In the British educational system, there are three main levels of formal education; kindergarten, primary and secondary. The K section is for 3–7-year-olds, while the primary section is from Year 1 to Year 6, and finally, a secondary school takes the students from Year 7 right up to Year 12. The K section is designed to familiarise students with school life, developing social skills, imagination, and creativity, preparing them for formal education, which begins at Year 1.
While all three sections are crucial, the secondary section is where the essential life skills are developed, and if you are currently on the hunt for the best secondary school, here are the ingredients that come together to make a great secondary learning program.
- IT Resources – We are living in a digital age and future generations must have a high level of competence with IT, therefore the top secondary school should be very IT-focused, using IT as a learning tool. Students would receive and submit assignments via email, while all students can build a website by Year 9 and when the pandemic arrived, many schools switched to distance learning. The students would manage their own cloud network, to replicate real-life work problems, which pushes the learner to their limits and development occurs.
- Active Learning – A European educator by the name of Rudolph Steiner discovered that children learn best through activity and every top rated secondary school in Thailand would use a project-based approach. The teacher becomes a facilitator and guides the learners toward their project goal and learning by doing really does give the students development in critical thinking, while providing an opportunity to work in a team with a single objective.
- The Right Staff – Of course, teachers, staff, and administrators should be united in their desire to produce educated students who have the skills required to lead a happy and productive life. All employees of the school would be good role models and being in such an environment helps the students become positive members of society. Here is an interesting article on post-pandemic education, which is worth reading.
- Emphasis on Sport – The top international school would have the resources to support a diverse range of sports, which is an integral part of growing up. Soccer, basketball, combat sports, and archery would all be evident and when a student shows a talent, this is encouraged and supported by the school. Growing teenagers need physical activity and sports teach us about fair play and competition; winning isn’t everything, it’s the taking part that counts.
- Firm Direction – Much like a business, a school needs to have firm direction, with a principal who is committed to the joint goals of the institution. Check out the school’s mission & vision statements, which can be found on their website; this outlines their beliefs and mission as a learning institution.
There are quite a few top international K-12 schools in Thailand, which is a one-school solution for 15 years of education, from nursery to Year 12.
