HAND-CHECKED · SOURCE-VERIFIED EVERY TERM · REAL TUITION FEES · 0 PAID PLACEMENTS
// HEAD-TO-HEAD · current source audit

BEST vs
Hastin.

This comparison is deliberately not a price ranking. BEST publishes an undated Thai-English Programme fee image of ฿47,000–฿166,000 from Kindergarten 1 through Secondary 6. Hastin publishes an English-medium Oxford International Curriculum route from Pre-Nursery through Year 9 with Academic Year 2026 tuition of ฿169,500–฿229,500. The leaving credential, Year 9 transition and complete extras matter as much as the headline gap.

// 01 · current record

Shared age range.
Different system.

Both schools are in Banglamung, but BEST follows the Thai national system with Thai and English from Kindergarten through Secondary 6 while Hastin publishes an English-medium international route from Pre-Nursery through Year 9. Their learning models and exit routes are not interchangeable.

// In this guide → BEST editorial ↗ · Hastin International editorial ↗ · Satit Udomseuksa vs Hastin ↗ · Rugby vs Regents ↗ · Garden vs Regents ↗ · Regents vs Garden ↗ · Budget schools hub ↗ · British schools hub ↗

// 01A · 18-point comparison
BEST vs Hastin · 2026/27 tuition versus Academic Year 2026 tuition · checked 29 July 2026
DimensionBESTHastin International School
SchoolBurapa English-Programme School of ThailandHastin International School
Age spanKindergarten 1 through Secondary 6Pre-Nursery through Year 9
CurriculumThai national curriculum with a Thai-English ProgrammeOxford International Curriculum, British EYFS and Key Stages 1–3
Published tuitionUndated live fee image: Kindergarten 1–2 ฿47,000; Kindergarten 3 ฿55,000; Primary 1–3 ฿72,000; Primary 4–6 ฿84,000; Secondary 1–3 ฿133,000; Secondary 4–6 ฿166,000.Academic Year 2026: Pre-Nursery–Reception ฿169,500; Years 1–6 ฿198,900; Years 7–9 ฿229,500.
Named extrasCombined application, registration and insurance: ฿17,570 in Kindergarten, ฿22,070 in Primary and ฿32,365 in Secondary; bus, food, uniforms, books, activities and exams remain unpriced.Application ฿3,000; enrolment ฿30,000; meals and two annual ฿1,000 protection charges separately priced.
Planning pointConfirm the fee year, language allocation, Thai-system progression, inclusions and every unpriced service.Current pathway ends at Year 9; verify the secondary transfer and next qualification.
Sourceslive fees · school · OPEC listing2026 fees · lower secondary · OPEC listing
Live editorialRead the BEST editorialRead the Hastin editorial

BEST does not label its live fee image with an academic year, while Hastin labels its schedule Academic Year 2026. Obtain matched enrolling-year offers before comparing. Request BEST’s combined entry charge, bus, food, books, uniforms, activities, examinations and support alongside Hastin’s application, enrolment, meals, protection charges, visa processing, bus, uniforms, trips and examinations.

// 02 · decision framework

Choose the model,
then verify the exit.

What is actually published?

BEST publishes undated annualised tuition of ฿47,000–฿166,000. Hastin publishes Academic Year 2026 tuition of ฿169,500–฿229,500. Both add compulsory charges outside tuition.

What is the curriculum choice?

BEST follows Thailand’s national system with a Thai-English Programme; Hastin is an international school using Oxford International Curriculum through Year 9.

What needs planning?

BEST families should confirm the fee year, weekly language allocation, Thai-system assessment, Secondary 6 record and university-entry guidance. Hastin families need a documented move after Year 9 into the next qualification.

Shortlist guidance

  • BEST suits families seeking a low-fee Thai-English Programme continuing through Secondary 6 in Nongprue, Banglamung.
  • Hastin suits families seeking an English-medium Oxford route beside Mabprachan and prepared to plan the post-Year-9 transition.
// 03 · compare the usable offer

Two lower-fee routes.
Different evidence.

The schools overlap from the early years through lower secondary and both record English as the teaching medium alongside Thai. The resemblance ends there: BEST’s Thai-system route continues through Secondary 6, while Hastin’s Oxford International Curriculum currently stops at Year 9.

Match the actual attendance offer

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.

Understand the learning model

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.

Build complete first-year totals

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.

Plan the exit before entry

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.

Audit support without assumptions

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

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.

Compare registration and claims carefully

BEST is listed in OPEC’s official private-school database; Hastin appears as registered international school 1120700016. Registration supports each school record 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.

Model payment and withdrawal risk

BEST’s current ledger does not record 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.

Test the real family week

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.

Finish the offer meeting

  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.

// 04 · visit worksheet

Observe, record,
then decide.

Test a normal morning

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.

Compare learning evidence

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.

Check care outside lessons

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.

Separate address from commute

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.

Write a conditional decision

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. That record makes the decision auditable.

// FAQ

Quick answers
before you decide.

Which school publishes lower headline tuition?

BEST publishes lower annualised tuition of ฿47,000–฿166,000 on an undated image, while Hastin publishes ฿169,500–฿229,500 for Academic Year 2026. Compare complete matched-year totals before deciding.

Do both schools use the same curriculum?

No. BEST follows the Thai national system with a Thai-English Programme. Hastin uses the Oxford International Curriculum through Year 9.

How long can a child stay?

BEST publishes Kindergarten 1 through Secondary 6. Hastin publishes Pre-Nursery through Year 9 and requires a later transfer.

What should an BEST quote include?

Ask for tuition, application, enrolment, annual-payment discount, sibling discount, senior books, examinations, transport, uniforms, trips, activities, support, card surcharges and refund terms.

What should a Hastin quote include?

Ask for tuition, application, enrolment, meals, property protection, accident insurance, visa processing, bus, uniforms, trips, examinations, support and refund terms.

Five questions.

Use the decision framework above to weigh curriculum, fees, continuity, location and your child’s fit.