The short version
Almost every guide to Koh Lanta — including earlier versions of this one — tells you the island has one school and that everything else is home-schooling or a move to Phuket. That is wrong, and it is wrong in a way that costs Nordic families in particular. The International School of Asia (ISA) in Sala Dan is indeed the island's only school licensed by Thailand's Ministry of Education as an international school, and it is the only on-island route that runs to 18 on one campus. But two long-established Swedish overseas schools also operate a few hundred metres away in Saladan, between them teaching from age three to upper secondary, and one of them says it takes more than 350 students a year — comfortably the largest school roll on the island. They are invisible in the international-school directories because they hold a different kind of registration and use a different vocabulary, not because they are small or new. Below: what each school really teaches, where each one stops, the term-abroad model that matters more here than curriculum does, and the honest limits of the island. Pair this with the cost-of-living guide and the Koh Lanta hub.
Are you relocating, or travelling?
On most of the Thai islands the structural question is where the schooling stops. On Koh Lanta it is which school roll your child stays on, and it splits the island's schools cleanly in two.
Both Swedish schools are built around families who are away for a few weeks to a year. Your child remains enrolled at their school at home. They arrive with their own plans and materials, are taught the same national curriculum by certified teachers from that same system, and at the end of the stay the school writes an assessment that goes back to the home school for its own grading. Lilla svenska skolan Lanta holds an enrolment interview with pupil, parent and teacher before the first day precisely so the handover is clean; Sanuk describes working directly with Swedish head teachers and school authorities. Nothing is surrendered and nothing has to be rebuilt when you go home.
ISA is the opposite proposition and none the worse for it: a full school place, on a Ministry-licensed campus, running all the way to Grade 12. Enrolling means your child's schooling now happens on Koh Lanta. That is what you want if you are actually moving — and it is also unusually easy to arrange, because ISA reports no entry evaluation, no waiting list, registration accepted up to two weeks before term, mid-year joiners taken, short-term students as routine and virtual classrooms available when needed. For DTV holders and long-stay families without a fixed departure date, that combination is rare in Thailand.
Answer this question first. It eliminates most of the shortlist before curriculum, fees or facilities come into it.
The schools, and the other routes
Three established schools, plus the three routes families take when none of them fits. Every address and curriculum below comes from the school's own website.
| School or route | Where | Curriculum | Ends at | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The International School of Asia, Koh Lanta (ISA) | 251 Moo 5, Sala Dan | U.S. Common Core Standards combined with the English National Curriculum, taught in English, with Thai language classes | Age 18 (Pre-K to Grade 12) | The island's one school licensed by Thailand's Ministry of Education as an international school, and the only on-island route that runs all the way to 18 on a single campus. Small: it reports 82 full-time students across the entire age range, 18 nationalities, and roughly one local child for every international one. See our full profile below. |
| Lilla svenska skolan Lanta | 232 Moo 3, Saladan | The Swedish national curriculum (läroplanen), taught in Swedish by certified Swedish teachers | Gymnasium (upper secondary), via Hermods or Korrespondensgymnasiet | Despite the name ("the little Swedish school"), it says it has grown into one of the largest Swedish overseas schools, with more than 350 students a year attending for shorter or longer periods. Teaching groups of about 10–12. Classrooms are free-standing air-conditioned bungalows. It states it has passed every annual Thai authority quality inspection since it opened in 2006. |
| Sanuk – Svenska skolan Thailand, Koh Lanta | 105/4 Moo 3, Saladan — a short walk from Klong Dao beach | The Swedish national curriculum Lgr22, taught in Swedish; Thai language and culture lessons alongside | Year 9, plus upper-secondary study in cooperation with Hermods | Established 2004 and the older of the island's two Swedish schools. Preschool from age 3, then förskoleklass and years 1–9. Explicitly takes Norwegian students as well as Swedish. Sits between the Southern Lanta Residence villas and the Southern Lanta resort, off the main road. Part of a three-school group with campuses in Hua Hin and Huay Yang. |
| Thai state and local schools | Across Ko Lanta Yai and Ko Lanta Noi | Thai national curriculum, taught in Thai | Varies by school | Ko Lanta district has its own state primary and secondary schools, and they are the route most island children take. BAANLYY does not publish a school-by-school list here because we could not verify one from an authoritative source, and we would rather say so than print names we have not checked. The Ko Lanta District Education Office is the right first call, and any school will tell you directly whether it runs an English Programme stream. |
| Home education and accredited online schools | Anywhere on the island | British, American or IB, delivered online | Depends on the provider | A genuinely common route among long-stay families, and the default for anyone whose child's curriculum is not represented on the island. Thailand permits home education under a registered arrangement — research that route and your provider's accreditation before relying on it. |
| Krabi Town or Phuket (commute, weekly boarding or a second base) | Krabi mainland, or Phuket | British, IB and American | 18 | Koh Lanta is reached by bridge and vehicle ferry, so neither is a daily school run from the island — treat both as a move, a weekly boarding arrangement or a second home rather than a commute. Krabi province has other licensed international schools; Phuket has the region's real cluster. |
Read the full ISA profile for cohort size, admissions and the curriculum transition. For the Swedish schools, both publish in Swedish only — which is itself a useful signal about who they are for.
Why two Swedish schools, on one small island?
Because Koh Lanta has been a Scandinavian long-stay destination for two decades, and the schools followed the families. Sanuk opened in 2004 and has run a partnership with the Swedish tour operator Apollo since 2012; Lilla svenska skolan Lanta opened in 2006. Both are in Saladan. Both teach the Swedish curriculum in Swedish, and Sanuk publishes a dedicated page for Norwegian pupils, so this is a Nordic offer rather than a strictly Swedish one. The corroboration comes from an unexpected direction: among the after-school clubs ISA lists is Swedish lessons.
The practical point for everyone else: these schools are not an alternative to ISA unless your child already works in Swedish. But their existence changes the island's character for families — there is a substantial, settled, year-round community of school-age foreign children in Saladan, with the sport, clubs and friendships that come with it. Lilla svenska skolan Lanta runs specialisms in football, beach volleyball, padel, gymnastics and creative writing, and gives school families free use of a beachfront site with beach volleyball courts, an outdoor gym, canoes and paddleboards, plus a four-court padel centre. That is more organised children's sport than the island's size would lead you to expect, and it is one of the strongest arguments for basing yourself near Saladan.
What Koh Lanta does not have
No British school and no IB World School. No French, German or Dutch curriculum school. No school bus at ISA, and no public transport on the island at all. No named external examination board at ISA — the only external assessment it reports is university access testing — so if your child needs IGCSEs or A-Levels on a transcript, that is not currently an on-island outcome and you should plan around Krabi, Phuket or an accredited online provider.
Learning support is the sharpest limit. ISA reports, in its own words, no dedicated staff or programmes for students with special learning needs, no student access to an educational psychologist and limited support for gifted and talented students. If your child needs any of that, it is decisive, and it is better to know now than after the move. The Swedish schools work to the Swedish system's own support expectations — ask each one directly what it can staff on a small island.
Finally, the upper years are thin everywhere here. ISA is the only school teaching its own senior years on campus, and its senior cohort is very small. Both Swedish schools route upper-secondary study through Swedish distance providers with on-site supervision. That is a legitimate and well-established model, and it is not the same thing as a taught sixth form.
Where families base themselves
Koh Lanta has one main road and no public transport, so the school run is by scooter or car and distance is measured in time, not kilometres. All three established schools are in Saladan at the island's northern tip, which makes this simpler than it looks:
| Area | Schools there | What it means for a family |
|---|---|---|
| Saladan | All three of the island's established foreign-curriculum schools — ISA on Moo 5, and both Swedish schools on Moo 3 | If school is the reason you are choosing an area, this is the answer. It is also the island's practical hub — banks, supermarkets, the pier and the bridge crossing. Every school-age decision on Koh Lanta points here. |
| Klong Dao | Sanuk is a short walk from the beach | The closest family beach to Saladan and the calmest swimming on the island. Falls within the Saladan end of the island for practical purposes, and is the shortest school run of any beach base. |
| Long Beach (Phra Ae) & Klong Nin | No schools of their own — a drive up to Saladan | Where a lot of long-stay families base themselves for rentals and amenities, and where the home-schooling community is easiest to find. Factor the daily drive north into the decision. |
| Lanta Old Town & the south | Local Thai schools; furthest from the Saladan schools | The most affordable base and the strongest local-integration option, but the longest school run on the island by a wide margin. Drive it at 07:30 before you sign anything. |
See the full Koh Lanta areas guide for rents and character, and the getting-around guide for the bridge, the ferry and realistic times off the island.
Six things to confirm before you enrol
- How many children are in my child's year group this year — not how many are in the school.
- Are we transferring, or staying enrolled at home? If a school offers home-school liaison, ask exactly what it sends back and whether your home school has accepted it before.
- Who teaches the final years — a teacher in the room, or a distance provider with supervision? Get this in writing for any child aged 15 or over.
- What is the school run really like from the area we are considering, driven at 07:30 rather than measured on a map?
- What is the current fee schedule from the school itself, and what is not included in it?
- For ISA specifically: which curriculum will my child's year group be taught and examined under during the transition, and what is finished at the new campus?
Admissions & relocation timing
Decide your schooling route before you choose an area — on Koh Lanta it shapes the move more than anything else. If you are travelling rather than relocating, start with your home school: the Swedish schools' whole model depends on the home school agreeing to the arrangement, and that conversation is the long pole, not the booking. If you are relocating, ISA's admissions are unusually flexible and late applications are genuinely possible, but ask what is finished at the new campus reported for the 2026–27 academic year before you assume a facility exists. For the Krabi Town or Phuket routes, start six to twelve months ahead: the popular schools have waitlists, the international school year typically runs August to June, and you will want recent reports, transcripts, immunisation records and references gathered before you leave home. Then line up housing and healthcare around the decision — see the Koh Lanta healthcare guide next.
Koh Lanta schools questions
How many schools does Koh Lanta actually have for foreign families?
Three established ones, not one. The International School of Asia (ISA) in Sala Dan is the island's only school licensed by Thailand's Ministry of Education as an international school, and it is right to say so. But two long-running Swedish overseas schools also operate in Saladan — Lilla svenska skolan Lanta (open since 2006) and Sanuk – Svenska skolan Thailand (since 2004) — teaching the Swedish national curriculum in Swedish. They are not "international schools" in the licensing sense, which is exactly why they are missing from most guides and from the international-school directories. If you are Swedish or Norwegian, they are very likely the most relevant schools on the island. Beyond those three, there are Thai state schools, home education and online providers.
What curriculum does ISA teach?
The school's own Elementary page says ISA combines the U.S. Common Core Standards with the English National Curriculum. Its own account, given to the International Schools Database, is that it has taught a Common Core-based curriculum from preschool to Grade 12 and is now moving to the English National Curriculum over about three years. If you see ISA described anywhere as teaching a Canadian curriculum — including in earlier versions of this guide, which we have corrected — that describes Global Village School, the school's former identity, and it is out of date. Ask which curriculum your child's specific year group will actually be taught and examined under.
What is the "term abroad" model, and why does it matter more than curriculum here?
It is the single most important structural fact about schooling on Koh Lanta. Both Swedish schools are built for families travelling for a few weeks to a year: your child stays enrolled at their school back home, brings their own plans and materials, is taught by qualified teachers following the same national curriculum, and the school sends an assessment back to the home school to use in its own grading. Nothing is transferred and nothing is lost. ISA works the other way — it is a full school place, and enrolling means moving your child's schooling to Koh Lanta. Neither is better; they answer different questions. Decide whether you are relocating or travelling before you compare anything else.
Where does each school stop?
ISA runs Pre-K to Grade 12 and is the only on-island route to 18 taught wholly on one campus. Lilla svenska skolan Lanta has offered upper-secondary places since autumn 2018, with the academic side delivered through the Swedish distance providers Hermods or Korrespondensgymnasiet and supervised on site by qualified upper-secondary teachers. Sanuk runs preschool through year 9, with upper-secondary study also in cooperation with Hermods. So on Koh Lanta, as on several Thai islands, the last years of school are more often supervised distance learning than a taught sixth form — ask exactly who teaches what before you commit a fifteen-year-old.
How big are the classes, and does that matter?
It is the thing to ask about hardest here. ISA reports an average class of 16 and a maximum of 25, but only 82 full-time students across the whole range from preschool to Grade 12 — and, in its own words, roughly one student a year graduates high school and goes on to university. That is a genuinely lovely environment for a primary-age child and a very small cohort for a teenager aiming at a competitive university. Lilla svenska skolan Lanta reports teaching groups of about 10–12. Whichever school you are looking at, ask how many children are actually in your child's year group this year, not how many are in the school.
Is there a school bus?
ISA reports no school bus service at all — every family drives or scoots. Both Swedish schools sit in Saladan, and Lilla svenska skolan Lanta publishes a school-transport page, so ask them directly what it covers. On an island with no public transport, how your child gets to school is a housing decision, not a logistics detail: pick your area around the school run rather than the other way round.
What does schooling on Koh Lanta cost?
We deliberately do not publish per-school fee figures. School fees change every year, and the numbers circulating for Koh Lanta are unusually unreliable — the widely-quoted band for ISA is third-party directory data that the school does not publish itself, and part of the information attached to that listing describes the school's former identity rather than the school as it is now. Every school here publishes or will send its own current fee schedule, and that is the only figure worth budgeting against. Ask what is not in it too: registration, uniform, lunch, transport and exam entry.
Where should families with school-age children live on Koh Lanta?
Saladan, or close to it. All three established foreign-curriculum schools are there, and the island's one road makes distance expensive in time. Klong Dao is the nearest family beach and the shortest run. Long Beach (Phra Ae) and Klong Nin are popular long-stay bases with more rental choice and a deeper home-schooling community, but they mean a daily drive north. Lanta Old Town and the south are the most affordable and the furthest out. See the Koh Lanta areas guide for rents and character by neighbourhood.
This guide is general information for relocation planning, not admissions or financial advice. School fees, curricula, locations and admissions rules change — confirm current details directly with each school. BAANLYY is not affiliated with any school named here and takes no paid placement in this content.
International schools near Koh Lanta
International schools in and around Koh Lanta, ordered by distance from the city centre and sourced live from Google Maps. Ratings and review counts update automatically — tap any name for directions, hours and contact details.
Distances are straight-line from the city centre, for rough comparison only. Listings are provided by Google and are not endorsements. BAANLYY does not manage these businesses.
Sources & References
- Ministry of Education, Thailand
- The International School of Asia, Koh Lanta — official site (About, Elementary, Year/Grade Placement)
- The International School of Asia, Koh Lanta — International Schools Database record
- Lilla svenska skolan Lanta — official site (Om oss, Gymnasium)
- Sanuk – Svenska skolan Thailand, Koh Lanta — official site
Curricula, addresses, opening years, stage ranges and roll figures are taken from each school's own website, except ISA's cohort, admissions and facilities figures, which are the school's own answers to the International Schools Database questionnaire and are attributed as such. We do not publish per-school fee figures.
Plan the rest of your move.
Schooling route sorted — now match an area within reach of Saladan, and line up healthcare and your visa.
Hero photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.
