SISB vs Garden

Ask both schools to state the child’s proposed class, start date, age cut-off, core hours and following year’s class. SISB publishes Nursery, Kindergarten, Primary and Grades 7–12 fee rows; Garden publishes Nursery, Foundation, Years 1–6 and Years 7–13. Similar ages do not make the labels or weekly hours identical.

Garden publishes a longer Nursery-to-Year-13 span; ask which year is open, which 2026/27 fee row applies and whether day or boarding provision is required. Ask SISB to quote the same attendance pattern. Observe the actual room, transitions, meals, rest and outdoor time rather than comparing a part-time endpoint with a full-time place.

SISB records English, Thai and Mandarin across an EYFS, Singapore Primary, Singapore/UK hybrid and Cambridge pathway. Ask how the three languages divide across the week and how Singapore Primary transitions into Grades 7–8 and Cambridge secondary stages.

Garden records English as the medium alongside Thai and additional languages. Ask how EYFS transitions into primary, how pupils prepare for IGCSE and how subject choices lead into the IB Diploma.

At both visits, watch how teachers explain unfamiliar tasks, how children ask for help and what happens when they work at different speeds. Request anonymised current work and the report format parents receive. The useful comparison is classroom practice, not the word “international.”

Garden’s latest published 2026/27 tuition is ฿147,000 Nursery half-day, ฿268,500 Nursery full-day, up to ฿385,800 in FS1–2, ฿418,500–฿447,300 in primary and ฿495,400–฿609,800 in secondary.

Garden publishes a ฿5,000 application fee, ฿60,000–฿120,000 enrolment and ฿40,000 refundable deposit. Bus is ฿18,000–฿32,100 per term, visa documents ฿15,000 and boarding ฿297,000–฿345,000 a year plus deposit.

SISB publishes tuition plus application, assessment, enrolment, deposit, resources, meals and ELS. Request transport, trips, devices, uniform and every applicable optional service in writing. The quote should name the academic year, weekly hours, payment dates, notice requirements and refund conditions.

Create totals for money due before attendance, the complete first school year and a normal recurring year. Mark one-time and refundable sums. SISB’s dated tariff still requires the child’s exact grade and extras; Garden’s 2026/27 tariff requires a written 2026/27 grade quote, entry fees, transport, support and selected services.

SISB publishes fees through Grade 12 but must confirm each operating and admitting grade. Ask how current cohorts progress, which secondary stages are open, what reports are supplied and whether a later campus change could become necessary.

Garden publishes an established route through IGCSE and IB Diploma. Ask for subject availability, current cohort evidence and the school’s explanation of any conflicting A-Level wording on its Sixth Form page.

Rehearse an international relocation after two years. Ask each school what transcript, curriculum record and language evidence it would provide, then ask a likely receiving school how placement would be decided. Familiar curriculum words do not guarantee a place or identical year mapping.

SISB publishes required ELS at ฿20,000–฿30,000 per term when applicable; Garden’s latest tariff does not publish a comparable learning-support price. Ask what assessment triggers support, what happens inside class, which lessons pupils miss and whether the provision is required for continued enrolment.

If support is important to acceptance, request the responsible staff member, frequency, group size, duration, review date and price. Separate English acquisition from other learning needs. A published band is not a child-specific plan, and Garden’s missing price must remain open until quoted.

SISB is in Nong Taphan, Ban Khai; Garden is in Ban Chang, Rayong. Drive both routes at intended arrival and collection times, including work, sibling stops and activities. Record door-to-door time on a normal weekday and repeat the uncertain route during rain.

Confirm transport separately because SISB excludes transport from its schedule while Garden’s latest schedule prices bus at ฿18,000–฿32,100 per term. Ask for pickup windows, likely vehicle time, supervision and cost. Place both school calendars beside family work dates and identify care required outside core hours.

1. Placement: exact class, hours, language pattern and next class.
2. Learning: programme map, current work and reporting evidence.
3. Cost: acceptance cash, complete first year, recurring year and refund exposure.
4. Support: named provision, staffing, review and price.
5. Transition: SISB’s current-grade availability and Cambridge pathway or Garden’s later programme and credential audit.

Save the offers, calendars and placement answers together. Write why the selected classroom fits this child now and how the next transition remains workable. Keep every missing charge or support commitment open until the school confirms it in writing.

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 both schools for an anonymised example of the starting assessment, a mid-year progress record and work from the proposed class. At SISB, look for evidence that trilingual learning maps to the stated Singapore and Cambridge stages. At Garden, ask how English-medium work maps to British primary stages, IGCSE expectations and the later IB Diploma.

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, toileting, rest, illness procedures, late collection and after-school care. SISB prices meals and resources separately; confirm care hours, transport, booking rules and every applicable cost. Garden’s inclusion set varies by stage, so families must confirm meals, resources, trips and care hours, so confirm meals, allergy management, standard hours and any care charge in the written quote.

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.

SISB’s campus is in Nong Taphan, Ban Khai; verify the entrance, transport route and contract address before payment. Garden is in Ban Chang, Rayong. Test parking, gate queues and the return journey, not just navigation to the map pin. If a grandparent, driver or caregiver will collect, have that person rehearse the route too.

Garden publishes weekly and full boarding from Year 5; ask where pupils live, how weekends work, which deposit applies and how travel changes the child’s week.

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 can continue; compare the next curriculum stage, confirmed grade availability and complete budget at that point. At age eleven, Garden can continue through Year 13, but parents should recheck the current fee year, subject route, boarding need and complete price. This timeline makes Garden’s longer runway visible without treating an unverified label as a guaranteed pathway.

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 attach corrections to the offer email, keep copies of the fee schedule and calendar, and note who supplied each answer. The resulting record gives the family a fair comparison despite SISB’s 2026/27 tariff and Garden’s published 2026/27 tariff having different inclusions.