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
Highgate vs
Hastin.
This comparison is deliberately not a price ranking. Highgate opens in August 2026 with Pre-Prep and Junior School and 2026/27 tuition of ฿375,000–฿795,000; Senior School and boarding remain planned. 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.
// Jump to → Highgate editorial ↗ · Hastin International editorial ↗ · Rugby vs Regents ↗ · Garden vs Regents ↗ · Regents vs Garden ↗ · MIS vs TPIS ↗
// 01 · current record
Shared age range.
Different system.
Both are OPEC-listed schools in Banglamung, but Highgate is a new English-medium British international school while Hastin is an operating international school with English-medium provision. Their current offers are not interchangeable: Highgate opens through Year 6 and publishes later phases, while Hastin uses the Oxford International Curriculum through Year 9.
// In this guide → Highgate editorial ↗ · Hastin International editorial ↗ · Rugby vs Regents ↗ · Garden vs Regents ↗ · Regents vs Garden ↗ · MIS vs TPIS ↗ · British schools hub ↗ · Boarding schools hub ↗
// 01A · 18-point comparison
| Dimension | Highgate | Hastin International School |
|---|---|---|
| School | Highgate International School Thailand | Hastin International School |
| Age span | Ages 2–18 phased; opening Pre-Nursery through Year 6 | Pre-Nursery through Year 9 |
| Curriculum | British National Curriculum with planned IGCSE and A-Level stages | Oxford International Curriculum, British EYFS and Key Stages 1–3 |
| Published tuition | Dated 2026/27 opening tuition: Pre-Nursery/Nursery half-day ฿375,000; full-day ฿595,000; Reception ฿715,000; Years 1–2 ฿755,000; Year 3 ฿785,000; Years 4–6 ฿795,000. | Academic Year 2026: Pre-Nursery–Reception ฿169,500; Years 1–6 ฿198,900; Years 7–9 ฿229,500. |
| Named extras | Application ฿5,500; enrolment ฿200,000; refundable deposit ฿100,000; lunch, snacks, resources and many activities included; bus and other extras separate. | Application ฿3,000; enrolment ฿30,000; meals and two annual ฿1,000 protection charges separately priced. |
| Planning point | Confirm the live opening cohort and evidence behind every later phase. | 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 Highgate editorial | Read the Hastin editorial |
Confirm that Hastin’s Academic Year 2026 basis covers the same attendance period as Highgate’s 2026/27 quote. Request Highgate’s application, registration, deposit, catering, trips, clubs, transport, books, uniforms, examinations and support alongside Hastin’s application, enrolment, meals, protection charges, visa processing, bus, uniforms, trips and examinations.
// 02 · decision framework
Choose the model,
then verify the exit.
What is actually published?
Highgate publishes opening 2026/27 tuition of ฿375,000–฿795,000 through Year 6. Hastin publishes Academic Year 2026 tuition of ฿169,500–฿229,500. Both add compulsory charges outside tuition.
What is the curriculum choice?
Highgate opens with British Pre-Prep and Junior School; Senior School, IGCSE and A-Level stages are planned rather than operating in the opening year. Hastin uses the Oxford International Curriculum through Year 9.
What needs planning?
Highgate families should confirm the opening year group, live cohort, OPEC-approved expansion schedule and the evidence behind later IGCSE and A-Level plans. Hastin families need a documented move after Year 9 into the next qualification.
Shortlist guidance
- Highgate suits families seeking a premium British opening cohort and comfortable underwriting phased expansion in near Siam Country Club, Banglamung.
- Hastin suits families seeking an English-medium Oxford route beside Mabprachan and prepared to plan the post-Year-9 transition.
// 03 · compare the usable offer
Premium opening cohort.
Established lower-fee route.
The schools overlap from the early years through Year 6 and both record English as the teaching medium alongside Thai. The resemblance ends there: Highgate’s opening route currently reaches Year 6, with Senior School planned for 2027/28, while Hastin’s Oxford International Curriculum currently stops at Year 9.
Match the actual attendance offer
Ask both schools to state the child’s proposed class, start date, age cut-off and following year. Highgate opens Pre-Nursery through Year 6 before later phases; 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 Highgate, ask how readiness and placement are assessed for the opening cohort. At Hastin, make the Year 9 move part of the initial offer.
Understand the learning model
Highgate combines British National Curriculum with planned IGCSE and A-Level stages. Ask to see how individual choice, teacher instruction, collaborative work and core-subject progression fit together.
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.
Build complete first-year totals
Highgate publishes opening 2026/27 tuition of ฿375,000 for half-day Pre-Nursery/Nursery, ฿595,000 full-day, ฿715,000 for Reception, ฿755,000 for Years 1–2, ฿785,000 for Year 3 and ฿795,000 for Years 4–6.
Highgate charges application of ฿5,500, non-refundable enrolment of ฿200,000 and a refundable security deposit of ฿100,000. Tuition includes lunch, snacks, learning resources and many after-school activities; uniforms, visits, bus service and designated options cost extra.
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.
Plan the exit before entry
Highgate opens through Year 6 and plans later Senior School, IGCSE and A-Level stages. Treat those later stages as plans until the school supplies the approved opening sequence, live subjects, awarding bodies, external examinations and transcript format.
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.
Audit support without assumptions
Highgate does not publish a usable language- or learning-support tariff in the current ledger. 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.
Compare registration and claims carefully
Highgate appears in OPEC as registered international school Highgate; 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.
Model payment and withdrawal risk
Highgate’s current ledger does not record late-payment or refund figures; ask for both in writing. Also confirm whether the refundable security deposit follows a separate notice period, damage test or account-clearance process.
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.
Test the real family week
Highgate is near Siam Country Club in Banglamung; Hastin is in Pong beside Mabprachan. Drive both routes at arrival and collection times, including work and sibling stops.
Highgate boarding is not operating and Hastin is day-only; neither publishes a usable bus tariff. Request an exact address quote, pickup time, route duration, supervision and late-collection arrangement.
Finish the offer meeting
- Placement: exact class, placement evidence and next class.
- Learning: daily teaching model, curriculum map, work and reports.
- Cost: acceptance cash, complete first year and recurring year.
- Support: provision, staffing, review and price.
- Exit: Highgate’s phased IGCSE-to-A-Level plan or Hastin’s post-Year-9 transfer.
Save offers, fee schedules, calendars and recognition 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 Highgate, trace opening British curriculum goals into assessed progress and ask for dated evidence behind the later IGCSE-to-A-Level plan. 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.
Check care outside lessons
Confirm arrival supervision, meals, allergies, illness procedures, late collection and activities. Highgate includes lunch, snacks, resources and many activities but prices transport and designated options 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.
Separate address from commute
Highgate is near Siam Country Club in Banglamung; 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.
Highgate has no operating boarding offer and Hastin is day-only. Ask whether the home 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, compare classroom structure, language support and the child’s response to opening British primary versus Oxford-framed work. By early secondary, compare the evidence behind Highgate’s IGCSE-to-A-Level pathway with Hastin’s documented transfer route after Year 9.
Before signing, compare the invoice language line by line. For Highgate include tuition, application, enrolment, deposit, bus, uniforms, visits, designated activities, support and refund terms; 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 Highgate’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.
// FAQ
Quick answers
before you decide.
Which school publishes lower headline tuition?
Hastin publishes lower tuition at ฿169,500–฿229,500, while Highgate publishes ฿375,000–฿795,000 for its opening cohort through Year 6. Both add compulsory charges, so compare complete totals on matched attendance dates.
Do both schools use the same curriculum?
No. Highgate combines British National Curriculum with planned IGCSE and A-Level stages. Hastin uses the Oxford International Curriculum through Year 9.
How long can a child stay?
Highgate’s August 2026 opening offer reaches Year 6, with later Senior School stages planned. Hastin publishes Pre-Nursery through Year 9. Confirm the live year group before relying on either future path.
What should a Highgate quote include?
Ask for tuition, application, enrolment, deposit, annual-payment and sibling discounts, bus, uniforms, visits, designated activities, support and refund terms.
What should a Hastin quote include?
Ask for tuition, application, enrolment, meals, property protection, accident insurance, visa processing, bus, uniforms, trips, examinations, support and refund terms.
Five questions.
Use the decision framework above to weigh curriculum, fees, continuity, location and your child’s fit.