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Licensing · Accreditation · Fees · Questions

International and Montessori schools

Thailand has hundreds of international schools and a small but real Montessori movement, from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen. Choosing one means checking three things that are easy to confuse: the Thai licence, the international accreditation, and the curriculum or method. Here is how each works, what fees look like, and what to ask on a visit.

The Thai licence

Every international school in Thailand is a private school licensed by the Office of the Private Education Commission (OPEC) of the Ministry of Education, under the Private School Act of 2007. It is licensed as an international-type school, may teach a foreign curriculum in English or another language, and must include Thai language and culture. OPEC counted 276 such schools on 10 February 2026: 125 in Bangkok and 151 in the provinces. Ask to see the licence; a real school shows it gladly.

Bilingual schools are different: they are Thai private schools that follow the Thai national curriculum with part of the teaching in English. Kindergartens, including most Montessori kindergartens, are licensed as Thai private schools too.

Accreditation

A licence says a school may operate; accreditation says an outside body has inspected it against international standards. Under the Ministry’s rules an international school must be accredited by a recognised overseas agency by the end of its fifth year, and it is also assessed by the Thai national quality agency, ONESQA. The International Schools Association of Thailand lists the agencies the Ministry recognises:

  • ACS WASC, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
  • Accreditation International
  • CIS, the Council of International Schools
  • COBIS, the Council of British International Schools
  • Cognia
  • Education Development Trust
  • ISI, the Independent Schools Inspectorate
  • MSA-CESS, the Middle States Association
  • NEASC, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
  • NDNA, the National Day Nurseries Association

The International Baccalaureate is not on the list because it does not accredit schools; it authorises a school to teach its programmes. A school can be both accredited and an IB World School, and the best ones say clearly which is which.

Montessori in Thailand

The Montessori method arrived in Thai state education through a pilot in seven government schools in 2004. The Montessori Association of Thailand, founded in 2006 and based in Samut Prakan, is an affiliated society of the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), the body Maria Montessori founded, and runs AMI teacher-training courses. AMI’s directory also lists a teacher-training centre in Khon Kaen, and in 2021 AMI and the Office of the Basic Education Commission signed a framework of cooperation on Montessori training for state schools.

Montessori schools themselves are mostly private kindergartens and a few international schools with Montessori early years. We found no Thai school listed as recognised by AMI, so the word Montessori on a sign tells you about the method a school says it follows, not about an inspection. Look instead at the teachers’ training, the mixed-age classes, the materials and the long work periods that define the method.

What it costs

Fees vary by city, curriculum and age. Bangkok’s long-established schools cost the most; Chiang Mai’s cost roughly half to two-thirds as much. Here are the published annual tuition fees for 2026–27 at a few schools, in baht, to show the range:

SchoolCityAnnual tuitionMain one-time fee
International School BangkokBangkok659,000 (pre-kindergarten) to 1,197,000 (grades 9 to 12)Registration 260,000
Lanna International SchoolChiang Mai413,400 (early years) to 803,400 (years 12 and 13)Registration 90,000
Chiang Mai International SchoolChiang Mai341,700 (preschool) to 580,200 (grades 9 to 12)Enrolment 100,000 (preschool 30,000)
Nakornpayap International SchoolChiang Mai304,500 (kindergarten) to 521,800 (grades 9 to 12)Registration 80,000

On top of tuition, expect application and assessment fees, a registration or capital fee on joining, deposits, and charges for buses, lunches, uniforms, trips and exam entries. Montessori kindergartens publish few fee lists; ask for one in writing.

Questions to ask on a visit

  • Licence and accreditation: which body accredited the school, when, and when the next visit is due.
  • Teachers: what qualifications they hold, how long they stay, and who teaches the youngest classes.
  • Curriculum: British, American, IB or another, and what it leads to at the end of school.
  • Thai: how much Thai language is taught, at what level, and whether Thai and foreign children learn it together.
  • Support: help for children learning English, and for special educational needs, and what it costs.
  • Air quality: in Chiang Mai and the north, what the school does in the smoky months: air purifiers, indoor play, rules for outdoor sport.
  • Money: every fee for the year, the refund rules if you leave, and how fees have risen in recent years.

Sources

Checked against the sources below. Rules, fees and dates change, sometimes at short notice: confirm with the school and the Office of the Private Education Commission before you rely on them.

Questions people ask

How many international schools are there in Thailand?

The Office of the Private Education Commission counted 276 licensed international schools in February 2026, 125 in Bangkok and 151 in the provinces, and it approves more than a dozen new ones a year. The International Schools Association of Thailand represents about 200 of them.

Is a school that calls itself Montessori accredited?

Not necessarily. Anyone can use the word. Ask whether the lead teachers hold a Montessori diploma from a recognised training body such as AMI, whether classes mix ages as the method intends, and whether children have long uninterrupted work periods with the Montessori materials. A Thai licence and, for an international school, a recognised accreditation are separate questions.

Can foreign children go to Thai state schools?

Yes. Thai state schools teach in Thai and accept children of any nationality, and some run English Programme streams that teach part of the curriculum in English for a fee. It suits younger children and families planning a long stay who want their children to grow up in Thai.

Related

Teaching EnglishWhat it takes to teach English in Thailand: the degree, TEFL and the teaching licence or its waiver, the Non-B visa and work permit, pay by kind of school, the hiring seasons and the red flags.Living in ThailandPractical guides for foreigners living in Thailand: visas and immigration rules, the Non-O visa, residence certificates, teaching English, schools, and Chiang Mai.Chiang MaiChiang Mai for people who live there or plan to: the districts, the three seasons and the smoky months, getting around, where foreigners live, costs, and the temples including Doi Suthep.The Non-O visaThe Thai Non-Immigrant O visa and its one-year extensions: marriage to a Thai, retirement at 50 and over, dependants and volunteers, the 400,000 and 800,000 baht rules, and the extension process.