RIS Swiss Section Deutschsprachige Schule Bangkok Reviews (11)

Average Ratings

Overall 3.45
Facilities 2.86
Academics 3.00
Teachers 3.71
Sports 2.86
Music & Arts 3.00
Science & Tech 3.29

Reviewer Nationalities

German (5) Thai (1)

How would you rate RIS Swiss Section Deutschsprachige Schule Bangkok?

teerapat, 08/10/2019 @ 09:48:39
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Facilities
Academics
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Music & Arts
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Overall

What RIS Swiss Section is pitching now, to take in more students, is overhyped. I hope the school’s marketing team and the current principal would stop telling the public that this school is offering bi-lingual education. And if you are not German, Swiss or Austrian parents who speak German to your kids in your households and plan for them to further their study in German-medium universities, stay away from this school. Here is our views of the school after spending 5 years there in the now-defunct English Profile. 1. Education: The school officially started English and German profiles (Profile E and Profile D) for students about 5 years ago (2014) after the parents voted for the of curriculum of this kind in an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). The idea was to make the kids from English-speaking or Thai families fluent both in English and German in Profile E. At grade 7, both Profiles will merge and students from Profile E would be able to continue studying in German curriculum till they graduate, with good German language skills equal to those of their peers from Profile D. On a side not, before 2014, the school did IB curriculum without any permission from RIS (RIS Swiss Section doesn’t have its school license, RIS is its license holder) and so a vote at EGM was called either to steer the school to its former self as a German-medium school or a school with both Profile E and Profile D from KG to Grade 6. It turns out the school realized just around the end of 2018 it was not able to make Profile E students fluent in German as intended. (These students officially learned German 4 periods weekly plus other some other activities in classes conducted in German.) But the school never let on that the curriculum could not deliver. And no curriculum improvements have ever been made along the way. Then, out of the blue, in February 2019, the principal sent an email to Profile E parents announcing ambiguously the format of Profile E would be changed to improve German language skills. Yet it masked the fact the school no longer wanted Profile E. An official meeting that followed to clarify the issue was unhelpful. The principal and the officials involved declined to come clean with the issue to the confusion of many parents. The school is now back to become what it was before many years ago: the German-medium school. 2. The school management: This school is run as an “association” with "7 parents" elected as school’s board of directors (no outside respectable experts, professionals or even people from RIS, the license holder). Once elected, they manage the school under the guise of Swiss Education Association (SEA). In other words, SEA and RIS Swiss Section are practically one and the same. The finances of SEA and RIS Swiss Section are one and the same.

Reviews from Google

Recent reviews posted on Google.

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Preecha Powanusorn, 11 months ago


Good international school with high standard education system. Such a lovely school. My son enjoys studying here. Students are mostly capable to continue higher education at top universities.

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Daniel Benz, 2 years ago


A good school with really motivated teachers. If you are looking for a good education in Bangkok this school is definitely one you need to consider. The classes are small and the teachers really invest a lot of time to help you kids develop.

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tik otaganonta, 2 years ago


My two daughters attended RIS for four years each. It is a high-caliber, academic-oriented international school in green, spacious surrounding. In addition, RIS provides strong support for students with special needs. I've found the school staff helpful and the parents a friendly and active bunch, both combined to make RIS a vibrant and caring community. (Also worth mentioning is that the canteen's food-center offers a good selection at reasonable prices. So much so that many parents shop for their dinner supplement here!)

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Stéphane Berger, a month ago


My son has spent 2 years at this school. The teachers are good and very friendly. I think what definitely broke it for me, among many other things, is when the Director of the school told me in a private meeting "our first priority is the Thai student......., and the Swiss student comes second". Then they dare talking to you about students' equality! What a waste! Edit: 1 year later, my son is finally at a school that he is happy with! When he comes home, he tells me what happened and always shows me what he's learnt! I'm amazed! They listen to parents (take note "Swiss" Section) and actually teach some useful skills (baking their own birthday cakes together, instead of having mom buying one, for example)... And, most importantly, the (often very invasive) parents can't enter the classroom and they have to leave the school premises during teaching hours (That's so refreshing!!!)! I could go on and write a 3 pages long list...

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