Life at Bangkok's only German-speaking school
Leo Feypel
The RIS-Swiss Section Deutschsprachige Schule Bangkok is a German speaking Swiss School located in Min Buri, Bangkok. It is quite different from many Thai schools. With some 220 students and 38 teachers, it is one of the only schools in Asia offering a bilingual (German / English) Swiss Matura (Swiss High School Diploma). School starts at 7:30 am and ends around 2:30 pm. The lessons are 45 minutes long and there is a short break after every second lesson.
Subjects are taught in German or in English, depending on the grade, and there is a strong focus on languages: you can learn German, English, Thai, French, Latin and Spanish.
I’m currently studying at RIS Swiss Section in grade 9, and I would say that generally speaking the school is OK. The teachers are motivated, the students are nice and most subjects are interesting. However the school is not perfect, for example, the IT systems and material could be upgraded.
I asked a few people from my class what they think of our school. Some of them have been at this school since Kindergarden:
David: I’m at Swiss School because it offers a bilingual final diploma. I like the small classes, which give the teachers the opportunity to help every student. Sadly, there are students who move abroad every year, so we lose friends often. However I have fun at school because the teachers are not too strict.