BEST vs. ISC
BEST Thai-English programme through Secondary 6 vs NEASC-accredited ISC primary, with both fee schedules published.
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.
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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.
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| Dimension | BEST | Hastin International School |
|---|---|---|
| School | Burapa English-Programme School of Thailand | Hastin International School |
| Age span | Kindergarten 1 through Secondary 6 | Pre-Nursery through Year 9 |
| Curriculum | Thai national curriculum with a Thai-English Programme | Oxford International Curriculum, British EYFS and Key Stages 1–3 |
| Published tuition | Undated 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 extras | Combined 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 point | Confirm 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. |
| Sources | live fees · school · OPEC listing | 2026 fees · lower secondary · OPEC listing |
| Live editorial | Read the BEST editorial | Read 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.
Not without confirmation. BEST’s live fee image annualises to ฿47,000–฿166,000 but carries no academic-year label. Hastin’s ฿169,500–฿229,500 tariff is explicitly for Academic Year 2026. Ask BEST to put the applicable year and programme on the offer before calculating a saving.
BEST is a Thai national-curriculum school with a Thai-English Programme and a route through Secondary 6. Hastin is an OPEC-registered international school using the Oxford International Curriculum through Year 9. This is a choice between different assessment and leaving routes, not two versions of the same English school.
A BEST family can remain in the published Thai-system route through Secondary 6, subject to confirming the senior credential and university-entry evidence. A Hastin family must plan the next school and qualification after Year 9. Put that transition date beside the first-year invoice.
BEST publishes six Thai-system fee bands; Hastin publishes three British-style age bands. The calculations below combine only charges already stated in the schools’ records. They exclude every unpriced service and do not make BEST’s undated schedule current.
BEST’s image shows ฿47,000 for Kindergarten 1–2 and ฿55,000 for Kindergarten 3. Adding its combined Kindergarten application, registration and insurance charge of ฿17,570 gives a known first-year subtotal of ฿64,570 or ฿72,570 before bus, food, uniform, books, activities and any other unpriced item.
Hastin publishes ฿169,500 for Pre-Nursery through Reception. Application and enrolment add ฿33,000, mandatory Early Years meals add ฿15,000 across three terms, and the two annual protection charges add ฿2,000. Its corresponding known first-year subtotal is therefore ฿219,500 before any other unpriced service.
BEST publishes ฿72,000 for Primary 1–3 and ฿84,000 for Primary 4–6. With its ฿22,070 Primary entry-and-insurance column, the known first-year subtotals are ฿94,070 and ฿106,070. Those figures still omit the school’s unpriced bus and food services plus uniforms, books, activities and examinations.
Hastin publishes ฿198,900 for Years 1–6. Application, enrolment and the two annual protection charges take the known subtotal to ฿233,900 without optional meals, or ฿251,900 if the published ฿6,000-per-term meal option is used. Bus, uniform, trips and external examinations remain outside that subtotal.
BEST Secondary 1–3 tuition is ฿133,000. Adding the published ฿32,365 Secondary application, registration and insurance column produces a known first-year subtotal of ฿165,365 before unpriced senior books, examinations and services.
Hastin Years 7–9 tuition is ฿229,500. Its known first-year subtotal is ฿264,500 before optional meals, or ฿284,000 with the published ฿6,500-per-term meal option. This stage also carries an unavoidable planning difference: BEST’s Thai-system route continues into Secondary 4–6, while Hastin currently ends after Year 9.
BEST publishes ฿166,000 for Secondary 4–6, or ฿198,365 after its combined Secondary entry-and-insurance charge in a first year at that stage. Hastin advertises no upper-secondary or IGCSE pathway in the current record. Families comparing an older child should therefore ask BEST for the exact Secondary 4–6 leaving record and treat Hastin as a transfer-before-qualification route, not force a fee comparison where no overlapping year exists.
Hastin labels its tariff Academic Year 2026. BEST’s live image supplies useful line items but no academic year. Ask BEST admissions to return the same table with the enrolling year, child’s programme, payment dates and all compulsory extras stated in writing. Keep the captured image with the offer so a later fee change can be reconciled.
A lower undated number is evidence of a published structure, not proof of the family’s current payable price. If BEST will not date the quote or Hastin will not complete the missing service rows, leave the comparison unresolved.
At BEST, request the current weekly allocation of Thai and English by subject, the Thai-system assessment calendar and the exact Secondary 6 transcript or credential. At Hastin, request the Oxford International Curriculum map, reporting scale and the documents supplied for a Year 9 transfer. Review anonymised work from the proposed class at both schools.
The lower invoice can be the wrong bargain if the family later pays for language bridging or a curriculum move. Price the expected route through the next transition, not only the first year.
BEST records a 1997 founding and continues as an OPEC-listed Thai private school. Hastin’s record describes a 2009 kindergarten, a Thai English Programme from 2022 and registered international-school status from 2025. These dates establish different operating histories; they do not prove teaching quality. Ask each school for the current leadership structure, teacher retention evidence, class size and recent examples of pupil progression.
BEST’s current ledger does not provide usable withdrawal, refund or late-payment terms. Hastin publishes a three-business-day grace period, late charges of ฿100 per day for tuition and ฿50 per day for special-course or transport fees, and states that only tuition may be refundable under its notice and clearance rules. Put both policies beside the payment dates before signing.
BEST is at 253/12 Moo 13 in Nongprue; Hastin is at 16/5 Moo 9 on Pornprapanimit Road in Pong. Both are day schools and neither publishes a usable bus tariff. Test each route at real school times and request an address-specific bus quote.
Ask BEST to show one week of the Thai-English Programme: which subjects are taught in each language, who teaches them and how readiness is assessed. Ask Hastin to show how British EYFS leads into its Oxford-framed primary route. Compare the actual proposed room, not general campus facilities.
Then attach the known first-year subtotal for that exact class and list every missing service underneath. The outcome should be a child-specific offer, not a school-wide range.
At BEST, trace a Primary pupil’s reports into Secondary 1 and ask when the Thai and English components change. At Hastin, trace Year 6 work into Years 7–9 and request the assessment record that another school would receive. This exposes whether the apparent continuity is supported by usable documentation.
Ask BEST to name the Secondary 4–6 route, examinations and final record. Ask Hastin to name likely receiving qualifications after Year 9 and the placement evidence it supplies. Do not accept “can transfer anywhere” or “recognised internationally” without the specific credential, institution and entry requirement.
If any condition remains material and unwritten, keep the school on hold rather than converting an undated fee advantage into a decision.
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.
No. BEST follows the Thai national system with a Thai-English Programme. Hastin uses the Oxford International Curriculum through Year 9.
BEST publishes Kindergarten 1 through Secondary 6. Hastin publishes Pre-Nursery through Year 9 and requires a later transfer.
Ask for the applicable academic year, exact Thai-English Programme stage, tuition, the combined application/registration/insurance charge, food, transport, uniforms, books, activities, examinations, support, payment dates and refund terms.
Ask for tuition, application, enrolment, meals, property protection, accident insurance, visa processing, bus, uniforms, trips, examinations, support and refund terms.
Use the decision framework above to weigh curriculum, fees, continuity, location and your child’s fit.