Good Boarding Schools in Thailand?

[sidsanuk]

Hi All,

 

Have a bit of a situation with my niece who lives in Bangkok and I am thinking that a Boarding School might be a solution. Here's the background.

 

Niece's parents seperated some time ago (5 years). Her mother moved out of the family home, which comprises her Dad (my brother in law), Aunt (my sister in Law) and her Grand Parents (my in laws). My wife when she lived in the family home was very close to my niece and effectively helped raise her. Niece now aged 11. The father is a bit useless as a parent. Loses his temper a lot, smacks the kid a lot, all that stuff. On the flip side she has been spoilt by most of the family all her short life.

 

The result is a kid that is fat, lazy, lacks confidence, sits at home, has no social skills etc.

 

The plan was to bring her to Australia for her High School education. Get her out of the family home, get a good education, build her confidence etc. I have no issue with that, and we are looking at a range of visa options and maybe even adoption if that is the best course. The family all like the idea of her having this chance at a new start.

 

My concern is that she will not survive in an Australian school the way she is. Barely any English skills (though we have paid for lessons), no confidence, needs everything done for her etc etc. (It's amazing my wife did so well given the family environment as the rest of them are fairly useless people who give up at the first obstacle in anything they try.)

 

I thought that spending time at a boarding school in Thailand might be a good first step in getting her language skills improved, getting her away from her crap home life, starting to build her self confidence and self reliance etc, in preparation for coming to Australia. The School would obviously need to have a strong focus on teaching some classes at least in English, teaching social skills, values etc. Education is not all academic subjects alone. Anyone who went through the English public (private) school system will know what I mean.

 

Knowing nothing about schools in Bangkok and even less about Boarding Schools, does anyone have any advice on how we might find one? Any experiences of them? Any tips would be most gratefuly received.

 

Thanks

 

Sid