boarding bubble community happily entertained. Every staff member is involved in the activity programme, making it a true community initiative.
Rugby School Thailand is a British international day and boarding school for children aged 2-18. You can find out more about the School and book a tailored tour, here.
Rugby School Thailand is a British international day and boarding school for children aged 2-18. You can find out more about the School and book a tailored tour, here.
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