Varee Chiangmai International School (VCIS) is the international programme of the long-established Varee Chiangmai School group, launched in 2010 for students aged 2 to 18. It follows the British national curriculum: an Early Years Foundation Stage start, a primary phase covering English, mathematics, science, humanities, computing, the arts, Thai language and physical education, Cambridge Checkpoint assessments in the lower secondary years, then Cambridge IGCSEs in Years 10–11 and Cambridge AS and A-levels in Years 12–13. The campus sits at 59 Moo 6, Mahidol Road, Nong Hoi, roughly ten to fifteen minutes south-east of central Chiang Mai.
The campus, and how you actually get there
Address: 59 Moo 6, Mahidol Road, Nong Hoi, Mueang, Chiang Mai 50000
The international programme operates within the wider Varee Chiangmai School group's site — which means access to the facilities of a large, well-known Thai school, and a campus that is busier and more Thai in character than the standalone international schools out in Hang Dong or Mae Rim.
Getting there: No urban rail. VCIS sits on Mahidol Road in Nong Hoi, south-east of the centre and close to the airport side of the city — one of the shorter runs available, at roughly 10–15 minutes from the city core. Nong Hoi, Chang Klan and Saraphi all work well; the northern districts do not.
Chiang Mai has no urban rail — no BTS, no MRT, no commuter metro. The city's railway station serves intercity trains to Bangkok, and the long-discussed Chiang Mai light-rail scheme remains unbuilt, so every school run here is a car, a motorbike, a red songthaew, a Grab or the school bus. Read the Chiang Mai getting-around guide and the Chiang Mai area guides before you commit to a neighbourhood.
Smoke-season air quality at this campus
Varee Chiangmai International School (VCIS) does not publish detailed smoke-season filtration information that we could verify from primary sources, so we are not going to imply provision that may not exist. That is not a criticism of the school — most Chiang Mai schools handle this well and simply do not document it publicly — but it does mean you must ask directly. The due-diligence list below tells you exactly what to ask.
Northern Thailand's burning season runs roughly February to April, when agricultural burning and forest fires push Chiang Mai high into the global air-quality rankings — IQAir placed the city among the ten most polluted in the world on 4 March 2026, with AQI above 150 and PM2.5 the dominant pollutant. For a family with young children this is a legitimate school-selection criterion, not a footnote. Our Chiang Mai air-quality guide covers the season in full.
The curriculum pathway
How a child progresses through the school, stage by stage:
- Early Years — UK Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
- Primary — Years 1–6: English, maths, science, humanities, computing, arts, Thai and PE
- Lower secondary — Years 7–9, working towards Cambridge Checkpoint in English, mathematics and science
- Cambridge IGCSE — Years 10–11
- Cambridge AS and A-level — Years 12–13
Accreditation & memberships
Accreditation is the closest thing to an objective quality signal in international schooling — it means an outside body has inspected governance, teaching and safeguarding. BAANLYY does not rank schools, so this is what Varee Chiangmai International School (VCIS) and its accrediting bodies publish, not our verdict:
- Cambridge International pathway — Checkpoint, IGCSE and AS/A-level
- Delivers the British national curriculum
- Part of the Varee Chiangmai School group, registered with the Thai Ministry of Education
Boarding and the size of the school
Boarding: The international programme is a day school.
Scale: An international stream inside a large Thai school group, which gives it a different feel from Chiang Mai's standalone international schools — more Thai families, and an English-medium pathway that has long been regarded locally as one of the more accessible routes into a Cambridge curriculum. Roll and nationality figures move every year and schools report them differently — treat these as indicative and ask the admissions office for the current numbers.
Who this school tends to suit
Families who want a Cambridge IGCSE and A-level pathway and a short commute on the south-east side of the city, and who are comfortable with an international programme embedded in a larger Thai school rather than a standalone international campus.
This is our editorial read for relocation planning, not a ranking or a recommendation — and no school pays to appear on BAANLYY. Visit shortlisted campuses before you decide.
Living near Varee Chiangmai International School (VCIS)
The south-eastern side of the city is the catchment. The BAANLYY area guides for this run:
Check the school's bus catchment before you sign. Chiang Mai's international schools cluster in two distinct belts — the northern one around Mae Rim and San Sai, and the far larger southern one through Hang Dong, Mae Hia and Saraphi — and picking a home in the wrong belt turns a fifteen-minute run into a daily hour.
What to confirm directly with the school
BAANLYY deliberately does not publish per-school tuition figures: they change annually, schools publish their own current schedules, and a stale number is worse than none. Take this list to the admissions office:
- Exactly how the international programme is separated from the Thai programme — timetable, facilities, staffing and the language of instruction outside lessons.
- Whether the school holds an international accreditation (CIS, NEASC, WASC or BSO) beyond its Cambridge examination pathway. We could not verify one from primary sources and would rather say so.
- Smoke-season filtration in the international programme's buildings specifically.
- The current fee schedule — tuition, application and registration fees, any refundable deposit or capital/development levy, uniforms, lunches, the bus and trips.
- Whether the year group you need has a place, or a waitlist, for your intended start date.
- Smoke-season provision in detail: which buildings are filtered, whether the sports halls and canteen are included as well as classrooms, whether indoor and outdoor AQI readings are published to parents, and the school's written policy for cancelling outdoor activities. This is the single most important Chiang Mai-specific question a family can ask, and provision varies enormously between campuses.
- School bus routes, catchment zones and pick-up times for the specific neighbourhood you are considering — several Chiang Mai schools sit well outside the ring roads, and a home ten minutes further out but on the route can be the easier morning.
- Entry requirements: assessments, interviews, English-language support and the school reports or transcripts you must supply.
- How far the school takes your child, and on which exam pathway — Chiang Mai mixes American/AP, Cambridge IGCSE and A-level, and IB Diploma routes, and switching between them mid-secondary is disruptive.
Visit the official Varee Chiangmai International School (VCIS) website →
BAANLYY does not rank, endorse or accept payment from schools. Facts on this page are compiled from Varee Chiangmai International School (VCIS)'s own official website and its accrediting bodies, and are provided for relocation planning — not as admissions or financial advice. Curricula, campuses, fees and admissions rules change; always confirm current details with the school.
Sources & References
Primary and official sources are cited above. Government rules, fees and procedures in Thailand change over time and vary by office; always confirm current requirements with the relevant authority before relying on them. BAANLYY never takes paid placement in editorial content.
Find a home for this school run.
School shortlisted — now match a neighbourhood to the bus route and your budget, and line up healthcare and your visa.
