At St. Andrews International School, Sathorn, we take our responsibility to prepare primary school children for their future secondary education seriously. Our holistic approach to learning ensures our children have the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required to reach their highest potential.
We believe that this approach is the key to helping children achieve success in both their current and future educational endeavours.
Through a focus on the core fundamentals of academics, extracurricular activities, and socio-emotional learning, St. Andrews Sathorn develops individuals that are not only academically prepared, but also well-rounded personalities ready for a successful future.
In this blog post, we will explore the school’s approach to educational success and how it benefits primary school children in their current and future studies.
Encouraging Curiosity and Discovery
At St. Andrews International School, Sathorn, we believe that the best way to prepare children for their future education is by encouraging curiosity and discovery.
We foster an environment that allows children to explore their interests, ask questions, find answers, and develop their own ideas and interpretations as individuals. To this end, we provide a variety of experiential learning opportunities, such as field trips, residential trips, and outdoor learning.
We also strive to create an atmosphere of open-mindedness as well as respect for different perspectives and backgrounds, thus giving children the opportunity to expand their understanding of the world around them.
Developing Critical Thinking Skills at a Young Age
We believe that fostering critical thinking skills is an essential part of preparing children fortheir future education. We are committed to teaching ourchildrento think independently andquestion theestablished norms. To do this, we have created an environment thatencourages them to think critically and analyse different perspectives.
We also use a wide range of teaching methods to teachSt. Andrews childrenhow to assessevidence, evaluate arguments, and develop their own informed opinions. By fostering thisthoughtparadigm, we believe that they are better prepared for the demands of highereducation and beyond.
Experiential Learning Opportunities
St. Andrews International School, Sathorn takes aholistic approach to preparing children forthe future. A cornerstone of this approach is experiential learning opportunities. These aredesigned to helpchildrenlearn beyond the classroom and develop essential life skills.
We offer field trips to places like science museums and ocean sea life aquariums as well as provide them lessons about firefighting, ambulance and transportation, camping, and so forth straight from the professionals themselves.
Our children are also exposed to competition with other International Schools for Sports, Arts, Drama, Quiz, and Music for good measure. We even facilitate excursions or residential trips to Pattaya – Royal Varuna Yacht Club, Khao Yai, Chiang Mai and Rayong that teach the children life skills that make them more responsible, independent individuals.
St. Andrews Sathorn children are encouraged to explore their interests in an active and engaging environment at an early age. In addition, they are given numerous opportunities to participate in community service initiatives, which enables them to apply their learning to the real world.
Nurturing Individual Strengths on a Foundational Level
We believe that every Early Years and Primary school child is unique and has their own individual set of skills and strengths that should be nurtured.
We know that children learn best when taught in a way that matches their individual learning style, so we offer a variety of instructional methods to help each of them maximise their potential at their own pace.
“Children are at the heart of everything we do at Sathorn and we believe in a personalised approach to their learning. We have a strong culture of care and know all of our children individually, which allows us to build on their existing strengths and work with them to reach their full potential” Nicola Hsien, Assistant Head Teacher.
Our teachers make use of one-on-one instruction, group projects, field trips, and online resources to ensure that each child has the best chance to develop and hone their individual strengths.
We also provide the children with over 80 extracurricular activities to choose from, helping them explore their interests, build skills, and gain confidence in every way possible.
Fostering Community Engagement as Children
Fostering community engagement is another important part of St. Andrews Sathorn’s holistic approach to preparing children for their secondary education.
Through extracurricular activities and volunteer programmes such as Well-Being Warriors, Pupil Council, and Eco Council, they are encouraged to get involved in the local community and gain real-world experiences that will help them become more aware of the world around them.
Through these activities, they will learn how to interact with people from different backgrounds, make meaningful connections, and become active citizens. Moreover, they are encouraged to think critically about how their actions may influence their local and global community.
By participating in such activities, they gain valuable leadership and foundational communication skills that will help them in their future academic and professional endeavours.
Mentoring and Coaching Citizens of the Future
We recognise the importance of mentoring and coaching to prepare our primary school children to seamlessly transfer to secondary school and succeed in their future education.
We firmly believe that having a mentor or coach to guide and support children can help them more effectively adjust to higher levels of education without getting culture shock. Our holistic mentoring is tailored to the specific needs of each child, allowing them to develop the skills and knowledge needed to excel in their academic and extracurricular pursuits.
Our teachers are available as mentors and coaches to the children of St. Andrews Sathorn, thus providing careful guidance and support to them in key areas such as studying, time management, and goal setting.
Faculty Professional Development
St. Andrews Sathorn believes that faculty professional development is an essential part of the holistic approach to preparing our precious children for their future education.
We prioritise and invest heavily in developing our teachers’ skills and knowledge so that they can best serve our children’s needs. We provide faculty with many professional development opportunities, including regular workshops, job-embedded instruction, webinars, and mentoring.
Our faculty are encouraged to stay abreast of the latest trends and best practices in education to pass on the most up-to-date information to the children of St. Andrews Sathorn. By providing ongoing professional development, we ensure that our faculty are prepared to help our young wards succeed.
Seamless Transfer to Any Cognita School Around the World
As a primary school under the Cognita group, we also offer support in seamlessly transferring children to any other Cognita school around the world, supporting parents when they sometimes need to relocate based on their job requirements.
Our Cognita connections can also provide our children the best resources, international support, and educational opportunities to help transition them to secondary school under the Cognita umbrella.
Indeed, our Cognita partnerships allow us to best prepare primary school children for high school, college, and beyond, even though there should also be no problem for the child to transfer to a non-Cognita school if you so desire.
To sum up, St. Andrews Sathorn’s holistic approach to education ensures that the children are well-prepared for every aspect of their future education. The school provides them with opportunities to develop their academic and life skills.
This specific approach allows our primary school children to be better prepared for the future and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to succeed in their future studies.
St. Andrews Sathorn is a great place for children to get a quality education and make the most of their potential.
Parent Testimonial:
“Many colleagues at the US Embassy highly recommended St. Andrews Sathorn to our family before we arrived in Thailand, and choosing this school remains one of the best decisions we made and a huge reason for extending our stay in Bangkok.
Our twin boys have thrived at St. Andrews Sathorn, becoming confident, inquisitive students who love school, are passionate about learning, and who feel fully supported by their teachers. The one-one-one attention they have received over the past four years has been incredible, resulting in a positive transition from their bilingual school in Latin America. During the Covid-19 pandemic we were impressed by the organisation, communication and attention by teachers and staff, and felt sorry for anyone who didn’t have kids at St. Andrews Sathorn. Our only regret is that our boys have to leave after Year 6.”
St. Andrews Sathorn, Moore Family.
St. Andrews Sathorn belongs under the umbrella of Cognita, a global private school group that owns and operates schools in Europe, Asia, and America.
Book a personalised school tour to further investigate if the holistic approach to education is best suited for your child’s education. During the tour, you will have the opportunity to meet the teachers and staff, see the classrooms and facilities, and ask any questions you may have.
