While switching schools can be extremely difficult, International School of Bangkok (ISB) helps new students adjust to their new school far more smoothly. At ISB, there is a wide diversity of people, and the institution is filled with unique stories. Rebecca Lau, our Director of Admissions, said “I think many people would agree that ISB is one of the best schools in Thailand. I believe ISB is actually one of the best schools in the world.”
This year, the school welcomed 349 new students. With so many new students, there are many possibilities to socialize. A new student in the 10th grade, Janavi Livezey, moved here because of her father's employment. Her father was given the chance to relocate from America to work in Thailand. These stories are very common at ISB. In addition to ISB, her parents were looking at other institutions. The family was interested in NIST and ISB. Parents looking at multiple schools causes ISB to wonder what other schools have that they don’t?
One of the biggest reasons parents choose ISB is the location of the school. Rebecca Lau stated, ”facilities allow us to offer a wide variety of sports and extracurricular activities and our unique location in Nichada provides an ideal backdrop for a fully integrated learning community.”
There are so many opportunities for new students and returning students to try new activities like different sports and clubs. According to ISB’s stats, the school has almost double the opportunities for sports and clubs compared to other institutions in Thailand. Another thing that really stands out at ISB is the school had one of our highest retention rates last year. There were over 1,375 students re-enrolled for the 22/23 school year. It’s not common for people to leave, but if they do end up leaving it due to the high tuition or a parent gets transferred to another country(Think Student Editor). Overall, the high retention rate shows students' comfort and feeling about how ISB is the place to be.
Talking to new high schoolers here at the institution, 25 out of 25 people said without a doubt they would choose ISB over any other school in Thailand. Maaya Mori is a new Japanese 9th grader this year. She is from a Japanese school in Thailand and says she likes how there are advisory classes to allow her to make friends with other students in her grade. In terms of school work, she thinks the schoolwork is not as challenging as her old school, and the only trouble she is having is keeping up with English. Besides that she is so thankful her parents moved her this school year this year. However, some new students point out that the classes at ISB are more challenging than their previous school. Janavi Livezey, pointed out, “I have never had to work this hard before. In America, I used to not have to study or really even do homework and when I got here I felt like that's all I’m doing. But that being said, this gives me an opportunity to learn how to study and get prepared for college or whatever I decide to do after high school.”
It can be very overwhelming for new students but ISB offers a diverse range of assistance to improve the outcome of their grades.They offer tutors and other resources to help reduce stress. For example school counseling, school psychologist, student ambassadors, assistance for students with learning disabilities, EAP programs, and more. The administration quotes, “ISB is definitely where you want to be and we hope to make your schooling experience the best it possibly can be!(ISB)”