The short version
For an island its size, Koh Samui is well served for international education — six schools, led by the International School of Samui, with a dual French–British campus at Lamai, a rural British school in the southern interior, a primary school on the east coast and a bilingual option on the north coast. Fees sit below Bangkok and Phuket, which is part of Samui's appeal for relocating families. Two things shape the decision more than anything else here. First, schooling shapes where you live: there is no rail on Samui, so the campus effectively chooses your neighbourhood. Second, the schools finish at four different ages — 11, 12, 16 and 18 — so most families change school at least once, and of the three that run to 18, only one teaches its sixth form entirely on campus. Below: every school on the island, where each one ends and how, typical tuition, where campuses cluster, the curricula explained, and admissions tips. For day-to-day budgeting pair this with the Koh Samui cost-of-living guide, and use our Koh Samui area guides to match a neighbourhood to your school.
The schools expat families choose
A representative selection of Koh Samui's established international and bilingual schools. This is a starting point, not a ranking — the right fit depends on curriculum, location and your child.
| School | Area | Curriculum | Ends at age | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International School of Samui (ISS) | Bophut — ring road, next to Bandon Hospital & Big C | British — IGCSE, A-Level, BTEC | 18 — full sixth form, taught on campus | Founded 2007 and the island's largest international school, with 300+ pupils from 35+ nationalities. A Cambridge International and Pearson Edexcel examination centre holding EDT ISQM Gold status, offering 22 IGCSE and 20 A-Level subject choices — the widest on Samui — plus BTEC, a Sports Academy, Duke of Edinburgh and a marine conservation programme. |
| PanyaDee, The British International School of Samui (PBISS) | Bo Phut — north-east, same subdistrict as ISS | British — Cambridge with STEM+ | 18 — A-Levels via a blended route | Open since 2005, running Cambridge from age 2 through IGCSE to a Cambridge Advanced A-Level programme, with a STEM+ Innovation Centre (3D printing, laser cutting, robotics). Compulsory daily Thai for every student. Publishes its website in English, Thai, Russian and Chinese. |
| Windfield International School | Maret — Had Lamai Road, Lamai | Dual — Cambridge and the French national curriculum | 18/19 — Baccalauréat or AS/A Level | The only school on Koh Samui teaching the French and British curricula side by side. An AEFE partner whose French section is approved by the French Ministry of National Education — one of only four such schools in Thailand. Classes capped at 20, shared English/French/PE/art lessons with bilingual assistants, and island-wide school bus transport. |
| Greenacre International School | Na Mueang — southern interior, near the waterfalls | British — English National Curriculum to IGCSE | 16 — no sixth form | Founded 2017 in green country well away from the Chaweng–Bophut belt. Runs a two-year Cambridge IGCSE programme in Years 10–11 with every student sitting at least six subjects. ISAT and ONESQA registered, with Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel authorisations, an “Environmentality” programme, Duke of Edinburgh, science lab and pool. |
| Lamai International School (LIS) | Maret — inland of Lamai, east coast | Cambridge, Montessori early years | 11 — a primary school | Opened January 2016 and, on its own account, runs Foundation to Year 6 only — so plan the secondary move from the start. Small classes, an Education for Sustainable Development programme built on the UN SDGs, and an unusually generous everyday offer: daily lunch and snacks included, plus free after-school clubs and extra English. |
| Oonrak Koh Samui School | Maenam — north coast | Bilingual Thai–English | 12 — ends at Primary 6 | Open since 2005 and the island's substantial lower-cost English-medium alternative — a bilingual school rather than an international one, having closed its former international section. Thai National Curriculum supplemented with the British and Cambridge curricula, on a campus with a covered pool, running track and covered football pitch. |
Full profile for every school above: International School of Samui (ISS) PanyaDee (PBISS) Windfield International School Greenacre International School Lamai International School (LIS) Oonrak Koh Samui School
What tuition costs
Indicative annual tuition for 2026. The established British-curriculum schools sit at the upper end; smaller or bilingual schools can be markedly cheaper. These figures are tuition only.
| Stage | Annual tuition (guide) |
|---|---|
| Pre-school / Kindergarten | THB 90,000–220,000 |
| Primary / Junior (Years 1–6) | THB 150,000–320,000 |
| Lower secondary (Years 7–9) | THB 200,000–400,000 |
| Upper secondary / IGCSE (Years 10–11) | THB 260,000–480,000 |
| Sixth form / A-levels (Years 12–13) | THB 300,000–550,000 |
Budget separately for one-off application and registration fees, a refundable deposit at some schools, and ongoing costs for uniforms, the school bus, lunches and trips. Always request each school's full current fee schedule before you commit.
Where schools cluster — and choosing an area
Samui is a ring island with no rail or metro, so the school run is by car, scooter or school bus and most families pick their neighbourhood around the campus. The schools fall into three broad clusters:
| Area cluster | Example schools | Why families live there |
|---|---|---|
| North-east — Chaweng, Bophut, Choeng Mon, Bang Rak & Plai Laem | International School of Samui (ISS), PanyaDee (PBISS) | The island's school belt, and the only cluster with two schools running to age 18. Both campuses sit in Bo Phut, minutes from the airport, Bandon International Hospital and Big C on the ring road. This is where most relocating families with secondary-age children base themselves, and rents reflect that. |
| North coast — Maenam, Bang Por & Nathon | Oonrak Koh Samui School (bilingual, to age 12) | Quieter, better-value family living with space and gardens, still an easy ring-road run east to the Bophut schools and the airport. Suits younger families and anyone choosing the bilingual route. |
| East / south-east — Lamai, Maret, Hua Thanon & Ban Tai | Windfield International School, Lamai International School (LIS) | A calmer, lower-cost base on the east coast — and, since Windfield opened on Had Lamai Road, no longer a primary-only corner of the island. The French and dual-curriculum option is here, and Windfield advertises island-wide bus routes, which widens what you can consider. |
| Southern interior — Na Mueang, toward Taling Ngam | Greenacre International School | Green, rural and genuinely removed from the resort strips, near the Na Mueang waterfalls. The trade-off is distance: this is the furthest school from the Chaweng–Bophut belt, and the family that loves it usually wanted exactly that. |
Check the school bus routes and pick-up times before signing a lease — on Samui's ring road they often matter more than straight-line distance.
British, French & bilingual — which curriculum?
The British system dominates Samui's international schools, running through IGCSEs at 16 and A-levels at 18 — focused, exam-based and easy to transfer back to the UK and Commonwealth. The International School of Samui, PanyaDee, Greenacre and LIS all follow it in some form. The French pathway is the island's least-known asset: Windfield International School, on Had Lamai Road in Maret, runs the French national curriculum from maternelle through to the Baccalauréat as a partner of the AEFE, and states that its French section is one of only four schools in Thailand approved by the French Ministry of National Education. It teaches that section alongside a Cambridge section on the same campus, sharing English, French, PE, art, music and drama lessons with bilingual assistant teachers so children do not need to arrive bilingual — which makes it the natural choice for mixed-nationality households as well as French ones. Bilingual Thai–English schooling at Oonrak in Maenam is the lower-cost, English-medium route that also builds genuine Thai literacy, which suits families settling for the long term.
What Samui does not have is a full International Baccalaureate Diploma school or an American-curriculum school. If you need either specifically, plan around Phuket, Bangkok or the mainland rather than hoping to find one here.
Where each school ends — and how the last years are taught
This is the single most consequential thing about schooling on Koh Samui, and it is almost never spelled out. The island's six schools finish at four different ages, so most families here will change school at least once — and of the three schools that take a student to 18, only one teaches its sixth form entirely in a classroom. The other two describe their post-16 provision on their own websites as blended or hybrid, combining on-site teaching with remote study. That is a sensible way for a small-island school to offer subjects it could not otherwise staff, and both schools are candid about it. It is also something you want to discover now rather than in Year 12.
| School | Final year group | How the last years are taught |
|---|---|---|
| International School of Samui (ISS) | Sixth form, age 18 | Taught on campus. 20 A-Level subject choices plus BTEC, with UK-qualified subject staff. The island's only conventional, fully timetabled sixth form. |
| PanyaDee (PBISS) | Key Stage 5, age 18 | The school's Cambridge Advanced programme is described by the school itself as a blend of virtual and classroom learning, with students studying online from school facilities. Ask which subjects run face-to-face. |
| Windfield International School | Lycée to 18 / Cambridge Advanced to 19 | Two routes. The French Lycée leads to the Baccalauréat. The Cambridge AS/A Level route uses what the school calls a hybrid learning option in partnership with Wolsey Hall Oxford, a distance-learning college, to widen subject choice. |
| Greenacre International School | Year 11, age 16 | IGCSEs taught on campus, then no sixth form. Plan the next school before you enrol. |
| Oonrak Koh Samui School | Primary 6, about age 12 | Bilingual primary only. Families move on to a secondary school. |
| Lamai International School (LIS) | Year 6, about age 11 | A primary school, on the school's own account. Every family changes school at the end of Year 6. |
One further island-specific caution: cohorts up here are small, and a year group can be advertised on a website without being full or fully staffed in a given year. Ask how many children are actually enrolled in the specific year group your child would join.
Admissions & relocation tips
The most popular Samui schools can have waitlists for certain year groups, so start early — many open applications six to twelve months ahead, and entry into the senior years is often the hardest to secure. Expect to provide recent school reports and records, sit an assessment (and often an interview), and show English-language readiness. The academic year usually runs August to June, so aim to apply well before the summer. Gather transcripts, immunisation records and references before you leave home, and where you can, visit shortlisted campuses in person — fit, facilities and the island commute are hard to judge from a website. Once a place is confirmed, choose your area and home around the school and its bus network.
Koh Samui international school questions
How much do international schools in Koh Samui cost?
Annual tuition on Samui generally runs from around THB 90,000 for kindergarten to THB 300,000–550,000 for the senior or A-level years — noticeably lower than Bangkok or Phuket for comparable British-curriculum schooling. On top of tuition, budget for one-off application and registration fees, sometimes a refundable deposit, plus uniforms, the school bus, lunches and trips. Always ask each school for its full current fee schedule, as figures change year to year.
Which is the best international school in Koh Samui?
There is no single best — it depends on curriculum, location, your child and, above all, how old they are. The International School of Samui is the largest, has the widest subject choice and is the only school on the island running a conventional sixth form taught entirely on campus. Windfield is the only French-curriculum option and the only dual French–British one. PanyaDee runs Cambridge from age 2 to 18 with a strong applied-technology emphasis. Greenacre suits families in the quiet south who are content to move school at 16, LIS is a primary school, and Oonrak is the bilingual, lower-cost route. Visit before deciding — fit and the island commute are hard to judge from a website.
What curricula are available in Koh Samui?
British is the dominant pathway — the English National Curriculum and Cambridge programmes leading to IGCSEs at 16 and A-levels at 18 — and it is what ISS, PanyaDee, Greenacre and LIS all teach. Samui also has a full French pathway, which is less well known than it should be: Windfield International School runs the French national curriculum from maternelle to the Baccalauréat as an AEFE partner approved by the French Ministry of National Education, alongside a Cambridge section on the same campus. Bilingual Thai–English schooling is available at Oonrak in Maenam. What Samui does not currently have is a full International Baccalaureate Diploma school or an American-curriculum school, so families set on those systems should plan around Phuket, Bangkok or the mainland.
Can my child do A-levels or the IB on Koh Samui?
A-levels, yes — but check how they are taught before you commit. Three schools take students to 18: ISS, PanyaDee and Windfield. On the evidence of the schools' own websites, only ISS teaches its sixth form conventionally on campus, with 20 A-Level subject choices plus BTEC. PanyaDee describes its Cambridge Advanced programme as blended, mixing classroom teaching with virtual learning studied from school facilities. Windfield offers AS and A Levels with what it calls a hybrid learning option in partnership with Wolsey Hall Oxford, a distance-learning college. Both are legitimate ways for a small-island school to widen subject choice, and both schools state it openly — but they are structurally different from a full timetabled sixth form, so ask which specific subjects are taught face-to-face. For the International Baccalaureate Diploma, there is currently no IB World School on Samui; Windfield's French section offers the Baccalauréat, which is a different qualification.
When does the Koh Samui international school year start?
Most international schools on Samui follow an August-to-June academic year with two or three terms, rather than the Thai national May start. Popular schools can have waitlists for certain year groups, so applications often open six to twelve months ahead — plan your move and apply early, particularly for entry into the senior years.
Where should families live for Koh Samui schools?
Samui has no rail or metro of any kind, so the school run is by car, scooter or school bus along the island's single ring road and most families choose their neighbourhood around the campus. The north-east around Chaweng, Bophut and Bang Rak puts you near both schools that run to 18 — ISS and PanyaDee are in the same subdistrict — plus the airport and the hospitals. The Lamai and Maret side serves Windfield and LIS. The north coast around Maenam suits Oonrak families. Greenacre is the outlier: it sits inland in Na Mueang in the southern interior, not on the north coast, and it is the longest drive from the Chaweng–Bophut belt. Drive your intended route at 07:30 and check the school bus catchment before signing a lease — see our Koh Samui area guides to match a neighbourhood to your school.
This guide is general information for relocation planning, not admissions or financial advice. School fees, curricula, campus locations and admissions rules change — confirm current details directly with each school.
International schools near Koh Samui
International schools in and around Koh Samui, 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
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.
Plan the rest of your move.
School shortlisted — now match a family-friendly area and home to your budget, and line up healthcare and your visa.
Hero photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.
