This comparison is deliberately not a price ranking. El Dream publishes a self-paced A.C.E. Christian route from K3 through Grade 12 with 2026/27 tuition of ฿207,200–฿290,000. 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 are registered international schools in Banglamung with English-medium provision and lower published tuition than many premium international schools. Their learning models and exit routes are not interchangeable: El Dream uses self-paced A.C.E. materials through Grade 12, while Hastin uses the Oxford International Curriculum through Year 9.
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| Dimension | El Dream | Hastin International School |
|---|---|---|
| School | El Dream Christian International School | Hastin International School |
| Age span | Ages 3–18; K3 through Grade 12 | Pre-Nursery through Year 9 |
| Curriculum | Self-paced Accelerated Christian Education (A.C.E.) Christian international curriculum | Oxford International Curriculum, British EYFS and Key Stages 1–3 |
| Published tuition | Dated 2026/27: K3–K5 ฿207,200; Grades 1–3 ฿230,000; Grades 4–6 ฿250,400; Grades 7–9 ฿269,600; Grades 10–12 ฿290,000. | Academic Year 2026: Pre-Nursery–Reception ฿169,500; Years 1–6 ฿198,900; Years 7–9 ฿229,500. |
| Named extras | Application ฿2,000; registration ฿40,000; diagnostic testing ฿2,000–฿5,000; lunch, textbooks and required ESL separate. | Application ฿3,000; enrolment ฿30,000; meals and two annual ฿1,000 protection charges separately priced. |
| Planning point | Verify the Grade 12 leaving credential, external examinations and university-recognition route. | Current pathway ends at Year 9; verify the secondary transfer and next qualification. |
| Sources | 2026/27 fees · admissions · OPEC listing | 2026 fees · lower secondary · OPEC listing |
| Live editorial | Read the El Dream editorial | Read the Hastin editorial |
Confirm that Hastin’s Academic Year 2026 basis covers the same attendance period as El Dream’s 2026/27 quote. Request El Dream’s application, diagnostic test, registration, lunch, textbooks, required ESL, bus, uniforms, trips and examinations alongside Hastin’s application, enrolment, meals, protection charges, visa processing, bus, uniforms, trips and examinations.
El Dream publishes 2026/27 tuition of ฿207,200–฿290,000. Hastin publishes Academic Year 2026 tuition of ฿169,500–฿229,500. Both add compulsory charges outside tuition.
El Dream uses self-paced A.C.E. materials within a Christian school model. Hastin uses the Oxford International Curriculum through Year 9.
El Dream families should verify the Grade 12 leaving credential and recognition route. Hastin families need a documented move after Year 9 into the next qualification.
The schools overlap from the early years through Year 9 and both record English as the teaching medium alongside Thai. The resemblance ends there: El Dream’s self-paced Christian programme continues through Grade 12, while Hastin’s Oxford International Curriculum currently stops at Year 9.
Ask both schools to state the child’s proposed class, start date, age cut-off and following year. El Dream publishes K3 through Grade 12; 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 El Dream, ask how diagnostic testing determines the starting point. At Hastin, make the Year 9 move part of the initial offer.
El Dream’s A.C.E. route is self-paced and Christian. Ask to see how daily goals, mastery checks, teacher instruction, collaborative work and practical subjects fit together. Families should establish whether the child is motivated by independent sequencing or needs more teacher-led discussion.
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.
El Dream publishes 2026/27 tuition of ฿207,200 for K3–K5, ฿230,000 for Grades 1–3, ฿250,400 for Grades 4–6, ฿269,600 for Grades 7–9 and ฿290,000 for Grades 10–12. Application is ฿2,000 and registration ฿40,000.
El Dream’s compulsory diagnostic test is ฿2,000–฿5,000 by grade. Annual lunch is ฿24,000–฿28,000, textbooks ฿13,000–฿17,000 and required ESL ฿60,000. Bus, uniforms, trips and external examinations remain 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.
El Dream publishes provision through Grade 12, but the ledger does not identify a conventional external leaving qualification. 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.
El Dream publishes ESL at ฿60,000 per year when required. 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.
El Dream appears in OPEC as registered international school 1120700015; 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.
El Dream publishes four quarter due dates, a 2.5% overdue penalty and withdrawal refunds of 50% before term with sufficient notice, 30% before week five and none after week five; ordered textbooks are non-refundable.
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.
El Dream is in Nong Pla Lai; 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.
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 El Dream, trace self-paced A.C.E. goals into assessed subject progress and the eventual leaving 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. El Dream prices lunch separately; 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.
El Dream is at 19/3 Moo 5 in Nong Pla Lai; 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 classroom structure, language support and the child’s response to self-paced versus Oxford-framed work. By early secondary, compare the evidence behind El Dream’s Grade 12 credential with Hastin’s documented transfer route after Year 9.
Before signing, compare the invoice language line by line. For El Dream include diagnostic testing, registration, lunch, textbooks and any required ESL; 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 El Dream’s 2026/27 schedule and Hastin’s Academic Year 2026 schedule and note who supplied every grade and support answer. That record makes the decision auditable.
Hastin publishes lower tuition at ฿169,500–฿229,500, while El Dream publishes ฿207,200–฿290,000. Both add compulsory charges, so compare complete totals on matched attendance dates.
No. El Dream uses a self-paced A.C.E. Christian curriculum. Hastin uses the Oxford International Curriculum through Year 9.
El Dream publishes K3 through Grade 12. Hastin publishes Pre-Nursery through Year 9 and requires a later transfer.
Ask for tuition, application, diagnostic testing, registration, lunch, textbooks, required ESL, bus, uniforms, trips, examinations 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.