VSPremium
Comparison · Premium British
Rugby vs. Regents
The headline premium decision
A-Level brand vs. IBDP optionality. Boarding from 10 vs. Y3. Side-by-side fees + decision framework.
// HEAD-TO-HEAD · current source audit
Garden Rayong vs
Belfry.
This comparison is deliberately not a price ranking. Garden Rayong publishes an all-through British IGCSE-to-IB route and latest-published 2025/26 tuition of ฿147,000–฿609,800. Belfry is a Montessori-informed British primary school for ages two to 11 with 2026/27 standard tuition of ฿301,000–฿395,000. Belfry's Year 6 exit and Garden's boarding option are central planning points.
// Jump to → GIS Rayong editorial ↗ · Belfry International editorial ↗ · Rugby vs Regents ↗ · Garden vs Regents ↗ · Regents vs Garden ↗ · MIS vs TPIS ↗
// 01 · current record
Shared age range.
Different system.
Both schools begin at age two, but Garden's latest public tariff remains 2025/26 while Belfry publishes 2026/27. Garden continues from British EYFS and National Curriculum through Cambridge IGCSE and the IB Diploma. Belfry combines British EYFS and English National Curriculum Key Stages 1–2 with a Montessori-informed teaching approach, then ends at Year 6.
// In this guide → GIS Rayong editorial ↗ · Belfry International editorial ↗ · Rugby vs Regents ↗ · Garden vs Regents ↗ · Regents vs Garden ↗ · MIS vs TPIS ↗ · British schools hub ↗ · IB Diploma hub ↗
// 01A · 18-point comparison
| Dimension | Garden Rayong | Belfry International School |
|---|---|---|
| School | Garden International School, Rayong | Belfry International School |
| Age span | Ages 2–18; Nursery through Year 13 | Ages 2–11; Pre-Nursery through Year 6 |
| Curriculum | British EYFS and National Curriculum, Cambridge IGCSE and IB Diploma | British EYFS and National Curriculum Key Stages 1–2 with a Montessori-informed approach |
| Published tuition | Latest published 2025/26: Nursery ฿147,000–฿268,500; FS1–2 up to ฿385,800; Years 1–2 ฿418,500; Years 3–6 ฿447,300; Years 7–9 ฿496,800; Year 10 ฿500,100; Year 11 ฿495,400; Years 12–13 ฿609,800. | Dated 2026/27 standard tuition: Nursery/Early Years 1 ฿301,000; Early Years 2 ฿326,500; Year 1 ฿371,000; Year 2 ฿383,400; Years 3–6 ฿395,000. |
| Named extras | Application ฿5,000; enrolment ฿60,000–฿120,000; refundable deposit ฿40,000; transport, boarding, visa documents, trips and compulsory support separate. | Application ฿4,000; registration ฿80,000; refundable deposit ฿30,000. Catering, trips, clubs, events and optional services are extra and unpriced. |
| Planning point | Latest fee tariff is 2025/26; request a dated enrolling-year quote and reconcile optional boarding. | Primary-only; plan the Year 6 transfer and confirm unpriced transport, books, trips, exams, deposits and support. |
| Sources | school overview · latest published fees | admissions · 2026/27 fees · curriculum · OPEC listing |
| Published support-cost label | Combined fee label — “Compulsory EAL/Learning Support”; amount on request in the latest published 2025/26 fee source. | No language- or learning-support tariff appears in the current 2026/27 fee schedule. |
| Live editorial | Read the Garden Rayong editorial | Read the Belfry editorial |
The fee years differ. Request a matched Garden enrolling-year quote with entry, resources, meals, support, transport and boarding rows alongside Belfry's registration, uniform, clubs, transport, books, trips, exams, deposits and support.
// 02 · decision framework
Choose the runway,
then price the year.
What is actually published?
Garden publishes latest-available 2025/26 tuition of ฿147,000–฿609,800. Belfry publishes 2026/27 tuition of ฿301,000–฿395,000 plus ฿4,000 application and ฿80,000 registration.
What is the curriculum choice?
Garden moves from British EYFS and National Curriculum into Cambridge IGCSE and the IB Diploma. Belfry blends British EYFS and Key Stages 1–2 with Montessori-informed project learning and structured primary learning.
What needs planning?
Garden's latest tariff is one academic year older and boarding is off campus. Belfry families must plan the Year 6 transfer and price every unlisted service.
Shortlist guidance
- Garden suits families seeking an all-through English-medium British-to-IB route in Ban Chang with optional boarding from Year 5.
- Belfry suits families seeking an English-language, Montessori-informed British primary route inside Pattaya and ready to plan the Year 6 transfer.
// 03 · compare the usable offer
Shared primary years.
Different runway.
The schools overlap only through primary. Garden combines English-medium British stages with Thai, Spanish, French and Mandarin before IGCSE and IB; Belfry uses English within a British primary framework shaped by Montessori-informed projects and outdoor learning.
Match the actual attendance offer
Ask both schools to state the child’s proposed class, start date, age cut-off and following year. Garden publishes Nursery through Year 13; Belfry publishes Early Years through Year 6.
Request the placement test, class equivalence, current cohort and written progression route. At Belfry, treat the Year 6 move as part of today's offer rather than a distant problem.
Make language exposure visible
Garden records English as the teaching language alongside Thai, Spanish, French and Mandarin. Ask for weekly allocation, subject language, newcomer support and the transition from British primary into Cambridge IGCSE and the IB Diploma.
Belfry records English. Ask how teachers assess English readiness, support newcomers and document progress within project work as well as literacy and mathematics.
At both visits, request anonymised work and the report format. Observe how teachers explain unfamiliar tasks and whether language support builds independent subject learning.
Build complete first-year totals
Garden's latest 2025/26 tuition runs from ฿147,000 to ฿609,800. Application is ฿5,000, enrolment ฿60,000–฿120,000 and the refundable deposit ฿40,000. Bus costs ฿18,000–฿32,100 per term, boarding ฿297,000–฿345,000 per year plus a ฿20,000 deposit, and compulsory EAL or learning support is priced on request.
Belfry publishes 2026/27 standard tuition of ฿301,000 for Nursery/Early Years 1, ฿326,500 for Early Years 2, ฿371,000 for Year 1, ฿383,400 for Year 2 and ฿395,000 for Years 3–6. Application is ฿4,000, registration ฿80,000 and the refundable deposit ฿30,000.
Catering, trips, clubs, events and other optional services cost extra but the fee document does not price them. Annual payment receives 5% off standard tuition; a separate “4th year Family” table shows a further reduced tariff whose eligibility and cumulative treatment need written confirmation. Ask both schools for personalised complete totals.
Plan both transfer points
Garden publishes Cambridge IGCSE followed by the IB Diploma. Confirm which senior years accept newcomers and which subjects operate for the enrolling cohort.
Belfry ends at Year 6. Ask which secondary schools recent pupils enter and what transcript, curriculum map and references support transfer.
Rehearse relocation after two years. Request the transcript, curriculum map, grading scale and teacher references each school would supply.
Audit support without assumptions
Garden publishes ELS at ฿20,000–฿30,000 per term and prices compulsory learning support on request. Belfry 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 and exit criteria. Separate English acquisition from other learning needs.
Bring existing reports before assessment and ask admissions to state any limitations in writing.
Test the next pathway with present evidence
Garden publishes an established IGCSE-to-IB sequence. Ask for current secondary subjects, the latest IB cohort size and average points, timetable constraints and university-counselling evidence.
Belfry has no secondary stage. Ask how Year 6 pupils are prepared for transfer, which destinations recent cohorts entered and what transition support is included.
For either school, request anonymised work, a sample transcript and the transition timeline.
Compare registration and curriculum claims carefully
Belfry appears in the OPEC international-school directory. Its Montessori-informed wording describes an educational approach, not a separate qualification or accreditation. Garden is independently listed by CIS and the IB, while its Cambridge and ONESQA claims remain school-published in the current ledger.
Compare teacher qualifications, class size, project documentation, homework and reporting cadence for the child's class.
Model discounts without inventing them
Garden publishes scholarships of up to 25% of tuition, reviewed annually, that replace other discounts and exclude examinations, trips and resource funds. Belfry publishes a 5% annual-payment discount and a separate “4th year Family” tariff. Ask the school to confirm eligibility and whether the reductions are cumulative; no sibling discount is published.
Keep every concession separate from standard tuition until it appears in the written offer.
Test the real family week
Garden is in Ban Chang, Rayong; Belfry is in Nong Taphan, Ban Khai. Drive both routes at arrival and collection times, including work and sibling stops.
Garden publishes bus at ฿18,000–฿32,100 per term and offers boarding from Year 5 in a small off-campus residential-estate house. Belfry does not publish a transport tariff, so request an exact address quote and test vehicle time.
Finish the offer meeting
- Placement: exact class, live operation and next class.
- Learning: language allocation, programme map, work and reports.
- Cost: acceptance cash, first year and recurring year.
- Support: provision, staffing, review and price.
- Transition: Garden's British-to-IB sequence or Belfry's Year 6 secondary transfer.
Save offers, fee schedules, calendars and placement 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 Garden, trace English, Thai, Spanish, French and Mandarin through British primary and into later IGCSE and IB stages. At Belfry, trace English National Curriculum work through Key Stage 2 and ask how pupils demonstrate progress in project work and core subjects.
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. Garden prices meals, resources, transport and boarding separately. Belfry prices catering, trips, clubs, events and optional services separately without publishing their amounts, so model the child's actual routine rather than comparing tuition alone.
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
Garden is in Ban Chang, Rayong; Belfry is in Nong Taphan, Ban Khai. Verify each entrance, transport route and contract address before payment. Test gate queues, parking and the return journey.
Belfry is day-only. Garden offers boarding from Year 5 in an off-campus residential-estate house capped at 12 students. Ask whether each 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, both schools use a British curriculum family, but ask how classroom evidence, language provision and teaching approach differ. At age eleven, Garden may continue while Belfry requires a secondary transfer.
For a Belfry family approaching Year 6, ask admissions for a destination list that separates applications, offers and actual enrolments, then request the preparation calendar for assessments, references and records. For a Garden family considering the same age, confirm the proposed Year 7 cohort, curriculum, subjects and later IGCSE-to-IB sequence. Put those answers beside the child's likely relocation date. Continuity is valuable only when the next stage exists, accepts the child and supplies the subjects or support the family expects.
Before signing, compare the two schools’ invoice language line by line. For Belfry, include application, registration, deposit, catering, trips, clubs, events, transport, books, uniform, examinations and support.
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 Garden's latest 2025/26 schedule and Belfry's 2026/27 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 tuition?
The fee years differ. Garden's latest 2025/26 rows are lower across most overlapping full-day stages, while Belfry publishes 2026/27 fees with meals included; compare matched enrolling-year totals.
Do both schools use a British curriculum?
Yes, but continuity differs. Garden continues from British stages through Cambridge IGCSE to the IB Diploma; Belfry follows EYFS and English National Curriculum Key Stages 1–2 through Year 6.
How long can a child stay?
Garden serves ages 2–18 and runs Nursery through Year 13. Belfry serves ages 2–11 and ends at Year 6, so every family must plan a secondary transfer.
What should a Garden quote include?
Ask for enrolling-year tuition, application, enrolment, refundable deposit, resources, meals, transport, boarding, visa documents, trips, compulsory EAL or learning support, exams and refund terms.
What should a Belfry quote include?
Include standard tuition, annual-payment eligibility, the long-standing-family tariff, application, registration, deposit, catering, clubs, transport, books, trips, examinations, support, late-payment charges and refund terms.
Five questions.
Use the decision framework above to weigh curriculum, fees, continuity, location and your child’s fit.