Garden Rayong vs TJAS Sriracha

Ask both schools to state the child's proposed class, start date, age cut-off and following year. Garden spans Nursery through Year 13. TJAS Sriracha serves Japanese Elementary Grades 1–6 and Lower Secondary Grades 1–3.

Do not translate Grade and Year labels by number alone. Request placement reasoning, Japanese-system equivalence, the live cohort and a written progression route. For an older pupil, make TJAS's transition after Lower Secondary Grade 3 a first-meeting question rather than a future detail.

Garden records English as the medium, with Thai, Spanish, French and Mandarin. Ask for weekly allocation, subject language, English-as-an-additional-language provision and the transition from British stages into IGCSE and IB Diploma work.

TJAS Sriracha records Japanese as the medium and describes a school for pupils able to participate in ordinary Japanese-language lessons and communication. Ask what reading, writing and classroom-language level admissions expects and how transfer applicants demonstrate it.

At both visits, request anonymised work and the report format. Observe how teachers explain unfamiliar tasks and whether language support builds independent subject learning.

Garden's latest 2026/27 tuition runs from ฿147,000 to ฿609,800. Nursery half-day is the low endpoint; Nursery full-day is ฿268,500, Years 3–6 are ฿447,300 and Years 12–13 IB Diploma are ฿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, visa documents ฿15,000, while compulsory EAL or learning support and Outdoor Education trips are priced on request.

TJAS Sriracha publishes calendar-year 2026 tuition of ฿146,000, split ฿58,400 in Terms 1 and 2 and ฿29,200 in Term 3. The standard one-time entrance fee is ฿160,000; defined transfer and re-entry cases may qualify for ฿60,000 or a waiver, so eligibility needs written confirmation.

TJAS PTA dues are ฿300 in Term 1, ฿240 in Term 2 and ฿180 in Term 3. Ordinary teaching materials are generally included except special overnight trips. Uniforms and personal supplies are separate and unpriced; there is no lunch service or on-campus food sale, and the undated bus estimate is about ฿20,000–฿30,000 per term.

Garden publishes Cambridge IGCSE followed by the IB Diploma, an internationally portable qualification route through Year 13. Confirm current subject combinations, option-block constraints and the support available when a pupil joins close to IGCSE or Diploma study.

TJAS Sriracha ends after Japanese Lower Secondary Grade 3. Ask where recent pupils continue, which Japanese records and recommendations the school supplies and how a move into a Japanese high school, another national system or an international qualification is prepared.

Rehearse relocation after two years. Request the transcript, curriculum map, grading scale and teacher references each school would supply. A lower current bill may still carry language or transfer preparation if the next school expects a different sequence.

Garden says compulsory English-as-an-additional-language and learning support are priced on request. TJAS Sriracha does not publish a language- or learning-support tariff and is not presented as a beginner Japanese bridge programme.

If support matters, request the staff member, group size, minutes per week, review date, progress measure, exit criteria and price. Separate language acquisition from other learning needs. Bring existing reports before assessment and ask admissions to state any limitations in writing.

Garden's published sequence reaches Cambridge IGCSE and the IB Diploma. Its independent IB record confirms the programme, while a copied Rayong Sixth Form page describing A-Level conflicts with the campus-specific curriculum, fee and IB evidence. Ask admissions to confirm the exact Year 12–13 route in the offer and provide the current subject list.

TJAS Sriracha's published local route stops after Lower Secondary Grade 3. Ask for the destination calendar, entrance-examination preparation, records issued and counselling available for Japan or any alternative upper-secondary system.

For either school, request a sample transcript, the relevant examination calendar and the counselling timeline.

TJAS Sriracha appears on the Japanese Ministry of Education's current list of recognised overseas educational facilities as of 1 April 2026. Its Thai private-school licence is a school-published status. Garden's IB World School status and CIS re-accreditation are independently supported; Cambridge and ONESQA remain school-published claims in the sources reviewed.

Ask each school for the campus-specific register or examination evidence applying to the child's programme, then compare teacher qualifications, class size, homework and reporting cadence. Keep registration separate from curriculum, qualification and teaching-quality claims.

Garden publishes scholarships worth up to 25% of tuition. They replace other discounts, are reviewed annually and exclude examination fees, trips and resource funds. TJAS Sriracha publishes no standard sibling or prepayment discount in the sources reviewed.

TJAS's ฿60,000 reduced entrance fee and waiver apply only to defined transfer or re-entry cases. Ask admissions to identify the exact rule in writing rather than treating it as a general promotion.

Garden is in Ban Chang, Rayong; TJAS Sriracha is in Surasak, Si Racha. Drive both routes at arrival and collection times, including work and sibling stops.

Garden publishes bus pricing of ฿18,000–฿32,100 per term. TJAS gives an undated approximate bus range of ฿20,000–฿30,000 per term, revised annually, but does not publish Pattaya stops or journey times. Request exact address quotes and test vehicle time. Garden also offers weekly and full boarding from Year 5; TJAS is day-only.

1. Placement: exact class, entry assessment and next class.
2. Learning: teaching language, programme map, work and reports.
3. Cost: acceptance cash, first year and recurring year.
4. Support: provision, staffing, review and price.
5. Transition: Garden's British IGCSE-to-IB sequence or TJAS Sriracha's Japanese elementary-to-lower-secondary route.

Save offers, fee schedules, calendars and placement answers together.

Arrive before 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 Garden, trace English-medium work through British stages, IGCSE and the IB Diploma. At TJAS Sriracha, trace Japanese-medium classwork into the national programme and ask how a transfer pupil's reading and writing readiness is assessed.

Record the balance of adult-led, individual and group activity during the visit. Ask how teachers adapt the same task for a pupil who is new to the teaching language, already advanced or reluctant to participate. The useful environment is the one where staff can explain how this child will join and progress.

Confirm arrival supervision, allergies, illness procedures, late collection and activities. Garden's published tuition inclusions should be checked against transport, trips, support and boarding invoices. TJAS Sriracha has no lunch service or on-campus food sales, so pupils bring lunch; uniforms, personal supplies, special overnight trips and transport also need separate planning.

Place both calendars beside the family's work calendar. Count closures requiring 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.

Garden is in Ban Chang, Rayong; TJAS Sriracha is in Surasak, Si Racha. Verify each entrance, transport route and contract address before payment. Test gate queues, parking and the return journey.

Garden publishes transport fees and offers weekly or full boarding from Year 5, while TJAS is day-only. TJAS's approximate per-term bus range does not identify Pattaya stops, so ask whether the address is served and obtain pickup time, route duration, supervision and current 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 exercise for two future dates. At age six, compare Garden's British primary sequence with TJAS's Japanese Elementary route and the child's real teaching-language readiness. At age fourteen, compare Garden's IGCSE-to-IB runway with TJAS's lower-secondary exit and documented upper-secondary destination.

Before signing, compare the two schools' invoice language line by line. Ask each admissions team to mark every compulsory, optional, refundable and one-time row, then calculate cash due before the first day, the complete first year and a normal later year. For Garden, use a current 2026/27 quote rather than silently carrying forward 2026/27; for TJAS, include entrance eligibility, PTA dues, uniform, personal supplies, overnight trips, brought lunch and bus.

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 crossing the Eastern Seaboard industrial corridor should test both routes at real collection time.

Do not pay while a material condition remains unanswered. Ask admissions to correct the offer email, retain the dated schedules and note who supplied every placement and support answer.