The International Schools Review Forum

Does anyone have past experiences at this school that you could share? Thank you.

Its a second tier school for thailand, but first tier for Phuket, which isnt saying much. Its a nice city, which of course is the very touristy. Its a for profit school, and its run that way. The admins could be worse, they could be a lot better. The kids are on the entitled side, but thats a majority of these types of schools in Thailand (and really asia). What i hear repeatedly is that the work load is pretty heavy, and they will always ask for more. The pay isnt that great, and neither is the package, but the cost of living is low.

If you want to live near the beach, and in the tropics, and dont have a lot of experience, or just running out of options this late in the year you could be OK for a couple years. Just keep your head down, and be a bobble head.

Thanks PsyGuy! I can always count on you! I am not going to be able to begin my overseas teaching adventure for one more year but I saw this position and were wishing, wishing, wishing I could apply now and leave now rather than later. :) Is it ridiculous to contact the administrator and tell him/her that I can be there in one year and to keep my resume?

Well why don't you just apply and consider your wish granted?

Well it might be presumptiouse, you might love them, but you don't know if they would hire you, and they certainly haven't offered you a contract. So you might not make the most humble impression.
I want to say it won't be ridiculuse, but sorry the reality is they will fill the position with someone, and the contract will be for two years, so it won't be available next year, unless they have turnover or a significant enrollment increase.
They will probably be polite and keep your resume, but schools don't go to their files unless they are REALLY desperate as in bottom of the barrel desperate.

I wish it were that easy! I've agreed to teach at my current school one more year (USA) and I also have to sell my house and have an estate sale. I know you're right, sigh, and I've just got to think positive that there will be another sweet position awaiting me next year. :) I'm itching to get out there in the world with all of you.

"What if all the possibilities of your life were true?"

What if you die the day after new years? Not to be morbid, but your school would be sad for a couple of weeks and then they would move on with a new teacher. You dont need to sell your house now, for the right package you could come back at the end of the year and sell it over the summer.
You say this is your 'dream' job, I know dozens of people that would drop their current school, everything for their dream job.

Thank you for the encouragement. I'm working really hard on getting to the point that I can believe those words. I totally get what you are saying; I don't see it as morbid. You are right.

Bumping this. I interviewed with them and they claimed to be non-profit. Very new school but the package is good for Thailand, plus you get to live in Phuket. It's IB - MYP and PYP and they're going for DP as soon as the students can enter the program. Anyone have any more recent updates?

I just had an interview with them as well. Like "Fstop" said, it's a not-for-profit school and they're getting full MYP next year and DP afterwards. The school facilities and the locations seems absolutely amazing and I am very impressed by the professionalism of the Head and the Secondary Principal. The school "runs on" a philosophy which should (in my opinion) be the heart of ANY educational organization, but certainly of any IB school.

It's a new school which means there's gonna be a lot of work but the teaching load can't be that heavy with a small school like this.

The pay they offer is decent for a school of this size and in Thailand and the benefits of living in Phuket and being start of a new school could be enormous.

My feeling was that they are very heavily student and family centered, which are both huge pluses for me.


[quote="Fstop"]Bumping this. I interviewed with them and they claimed to be non-profit. Very new school but the package is good for Thailand, plus you get to live in Phuket. It's IB - MYP and PYP and they're going for DP as soon as the students can enter the program. Anyone have any more recent updates?[/quote]

This is in no way a for-profit school. This is clearly stated on their web site and I know this first-hand as well. The school's philosophy is very child-centered and emphasizes social, physical and emotional well being, as research supports the benefits in school settings. The Head is very experienced and a good man. They actively seek teachers who will embrace their philosophy and who are willing to work collaboratively. I am happy to see that people with some experience of the school are jumping into this discussion to refute some of the claims that have been made by someone who is clearly uninformed.

I heard really good things about this place. I know someone who works there now and someone else who worked there 2 years ago and was gutted to leave. I've also visited the campus myself and I have to say the facilities are amazing, and in an absolutely beautiful location. There is a load of money pumped into the place and they do a lot of work in the community, including offering scholarships to some less fortunate locals.

As with any new school they have had some teething problems and a change in management, but that's nothing surprising. They do ask you to work hard but that's what you have to do if you want to live in one of the worlds top tourist destinations and have a great life. The packages aren't the best in the world but closely follow the better Bangkok schools. Unfortunately, a common complaint of Phuket expats is that Phuket is expensive compared to other parts of Thailand. I'm sure you can live cheaply Thailand takes a few months to learn where you can fid the best cheap food, and it takes equally long to learn how to order it. the school might not be an elite place to work, but in my opinion it's still one of the better places to work in Thaland.

As for getting in, you'll do well to get an interview without any IB experience. I was advised (as people so often are in S.E Asia) that they really want at least 2 years IB experience. It doesn't hurt to give it a shot though. I don't think they're on the list to be at the London fair so if they aren't full after the Bangkok fair then it's worth a try.

P.S, For anyone living there or visiting, as you come away from the campus and have come on the main road towards Phuket town, there is a coffee shop called Doi Chang on the left hand side of the road opposite a massive temple and by a lake. It has the awesome coffee and some really nice food. Worth a peek if you're in the area.

Aside from the claim that a schools website claiming they re non-profit is NOT self authenticating. That there is really no difference between a non-profit and for profit in Thailand. Non-Profits are not prohibited from generating profits (when revenue exceeds expenses) and that when they do generate a profit they ONLY have to pay 1% on that excess revenue, which is the LOWESt rate of any personal or entity tax rate.