St. Andrews International School

The Admissions Policy

St Andrews International School, Bangkok is a British style international School. We do not select on academic ability as we believe that all children are entitled to have the opportunity to experience an international education in a challenging and supportive environment. Admission to our school is based on the ability of the individual student to access the whole school curriculum and the ability of the school to meet the students’ individual needs. We welcome children from a broad range of cultural and educational backgrounds, including those with particular learning needs. We seek to understand the individual needs of every child admitted to our school to ensure that everyone reaches their full potential. The school is proud of its inclusive admissions policy.

In order to determine whether a student is able to access the whole school curriculum and whether their needs can be met by us, we ask students to attend an assessment day. This opportunity will be given to all Early Years and Key Stage 1 applicants and those in Key Stage 2 and High School who meet the English language requirement. Students are invited to come to school for a normal day and are placed in a class with their peers. They take part in all forms of class activities and are allocated class buddies to show them round at recreation times. Teachers are consulted throughout the day about how a child is performing and these observations are used to make judgments which will be discussed later with the child’s parents.

International School Bangkok Thailand Admissions

The Admissions Process
Following reviewing our web page and the information it contains, parents are asked to contact the Admissions Department either by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by telephone asking to speak to the Head of Admissions Mr Roy or the Admissions Officer, Khun Nan: +66 (0) 2 381 2387. The Admissions Department will provide parents with more information about the school and/or book an appointment.

General Information sent out by the school
General information includes our school prospectus, structure of fees, the necessary application documents for admission, academic year comparison sheet, school calendar, list of clubs, etc. This information can be provided either electronically or by post.

Arrange an appointment to visit the school
At St. Andrews, we like to meet all prospective families personally. You and your family will be invited to come and visit the school and initially meet Head of Admissions, Roy Steinbach.

Meet the Head of Admissions
Our Head of Admissions, Roy Steinbach is the first point of contact you will have with the school and he will be happy to answer any general questions you may have. He will assess which year group your child should be placed in and show you around the school. You will have the opportunity to discuss more specific questions you may have regarding the school and your child/ren with Roy. It is very important that families let us have as much information about their children so that the admission to our school is as smooth as possible. Should one of your children have particular learning needs please provide us with as much information about their requirements so as to avoid any disappointment or misunderstanding as we go through the admission process.

Reserve a provisional place
You can provisionally reserve a place by filling in our application form and paying the application fee. The following additional documentation is required before the child/ren can be admitted to school

·         Photocopy of birth certificate of child/ren
·         Photocopy of Mother’s and father’s passport
·         Photocopy of recent school reports
·         Medical check up certificate/letter to show the health of the child/ren indicating allergies, vaccinations, illness etc
·         Special dietary requirement
·         Special Learning Needs - additional information e.g. educational psychologists reports, tests, etc

Once a provisional place has been reserved, we will ask you to bring your child into school to complete the admissions procedure. This varies slightly depending on the age of the child.

Early Years and Key Stage 1
Since each child is very different, children are ready to start school at slightly different ages. To ensure that your child has started to develop the skills to make a successful transition from home to school we invite all new children wishing to join Early Years programme to come to school for one whole day. This assessment day is like a normal school day. We are looking for:

-       An enthusiasm for school – curiosity, interest, willingness to participate
-       Some independence in terms of moving around, dressing, putting shoes on, feeding themselves, toilet habits. Some assistance may be needed with younger children, which is understandable
-       A willingness to communicate – if not in English, at least an openness to learn
-       An understanding of appropriate behaviour

Once the assessment is completed, the class teacher and Head of Phase for Early Years & Key stage 1 will feedback to you towards the end of the day. We find our trial day works very well for all concerned. It allows us to see how a child would fit into a particular year group socially and whether they have the necessary skills to allow them to adapt quickly and learn effectively. Sometimes we are able to identify early learning needs which may mean your child requires additional support. This is also a chance for the child to meet their peers and experience school routines and get used to the environment they will be in once they join the class.

We appreciate that some children may take time to adjust to a new environment, so we may suggest a period of settling in. In Nursery, this can mean that a parent or carer is invited to stay with the child for a few days to ensure a happy and successful transition.

Key Stage 2 and High School
From Key Stage 2, Year 3 and above, children who are not native speakers of English are invited into school for a pre-admission English assessment. This consists of a series of short conversations and written tests that allow us to judge whether a child has enough English language competence to able to access our curriculum. The pre admission English assessment allows us to determine whether a full assessment day would be appropriate.

Key Stage 2 Assessment Day
A child wishing to join Years 3 to 6 spends the day with the class they would go into upon admission. This allows the class teacher and the Head of Phase to see how they cope academically and also socially within the group. If the class has specialist lessons that day they go with their group to these subjects and take part as well as they can. If a child is known to have particular learning needs, these are investigated further to establish whether we are able to offer the support that the child will require in order to access the curriculum. It may be necessary for our Learning Support Coordinator or Head of Phase to undertake some further assessments which will be discussed with the parents at the end of the day.The Head of Phase for Key Stage 2 will meet with parents at the end of the day to discuss whether we are able to offer the child a place. If the child has learning needs, or EAL needs there will be a full discussion about the level of support required.

High School Assessment day

A student wishing to enter a High School year group will join their future class tutor group. They will follow the timetable of the class for the day taking part in all subjects. The Head of High School will discuss the student’s engagement and participation with teachers. This is not primarily an assessment of academic ability but we are looking for students who have a positive, open, enthusiastic attitude to learning. If there are learning needs already known or in some cases needs become obvious during the assessment day, the Learning Support Coordinator and EAL coordinator will become involved and may administer further assessments to ensure we are able to offer the right level of support should the student be offered a place.

The Head of High School will meet with parents at the end of the day to discuss whether we are able to offer the student a place. If the student has learning or EAL needs, there will be a full discussion about the level of support required.Offered a place at school and payment of school feesIf the day has been successful your child will be offered a place in the class or the year group they joined. If there are any conditions for entrance to school that have to be met, the Head of Phase will talk these through with you.

Following the offer of a place in school, parents must opt for one of the methods of payment of the enrolment fee, either full payment or capital levy. Parents will receive an invoice which will include a date by which it must be paid in full. Failure to pay by this date may result in the offered place being given to another family. Any problems regarding payment must therefore be discussed immediately with the Head of Admissions before the payment deadline.

Start at school
Due to the international nature of our school, we are very flexible with regard to when your children can start with us. Most families join us at the beginning of the new academic year which starts at the end of August; however, it is possible for students to start any time during the course of the school year.