Thai School Admissions for Foreign Families: A Practical Guide

Private bilingual and EP schools in Thailand run their own admissions — there is no central system, no common application form, and for many schools the entire process happens in Thai. None of that is a barrier, but foreign families do better when they know the rhythm of the Thai school year and the paperwork schools expect. This guide walks through both, based on the admissions documents the Bangkok bilingual schools in our directory publish themselves.

The Thai school year runs the calendar

Most bilingual and EP schools follow the Thai academic year: Term 1 runs from mid-May to early October, Term 2 from November to early March. (Some schools bill across three terms — the teaching year is the same.) The main intake is therefore in May, and applications for popular schools commonly open the preceding October to February. Mid-year entry in November is often possible where places exist. If you arrive mid-year from a northern-hemisphere school calendar, schools are used to it — ask about placement by age and prior schooling rather than by your home system's grade names.

Expect a test — in Thai, English and mathematics

Unlike many international schools, Thai bilingual schools commonly test applicants, because pupils must be able to learn through Thai as well as English. Entrance assessments typically cover Thai language, English and mathematics at the level of the grade below the one applied for; younger children are assessed through observation and short tasks. A child with little Thai is not automatically excluded — schools handle this differently by level, and kindergarten and early-primary entry is the most flexible — but ask directly how the school supports pupils whose Thai is developing.

The documents folder

Schools publish their own lists, but a typical file for a foreign family includes: the child's passport and birth certificate (a certified Thai or English translation is often requested), both parents' passports and visa or residence status, the child's previous school reports or transcripts (translated where they are in another language), and passport-style photographs. Thai families present the household registration (ทะเบียนบ้าน) and Thai ID cards instead — schools substitute the passport documents for foreign families as a matter of routine. Bring originals plus copies; the school office will tell you which copies it keeps.

Money mechanics: semesters, deposits, new-student fees

Bilingual schools usually bill per semester, not per year, and a new pupil's first payment typically combines the semester's tuition with one-off new-student charges and, at some schools, a refundable deposit returned when the pupil leaves. Fee documents are published in Thai and dated in Buddhist Era years — 2569 BE is 2026 CE. Before you commit, ask for the complete first-year schedule in writing, including what is refundable, and check whether the figure quoted is tuition only or tuition plus the term's other charges: schools present both ways, and our school pages record which basis each published figure uses.

Working in Thai, without Thai

Application forms, announcements and parent communication at bilingual schools are primarily in Thai — the sector's websites tell the same story (in the census behind this directory, most bilingual schools publish no English admissions page at all). Practical mitigations: use the school's LINE or Facebook channel, where staff often answer in English; bring a Thai-speaking friend or agent to the school office visit; and ask for key documents — the fee schedule, the school calendar, the refund policy — in writing, so nothing rests on a conversation. Schools deal with foreign parents regularly and are generally helpful; the system is Thai-first, not foreigner-excluding.

Questions worth asking any bilingual school

How many hours a week is each subject taught in English, and by whom? Which track would my child join — and can pupils move between tracks? What are the class sizes in the programme (not just the school)? What do the complete first-year and continuing-year charges look like, in writing? And where do M6 leavers go — which Thai universities, and does the school publish its O-NET results? The answers, compared across two or three schools, will tell you more than any brochure.