Online School in Thailand: The Seaboard, the Islands and the North Beyond Sukhumvit

By Alfred Ouko, Founder · October 2026 · 9 min read

Thailand has one of the largest international school markets in Asia, and in Bangkok the choice is wide: the International School Bangkok, Bangkok Patana, Harrow, Shrewsbury, NIST and many more. If you live on Sukhumvit and your company pays the fees, you are well served, and this guide will not pretend otherwise. But Thailand’s international economy is far bigger than Bangkok. It runs down the Eastern Seaboard through the car plants and the port, out to Phuket’s marine and tourism industries, and up to Chiang Mai, where a mixed community of remote workers, NGO staff and returning Thai families has grown. This guide is about the families in those places, and about the Thai families in every city who want a second, international track beside the Thai school.

Where the international economy actually is

Bangkok holds the embassies, the regional headquarters and the banks. The Eastern Seaboard holds much of the industry. Chonburi and Rayong host the industrial estates around Laem Chabang port and Map Ta Phut, and Japanese car makers including Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi have built there for decades, alongside suppliers from Japan, Korea, Europe and China. Sriracha has one of the largest Japanese communities outside Japan. Phuket has a resort, yacht and diving economy that employs managers, engineers and specialists from everywhere. Chiang Mai has universities, international organisations and a remote-working community. Hua Hin has retirees and Bangkok families with second homes. Each of these places has international families, and outside Bangkok the choice of schools is narrower.

What families currently do

In Bangkok, most international families use an international school, and many supplement it. Outside Bangkok, there are good schools, including British International School Phuket and UWC Thailand on the island, and Prem Tinsulanonda and other international schools in Chiang Mai, but the subject range and the places are limited compared with the capital. Thai families make a different choice. Many keep their children in a Thai school, public or private, and add kuad wicha, the tutoring and cram classes that fill evenings and weekends, sometimes with an SAT or IGCSE track on top. That works, but it is often a patchwork of tutors, with no single teacher responsible for the international qualification and no clear plan toward it.

Where a live online school fits

For Thai families, the usual pattern is a second track. The Thai school carries the enrolment, the Thai curriculum and the O-NET and TCAS route, and we teach Cambridge IGCSE or AP subjects live, toward external examinations, in place of an unstructured set of tutors. For international families on the Seaboard or in Phuket, we often teach what a smaller school cannot offer, such as a particular A-Level or an AP science. Families moving between postings use us for continuity, so the curriculum survives the move. Some foreign families use us full-time, usually under their home country’s arrangements. Thailand’s compulsory education for Thai nationals runs to the end of grade nine, and families should confirm their own position with the Ministry of Education before planning anything other than the supplementary route.

Time zone and class times

Thailand is on Indochina Time, UTC+7, with no daylight saving, so it is four hours ahead of our Nairobi teaching base all year. A class at nine in the Nairobi morning lands at one in the Thai afternoon; a class at one in Nairobi lands at five. For a student still in a Thai school day, the later afternoon and early-evening classes fit best, in the hours that kuad wicha usually occupies. Students studying full-time with us can use the earlier slots. Every lesson is recorded, so a missed class is never lost. Thailand also keeps the same offset all year, so the timetable a family agrees in August is still the timetable in March, with no clock changes to plan around.

What we teach, and when the local school is right

We teach Cambridge from Primary through A Level, Pearson Edexcel International GCSE and International A Level, IB subject support, and the American curriculum with AP. Seaboard families tend to want Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, and Japanese families often want English-medium strength alongside Japanese schooling. Thai families heading for Chulalongkorn, Mahidol or Thammasat international programmes ask for IGCSE and A-Level subjects or AP. Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel examinations are sat at authorised exam centres, which families book, with the centre confirmed per family, per session. And where a child is settled in a good international school in Bangkok, or is heading for a Thai university through TCAS and is doing well, we may not be needed. We will say so.

Thailand’s international schooling is deep in Bangkok and thinner everywhere else, while its international economy runs from the Seaboard to the islands and the north. A live online school fits beside the Thai school as a structured second track, and beside smaller international schools as the subjects they cannot staff. If that describes your family, book an assessment for your child, or start with our Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai pages.

Frequently asked questions

What time are live classes in Thailand?

Thailand is four hours ahead of Nairobi all year. Morning classes in Nairobi fall in the Thai afternoon, and later ones in the early evening. Every lesson is recorded.

Can we use Smartious alongside a Thai school?

Yes, and it is the most common arrangement. The Thai school carries the enrolment and the national curriculum, and we teach Cambridge, Edexcel or AP subjects live toward external examinations.

Is it a replacement for kuad wicha?

For the international qualification, often yes. Instead of several tutors, one school takes responsibility for the Cambridge, Edexcel or AP subjects and the plan toward the examinations.

We live in Phuket. Does it work there?

Yes. The class is the same in Phuket, Rayong or Chiang Mai as in Bangkok. We often teach the subjects a smaller school cannot timetable.

How much does it cost?

Fees start from USD 423 a month for Primary and vary by curriculum and level.

Next steps

What parents say

Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Google from 130+ reviews. Read our Google reviews

“Smartious eSchool is exceptional. Professional, caring tutors who truly understand their students and deliver results. Lessons are engaging, personalized, and well-structured, creating a supportive environment where learners thrive. If you want quality education and real academic progress, this is the place to go.” — Derrick A., Google review