BEST vs Hastin

Ask both schools to state the child’s proposed class, start date, age cut-off and following year. BEST publishes Kindergarten 1 through Secondary 6; Hastin publishes Pre-Nursery through Year 9.

Do not translate Grade and Year labels by number alone. Request the placement assessment, class equivalence, current cohort and written progression route. At BEST, ask how Thai-system placement and English readiness are assessed. At Hastin, make the Year 9 move part of the initial offer.

BEST follows the Thai national curriculum with a Thai-English Programme. Ask for a current subject map, exam-board entry evidence and examples showing progression from Year 7 into the senior programme.

Hastin uses the Oxford International Curriculum through Key Stages 1–3. Ask for a current curriculum map, lesson evidence, assessment schedule and examples showing how subjects connect across the year.

At both schools, inspect anonymised work from the proposed class rather than relying on programme labels alone.

BEST’s undated image annualises to ฿47,000 for Kindergarten 1–2, ฿55,000 for Kindergarten 3, ฿72,000 for Primary 1–3, ฿84,000 for Primary 4–6, ฿133,000 for Secondary 1–3 and ฿166,000 for Secondary 4–6.

BEST’s combined application, registration and insurance is ฿17,570 in Kindergarten, ฿22,070 in Primary or ฿32,365 in Secondary. The school publishes bus and food services without prices; uniforms, books, activities and examinations are also unpriced.

Hastin publishes ฿169,500 for Pre-Nursery through Reception, ฿198,900 for Years 1–6 and ฿229,500 for Years 7–9. Application is ฿3,000 and enrolment ฿30,000.

Hastin prices mandatory Early Years meals at ฿5,000 per term, optional meals at ฿6,000 in Years 1–6 or ฿6,500 in Years 7–9, plus annual ฿1,000 property protection and ฿1,000 accident insurance. Bus, uniforms, trips and external examinations remain unpriced.

BEST’s school-published fee image has no academic-year label. Its Kindergarten 1–2 tuition plus the listed Kindergarten entry and insurance charge gives a known first-year subtotal of ฿64,570; Kindergarten 3 gives ฿72,570. Hastin’s Academic Year 2026 Early Years tuition, application, enrolment, mandatory three-term meals and two annual protection charges total ฿219,500. These are published-row subtotals, not matched-year offers or complete invoices.

For BEST Primary 1–3 and 4–6, tuition plus the published Primary entry and insurance charge gives ฿94,070 and ฿106,070. Hastin Years 1–6 tuition, application, enrolment and annual protection charges total ฿233,900 before optional meals. BEST’s bus, food, uniforms, books, activities and exams remain unpriced; Hastin also has unpriced services. Ask for the child’s exact grade, dates and compulsory inclusions before treating any difference as a saving.

BEST Secondary 4–6 has no Hastin counterpart: Hastin’s published route ends at Year 9. Compare the leaving record and next-school plan alongside the invoice.

BEST continues through Thai Secondary 6. Ask for the leaving record, Thai university-entry route and evidence used for international transfer; do not translate Secondary labels directly into British Years. Ask admissions to name the credential, awarding body, external examinations, transcript format and universities or systems that recognise it.

Hastin’s current pathway reaches Year 9. Ask which secondary schools accept its record, what placement evidence is supplied, which qualification pupils enter next and where recent leavers progress.

For either route, rehearse a move after two years and request the curriculum map, grading scale, report samples, references and clearance conditions that would travel with the child.

BEST does not publish a usable language- or learning-support tariff in the sources reviewed. Hastin does not publish a usable language- or learning-support tariff in the sources reviewed.

If support matters, request the staff member, group size, minutes per week, review date, progress measure, exit criteria and price. Separate English acquisition from other learning needs and ask what happens when the school cannot provide the recommended support.

Bring existing reports before assessment and require any provision limits in writing.

BEST is listed in OPEC’s official private-school database; Hastin appears as registered international school 1120700016. Registration supports each school’s listed status but does not establish a particular external qualification or accreditation.

Ask each school for campus-specific examination or recognition evidence, then compare teacher qualifications, class size, homework, reporting cadence and safeguarding practice. Keep registration separate from curriculum and credential claims.

The published material reviewed for BEST does not give usable late-payment, withdrawal or refund terms; ask for them in writing.

Hastin gives a three-business-day grace period, then charges ฿100 per day for tuition and ฿50 per day for special-course or transport fees. Only tuition is potentially refundable under its notice and clearance rules.

Ask both admissions teams to mark refundable, non-refundable and prorated rows on the offer before payment.

BEST is in Nongprue, Banglamung; Hastin is in Pong beside Mabprachan. Drive both routes at arrival and collection times, including work and sibling stops.

Both schools are day-only and neither publishes a usable bus tariff. Request an exact address quote, pickup time, route duration, supervision and late-collection arrangement.

1. Placement: exact class, placement evidence and next class.
2. Learning: daily teaching model, curriculum map, work and reports.
3. Cost: acceptance cash, complete first year and recurring year.
4. Support: provision, staffing, review and price.
5. Exit: BEST’s Thai Secondary 6 route or Hastin’s post-Year-9 transfer.

Save offers, fee schedules, calendars and recognition answers together.

Arrive before the class begins and watch the transition from gate to room. Record how quickly the child separates, who welcomes them, which language adults use and whether the routine is understandable without repeated prompting. Ask what happens on a difficult morning and how parents are informed. A polished tour after children leave cannot answer these questions.

Ask for a starting assessment, mid-year report and anonymised work from the proposed class. At BEST, trace Thai national curriculum goals and English-programme work into assessed progress and the Secondary 6 record. At Hastin, trace English-medium classwork through Oxford International Curriculum units and readiness for the next secondary system.

Record the balance of adult-led, child-initiated, individual and group activity during the visit. Ask how teachers adapt the same task for a child who is new to English, already reading or reluctant to join a group. The right environment is not defined by one teaching philosophy; it is the setting where staff can explain how this child will participate and progress.

Confirm arrival supervision, meals, allergies, illness procedures, late collection and activities. BEST leaves bus, food, uniforms, books, activities and examinations unpriced; Hastin prices meals and two annual protection charges outside tuition. Neither publishes every routine-service price, so require a personalised inclusion list.

Place both calendars beside the family’s work calendar. Count closures that require alternative care and ask whether holiday programmes are offered, separately registered or guaranteed to enrolled pupils. A school-year tuition comparison does not capture care purchased during long breaks.

BEST is at 253/12 Moo 13 in Nongprue, Banglamung; Hastin is at 16/5 Moo 9 on Pornprapanimit Road in Pong. Verify each entrance and contract address, then test both drives at the family’s real travel times.

Both schools are day-only. Ask whether the home address is served, then obtain pickup time, route duration, supervision and price in writing.

For each school, finish the sentence: “This place works if…” Include the quoted total, language routine, classroom fit, support availability, care hours, travel ceiling and next-school plan. Then write the conditions that would trigger a review. This prevents a single attractive feature from hiding an unresolved cost or transition risk.

Run the same exercise for two future dates. At age six, compare BEST’s Thai-English Programme and Thai-system assessment with Hastin’s English-medium Oxford-framed work. By early secondary, compare BEST’s progression toward Secondary 6 with Hastin’s documented transfer route after Year 9.

Before signing, compare the invoice language line by line. For BEST include tuition, application, enrolment, senior textbooks, examinations, transport, uniforms, trips, activities, support and card surcharges; for Hastin include enrolment, meals, protection charges and visa processing.

Also rehearse a mid-year move. Ask what notice is required, which reports and curriculum records would be released, how deposits are returned and whether prepaid services are refundable. Families using the Eastern Seaboard industrial corridor should test both routes at real collection time, because a lower fee cannot compensate for an unsustainable daily journey.

Ask how each school handles a mid-year departure before assuming either transfer will happen neatly at the end of a stage. Record required notice, reports supplied, outstanding-fee conditions and whether unused services can be refunded. A family expecting relocation should weight these documented terms alongside teaching and price.

Do not pay while a condition remains material and unanswered. Ask admissions to correct the offer email, retain BEST’s dated offer and live fee-image copy and Hastin’s Academic Year 2026 schedule and note who supplied every grade and support answer.