“We create an educational environment dedicated to nurturing the whole child”

Sought to provide inclusive education to students and standing tall in its approach of offering world-class education, Rugby School Thailand is creating podiums for the young minds to chase their dreams and soar high. The school is the flagship international division of Rugby UK, a 450-year-old leading British independent school, where the world-famous sport, rugby, was invented. The school is known as a world-class international school that gives each pupil an outstanding education that fosters their whole being in a caring and dynamic environment.

It is a co-educational day and boarding school that follows the British curriculum and models itself on the British private school system, with smaller classes, longer days, and sport and co-curricular activities integrated into the daily timetable. The advantage of being a boarding is that, it gives students a family. Staying away from home and family members, boarding schools offer a homely feeling for students. Rugby School Thailand offers ‘home from home’ environment for its students where children feel at ease and relaxed. The House Parents and House Dean members of the RST ensure that every child gets expert guidance. Developing core values, supporting any personal issues, strict rules regarding usage of mobiles, and helping children build interpersonal skills and discover new hobbies are some of the measures taken by the school to ensure the holistic development of students.

The school started with 150 pupils from Pre-Nursery to Year 8 (Pre-Prep and Prep) and is now in its second year with 450 pupils across Pre-Prep, Prep, Senior and Sixth Form. Rugby School Thailand promotes excellence in all facets of school life, encouraging a restless desire for knowledge; resilience in the face of challenge; and a rigorous determination to achieve one’s best. The School honors individuals for who they are, and seeks to reward them for what they do. The school aims to create confident young men and women who value loyalty and commitment, and who make a positive contribution to their school and their world.

Passionate and Persistent Educator

Taya Teepsuwan is the CEO & Co-owner of the institute. Along with her husband and brothers-in-law, Taya Teepsuwan is part of the driving force behind Rugby School Thailand’s inception. The family have always admired the traditions and ethos of Rugby UK, as it simultaneously encourages children to fulfil academic potential while exploring wider interests through activities. After educating her own children at Brambletye in England, Taya engaged the headmaster, Nigel Westlake (Founding Headmaster of Rugby School Thailand) in the project in 2015. With a background in education, Taya is passionate about changing the way children learn, believing that every day at school is an opportunity to grow and develop, mentally, emotionally, physically and culturally.

Opportunities and Exposures

The school is truly international, with a 45:55 split of Thai to Expat pupils and it recruits top teachers from around the globe to offer the best education. The location allows children exposure to nature and time outside playing sports and co-curricular activities, all of which are integral to the holistic development of ‘mind, body, spirit’.

Rugby School’s ethos is ‘the whole person, the whole point’. This serves a much fuller education than most international schools in Thailand, with a combination of academic excellence with co-curricular activities and sport. The school has world-class facilities, such as: a large sports hall, extensive playing fields, boating lakes, swimming pools (and a dedicated aquatics centre in development), playgrounds, soft play, large auditorium, cookery suite, design technology lab, science labs, art block. Children at Rugby School Thailand can lead active lives in cleaner, less-polluted air than many others.

Education beyond Classrooms

Rugby School Thailand’s continuous endeavor to empower its students will all future-needed skills epitomizes how ambitious and forward-thinking it is. A very good example of its efforts is its partnership with BANPU INFINERGY to create renewable energy sources. At present around ¼ of the school’s energy is powered by solar panels around the school. Rugby School Thailand has recently been granted ‘smart school’ status after a visit by Thailand’s Minister of Education in February.

In a student-led collaboration, the school has partnered with Wat Koh School in Rayong to help them develop as a school.  A initiative of the Thailand government, Rugby School donates budget for their breakfast throughout the academic year as well as finding new sports equipment.  Playing its role in community service, Rugby School Thailand sets an example to its students to be community driven and to be responsible towards society.

The school runs an extremely popular weekly ‘Rugby Rascals’ playgroup for babies and toddlers from birth. This allows local parents and children to come together in an inspiring environment and benefit from the excellent facilities and expert teachers. The playgroup offers access to things such as the splash pool, soft play, baby yoga, story time and sensory experiences.

Diversified Programs and Individualized Learning

Rugby School Thailand follows the British National Curriculum, and incorporates a mix of cultural and historical themes. The diverse international mix of the school is celebrated by holding cultural days. In a year, the school celebrates Lunar New Year, Songkran, Loy Krathong, Wai Kru, International Day etc, all of which teach the children to appreciate the world and the people in it.

Pre-Prep: The Pre-Prep incorporates a mix of cultural and historical themes. They celebrate diversity, environment and history through their topics, celebration days and Project Weeks. The school also provides a wide range of experiences for the children through music, drama, art and sports that encourage and develop their critical thinking and problem solving. Important too is learning how to interact with others, be polite and deal with situations and events in the right way. By offering a range of after school activities they ensure that they allow pupils the chance to try something new and discover more about themselves and who they are.

Prep: The school follows the British National Curriculum and the Independent Schools Examination Board, which are both followed by the Prep schools in the UK. In addition to the broad curriculum, they have so far completed two Project Weeks that focused on specific themes and incorporate worldwide issues, cooperative group work, cross-curricular learning, creativity, thinking skills, entrepreneurial skills and many more attributes.

Through the activities programme each school day and the Saturday Enrichment, the school offer opportunities to learn a range of new things that help to broaden the educational experience of pupils. In each area of learning they encourage healthy competition internally and externally. The school encourages children to debate, make decisions, problem solve, empathise, collaborate, be independent and develop many other key skills

Senior: Senior School continues to follow the British curriculum and drive academic success as student’s  begin to refine their key subject interests and prepare for exams.

In F Block (Year 9) the key foundations are laid that enable students to excel once they move on to their IGCSE studies and beyond. During their time in F Block, the students will experience a broad, diverse academic curriculum, with the opportunity to specialize in particular areas of interest. This will be complemented by the enrichment programme that is so integral to the Rugby philosophy of developing the whole person. Together, the academic and enrichment programmes develop intellectual curiosity, creativity, independence and resilience, as well as providing ample opportunity for students to take intellectual risks, make mistakes and learn through experience.

In E and D Block (Years 10 and 11) the curriculum offers both breadth and depth of study, comprising of core and elective subjects, primarily based on the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE). IGCSES are excellent preparation for A Level and other post-16 qualifications. Rugby uses three examination boards to administer their examinations: Cambridge, Oxford AQA and Edexcel.

Rugby School Thailand offers the A Level curriculum in the LXX and XX (Sixth Form). Recognized by universities around the globe, A levels are the most popular post-16 qualifications in both the UK and the International Schools sector across the world.