Rugby School Thailand (, ) (RST) is a private co-educational British international school in Bang Lamung District, Chonburi, Thailand. It is a day and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

similar to its 453-year-old sister school,

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

in the UK. Its 80-acre campus (190

rai RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

) is approximately from

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

and from

Pattaya Pattaya ( th, พัทยา, , ) is a city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district in the province of Chonburi province, Chonburi. Pattaya City ( ...

. Rugby School Thailand offers Britain's national curriculum to both Thai and international students. In September 2017, the Prep and Pre-Prep school opened for Pre-Nursery (2 year-olds) up to Year 6 (10/11 year-olds). Years 7-13 opened in September 2018, with boarding available for Year 3 students and above.

History

In 2015, Nigel Westlake, former headmaster of

Packwood Haugh School Packwood Haugh School is a co-educational private preparatory school (UK), Preparatory school for pupils from the ages of 4 to 13, offering places for both day and boarding pupils.Iles, D. ''et al.'', ''Packwood Haugh School: Independent Schools ...

and Brambletye School, joined with Wisdom Enterprise (owned by the Teepsuwan family) to set up a new international school in Thailand."Wisdom Enterprise collaborates with Rugby School", ''Bangkok Post'
/ref> With over 30 years experience in the UK independent sector, with 15 of those as head, Mr. Westlake serves as the founding headmaster of the new project. After presenting their plans and receiving positive feedback from 14 schools in the UK, the founders chose to partner with Rugby School The 80-acre campus opened for pre-prep and prep school in September 2017 and opened for senior school in September 2018. On the 12th of September 2021, Rugby School Thailand opened the first 'school sandbox' in Thailand after working with the ISAT to gain approval from the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

and the Ministry of Public Health. This allowed for the reopening of the school amidst the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, which allowed students to return to school via a boarding program by taking regular antigen tests and the implementation of rigorous safety measures within the school grounds. Out of 258 international schools in Thailand, the school is only 1 out of 5 that have opened a boarding bubble to offer face-to-face teaching.

Curriculum

Rugby School Thailand offers the UK National Curriculum, supplemented by selected components of the British Private School Curriculum, for

key stage A key stage is a stage of the state education system in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar setting the educational knowledge expected of students at various ages. The term is also used in some other a ...

s 0-2 from Pre-Nursery up to Year 6 (ages 2–10). In September 2018, the school opened with 145 students for key stages 3–5 (ages 12–18) and also offer the internationally recognised qualifications IGCSEs, and

A-Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

. The school will eventually be able to accommodate roughly 1,250 pupils.

Boarding

Boarding at Rugby School Thailand began in September 2018 and is available to children from years 5–13. Currently, there are three different boarding options: # Part boarding - Students aged 10-13 years old may board for up to three fixed nights per week. # Weekly boarding - Weekly boarders stay at school all week during term-time (except half-term), and head home on Friday or Saturday afternoon for the weekends. # Full boarding - Full boarders stay at school all week during term and enjoy the full weekend programme. They will be able to go home at leave weekends or over half-term.

Fees

Tuition fees range from 470,000 to 869,000 baht per year. Annual Boarding fees are 248,500 baht for Part Boarding, 364,300 baht for Weekly Boarding and 430,500 baht for Full Boarding.

Campus

At the 80-acre campus, facilities include:

References

{{International schools in Thailand Buildings and structures in Chonburi province International schools in Thailand Educational institutions established in 2017 2017 establishments in Thailand