Garden International School, Rayong.

The campus

Address: 188/24 Moo 4, Pala–Ban Chang Road, Tambon Pala, Ban Chang, Rayong 21130

A campus at Pala in Ban Chang district, close to U-Tapao and the Rayong industrial estates it primarily serves. Around 480 pupils — a mid-sized, established school rather than a large one.

Where this campus actually is

Read this one carefully, because our own listings previously got it wrong and most Pattaya school round-ups still do: GIS is in Ban Chang, Rayong — a different province from Pattaya — and it is not in Map Ta Phut. From central Pattaya, budget around 45 minutes each way, and more in the morning peak. For a family living in Pattaya this is not a school run; it is a commute that will define your week. GIS makes complete sense if you are posted to Ban Chang, Map Ta Phut, U-Tapao or Rayong, and very little sense if you intend to live in Pattaya. Sattahip and Ban Chang are the realistic residential answer, and there is no rail option at all.

There is no urban rail anywhere on the Eastern Seaboard — no BTS, no MRT, no metro. The State Railway's eastern line calls at Pattaya but it is a sparse intercity service, not a school run, and the Bangkok–U-Tapao high-speed rail scheme is not in service. Baht buses cover the beach strip and do not usefully reach the inland campuses where most of these schools sit. Every school run here is a car, a school bus, a motorbike or a Grab — so the neighbourhood you choose and the bus route you qualify for matter more in Pattaya than in almost any Thai city. Read the Pattaya getting-around guide and the Pattaya area guides before you sign a lease.

The curriculum pathway

How a child progresses through the school, stage by stage:

• Early Years from age 2, on the English Early Years Foundation Stage.
• Primary on an enhanced National Curriculum for England and Wales.
• Cambridge IGCSEs in Years 10–11.
• IB Diploma Programme in Years 12–13, ages 16–18 — the school reports a 100% pass rate over recent years.

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 Garden International School, Rayong and its accrediting bodies publish, not our verdict:

• Fully accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) — and the school states it is the only school in its area to hold full CIS accreditation.
• IB World School authorised for the Diploma Programme, and the longest-established IB Diploma provider in the Rayong corridor.
• Cambridge International centre for IGCSE delivery and examinations.
• Registered with Thailand's Ministry of Education as an international school.

Boarding and the size of the school

Boarding: We could not verify a boarding provision from primary sources and will not imply one — treat GIS as a day school and confirm with admissions if you need otherwise.

Scale: Around 480 pupils from a broad international mix, weighted heavily towards families posted to the Rayong and Map Ta Phut industrial estates. Roll and nationality figures move every year and schools report them differently — treat these as indicative and ask the admissions office for current numbers.

Who this school tends to suit

Families posted to Rayong, Ban Chang, Map Ta Phut or U-Tapao — for whom this is the obvious and strong local choice, with a genuinely well-established IB Diploma and full CIS accreditation. It does not suit a family that wants to live in Pattaya: the distance is real, it crosses a provincial boundary, and no amount of school-bus planning makes 45 minutes each way into a short run.

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 Garden International School, Rayong

Living for GIS means living south, towards Sattahip and Ban Chang, rather than in Pattaya:

Confirm the bus catchment before you sign. Pattaya's international schools are strung along a 60-kilometre corridor across three districts and two provinces — Nongprue in the city, Pong and Khao Mai Kaew inland, Green Valley towards Sriracha, Bo Win beyond it and Ban Chang in Rayong. Choosing a home on the wrong side of that corridor turns a ten-minute run into a daily hour each way.

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:

• The bus catchment if you are determined to live in Pattaya — and the actual door-to-door time, measured at 07:00, not the distance.
• 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.
• The school bus route, catchment zone and pick-up time for the exact neighbourhood you are considering — then ask what time the bus actually arrives back. On the Eastern Seaboard this is the single most important question a family can ask. Campuses are spread across three districts and two provinces, and an hour each way is entirely possible if you choose the wrong side of the city.
• Whether the drive you were quoted was measured in rush hour. Sukhumvit Road through Pattaya and the Highway 7 / Highway 36 junctions bear little resemblance at 07:30 to what a mid-morning school tour suggests.
• 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 — the Eastern Seaboard mixes Cambridge IGCSE and A-level, IB Diploma, American high-school diploma and the French baccalauréat, and switching between them mid-secondary is disruptive and sometimes not possible at all.
• For boarding: the weekly and flexi options actually running this year, the age they start, and the exeat and weekend arrangements.

Visit the official Garden International School, Rayong website →

Sources & References

• Ministry of Education, Thailand

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.