HAND-CHECKED·SOURCE-VERIFIED EVERY TERM·REAL TUITION FEES·0 PAID PLACEMENTS
// HEAD-TO-HEAD · French pathway vs budget English

EFIP vs
BJP Elite Academy.

These are not two French schools. EFIP is the Pattaya area’s AEFE-listed French-pathway school, with nine currently homologated levels and CNED-supported upper years. BJP’s current official site publishes an English curriculum from preschool to Year 10, an IGCSE pathway, GED and ESL. Their 2026/27 tuition bands overlap at the bottom, but the language, qualification and fee structures point to different families.

// 01 · 18-point comparison

The verified differences.

EFIP figures come from its 2026/27 financial rules. BJP figures come from the live school fees page checked on 24 July 2026. Tuition is shown separately from mandatory annual registration so the recurring total is not confused with tuition alone.

// In this guide → EFIP editorial ↗ · BJP editorial ↗ · EFIP vs ISC ↗ · EFIP vs BEST ↗ · BJP vs BPIS ↗ · BJP vs ISC ↗ · French schools hub ↗ · Budget schools hub ↗

EFIP vs BJP · standard published tuition before full-year-payment discounts (all-in rows include named mandatory charges) · fee years: EFIP 2026/27; BJP 2026/27 · checked 27 July 2026
DimensionEFIPBJP Elite Academy
Current programmeFrench national pathwayEnglish curriculum
Current recognitionAEFE partner listing; nine homologated levelsNo AEFE listing claimed; verify any external recognition directly
Age / grade spanAges 3–18Ages 2–16; preschool–Year 10
Teaching languageFrench-medium pathway with published language supportEnglish curriculum; French offered as a foreign language
Upper yearsCNED-supported levels in the upper pathwayIGCSE pathway plus GED option; no published Sixth Form
French-system continuityYes, subject to the grade-by-grade AEFE/CNED mapNo current evidence of a French-national stream
Fee year2026/27 printed inside the financial rules2026/27 on the live school page
Lowest tuition฿175,000฿80,000
Highest tuition฿235,000฿120,000
Mandatory annual registrationNo separate annual registration line identified฿12,000
Recurring headline total฿175,000–฿235,000 tuition before listed extras฿92,000–฿132,000 tuition plus registration
First registration฿50,000No separate one-time charge identified on current fee page
Other entry costs฿5,000 administration; ฿4,000 new-pupil uniformAsk admissions for a dated entry invoice
BooksPublished for selected secondary bands: ฿8,000–฿13,000฿2,000–฿17,500
Meals฿12,960–฿18,000 annual plans, plus listed Wednesday surcharge฿400 weekly or ฿1,500 monthly
Bus฿35,000 one-way or ฿46,000 return annually฿2,000–฿10,000 monthly by direction and distance
Sibling discount10% second child; 15% third and later10% second; 15% third; 20% fourth
Best fitFamilies committed to a French-system pathwayFamilies prioritising low-cost English education through Year 10
Published support-cost labelLanguage support only — intensive French supplement for non-French-speaking pupils: ฿20,000; no general learning-support tariff is published.ESL is a published programme/tuition category at ฿120,000/year, not a separate learning-support tariff.

The key correction is structural. BJP’s school-published page does not support the former description of parallel French-national and Cambridge streams. French appears as a language offering; the advertised core is English curriculum, IGCSE pathway, GED and ESL. Families needing French-system continuity should assess EFIP’s grade-by-grade AEFE and CNED structure rather than treating the two names as interchangeable.

// 02 · The decision framework

Five questions.
Five answers.

1. Is French the teaching system or simply a language you want available?

Choose the system before the price. EFIP is built around the French national pathway. BJP’s current published offer is English curriculum with French among its language options. If future transfers into France or another AEFE school matter, ask EFIP to map the child’s exact grade to homologation or CNED support in writing. If English is the academic language and French exposure is optional, BJP is the more relevant comparison.

2. Which exit route does the child need?

EFIP’s upper years are presented as a French pathway supported through CNED. BJP advertises an IGCSE pathway and GED option but not a published Year 12–13 or Sixth Form. A BJP family should therefore identify the intended post-Year-10 school or qualification before enrolling an older child. A French-pathway family should ask EFIP where examinations are entered and which support is delivered locally.

3. What is the real recurring annual cost?

EFIP tuition is ฿175,000–฿235,000 in 2026/27. BJP tuition is ฿80,000–฿120,000, but every pupil also pays ฿12,000 annual registration, making the basic recurring band ฿92,000–฿132,000 before books, transport, meals, uniforms and insurance. The comparison should never place EFIP tuition beside BJP’s tuition-plus-registration total without labelling the difference.

4. Which extras change affordability?

EFIP publishes substantial first-entry and optional-service costs, including ฿50,000 first registration, transport, meals, selected books, CNED charges and examination exclusions. BJP publishes smaller but recurring extras across books, transport, meals, uniforms and ฿2,000 insurance. Ask both schools for one dated, grade-specific invoice that identifies mandatory, optional and refundable lines.

5. What must admissions confirm before payment?

EFIP families should confirm the child’s precise homologation/CNED status, French-language placement, examination arrangements and all one-time charges. BJP families should confirm the exact grade placement, IGCSE subjects or GED route, payment-plan surcharge, transport zone and whether any unlisted acceptance cost applies. Save the written response with the invoice.

Summary verdict

  • Choose EFIP when French-system continuity and a grade-specific AEFE/CNED pathway are the priority.
  • Choose BJP when an English curriculum through Year 10, an IGCSE pathway and a low recurring fee band are the priority.
// 03 · Pathway planning

Compare the next move,
not just this year.

The most important difference appears after the child has settled in. EFIP is designed for families who want French to remain the organising academic system. Its AEFE-listed homologated levels and CNED-supported upper years need to be understood grade by grade, but they give parents a defined question to ask: how will this pupil continue through the French pathway from the entry class to the intended leaving point? BJP is an English-medium school whose current published span ends at Year 10. It advertises an IGCSE pathway and GED option, so an older pupil’s plan must include both the qualification sought and the institution that will provide the next stage.

For a younger child, ask each school to show a sample week for the exact class. At EFIP, establish how much of the day is taught in French, what Thai and English provision looks like, and how intensive French support changes the timetable for a newcomer. At BJP, establish how its English curriculum is sequenced, when IGCSE preparation begins, which subjects are available, and how French as a foreign language fits beside the core timetable. A language named on a website is not the same thing as a curriculum delivered through that language.

For a child entering secondary school, work backwards from the likely destination. A family expecting a move to France or another French-system school should ask EFIP for the pupil’s written grade map, the status of that level, the role of CNED and the records supplied on transfer. A family considering BJP should ask which IGCSE subjects the school will actually enter for the relevant cohort, who the examination centre is, what supervised teaching accompanies any external course, and what pupils normally do after Year 10. Do not rely on a general programme label where a subject list and progression letter can answer the question precisely.

// 04 · Build a like-for-like budget

Unknown is not
the same as free.

The published tuition gap is meaningful, but it is not the whole family budget. For 2026/27, EFIP lists tuition of ฿175,000–฿235,000. BJP lists ฿80,000–฿120,000 tuition and a mandatory ฿12,000 annual registration fee, producing a basic recurring band of ฿92,000–฿132,000 before the other named costs. Compare the same child, the same academic year and the same payment timing. Do not compare an early-years rate at one school with an older-year rate at the other, or a discounted payment plan with a standard tariff.

Create two columns for the first year and two for every later year. EFIP publishes a ฿50,000 first-registration charge, ฿5,000 administration and a ฿4,000 new-pupil uniform line, then separate prices for services including transport, meals and some books. BJP publishes books, insurance, meals, transport and uniforms in addition to tuition and annual registration, while its current fee page does not identify a separate one-time entry charge. That absence should be written as “not identified on the published page,” not entered as zero. Ask admissions to confirm every unpriced or unclear line on a dated invoice.

Transport can materially change the result. EFIP publishes ฿35,000 for one-way annual transport and ฿46,000 return. BJP publishes monthly bus bands from ฿2,000 to ฿10,000 depending on direction and distance. A monthly range needs the number of charged months before it can be compared with an annual price. Ask for the stop, collection window, return options after activities, sibling treatment and refund rule. Then add the family’s own driving time if the bus is not usable. A lower school invoice can still produce a harder daily routine.

Sibling discounts also need the same base. EFIP publishes 10% for a second child and 15% for a third or later child. BJP publishes 10% for a second, 15% for a third and 20% for a fourth. Ask which line receives the percentage, whether the discount applies to the youngest child, whether annual registration and extras are excluded, and whether another promotion cancels it. The useful number is the written household total, not the largest percentage printed in isolation.

// 05 · Admissions checks

Make the offer
child-specific.

Take the same short dossier to both admissions teams: recent reports, languages used at home, the child’s reading and writing profile, any current support, expected entry date and likely leaving destination. Ask each school to reply with the proposed class, programme, assessment steps, support plan, full first-year invoice and conditions attached to the place. This turns two broad websites into two offers that can actually be compared.

At EFIP, the decisive checks are the child’s French level, the exact homologation or CNED arrangement for the proposed grade, the timetable effect and cost of intensive French, and the examination arrangements later in the pathway. At BJP, the decisive checks are grade placement, the exact IGCSE or GED plan, the subjects and teaching format available to that cohort, English-language support if needed, and the transfer route after Year 10. In both cases, ask who will review progress and when parents will be told if the initial placement is not working.

A classroom visit should focus on the proposed year group rather than the reception tour. Look at the language pupils use with teachers and one another, the level of independent work, the amount of teacher feedback, class routines and how a new pupil is brought into the lesson. Ask to see anonymised examples of work at the beginning and end of the year. Facilities matter, but pathway clarity, teaching practice and a manageable commute will shape far more of the child’s ordinary week.

// 06 · Who each school is not for

Rule out the
wrong product early.

EFIP is not the natural choice for a family seeking a low-cost English-medium route whose child will not use a French-system pathway. It is also not a decision to make from the AEFE label alone: parents of older pupils must be comfortable with the school’s written grade-specific mix of homologated provision and CNED support, including the language demands and any separate charges.

BJP is not a French-national alternative to EFIP merely because French is offered. Its current published core is English curriculum through Year 10, with IGCSE, GED and ESL options. It is also not the obvious choice for a family requiring a published all-through Sixth Form route on one campus. Those families need a documented post-Year-10 plan before paying, not a promise to solve the transition later.

Neither school should be selected from the tuition range alone. The right result is the offer that names the child’s class, language support, qualification path, recurring extras, first-year charges and likely next transition. If either admissions response leaves one of those items vague, keep it marked as an open condition and compare again after the school answers in writing.

// FAQ

Quick answers
before you decide.

Is BJP Elite Academy a French-national school?

No current primary-source evidence supports that description. BJP’s live site advertises an English curriculum, IGCSE pathway, GED and ESL, with French available as a foreign language.

Which school has the French-system pathway?

EFIP. The current AEFE directory lists it as a partner establishment with nine homologated levels, while upper grades use CNED support. Confirm the exact grade arrangement with admissions.

Which school is cheaper in 2026/27?

BJP publishes ฿80,000–฿120,000 tuition plus ฿12,000 mandatory annual registration. EFIP publishes ฿175,000–฿235,000 tuition, with separate entry and service costs.

Does BJP have Sixth Form?

The current school page runs through Year 10 and does not publish a Year 12–13 or Sixth Form route. Families with older pupils should plan the next qualification and transfer point in advance.

Can a beginner in French apply to EFIP?

EFIP publishes a ฿20,000 intensive-French supplement for relevant primary pupils, but admissions must assess the child’s grade, literacy and support needs before the family relies on that option.

Back to
the directory.

29 schools verified. Twenty-nine full editorials live. Maintained, not abandoned.

PATTAYA SCHOOL GUIDE · A TIMPAEMI CO. PUBLICATION · MMXXVI