Scottish private school Glenalmond College has announced it will be opening a sister school in Thailand in August.
Glenalmond International School Phuket will be the first school to carry the Glenalmond brand outside the UK.
The co-educational school, which will be located inside Thanyapura Sports and Health Resort, will offer the English national curriculum and will initially open for nursery and primary-aged children - although an advert for teachers says the school could also take students in the early years of secondary.
“There is a possibility that we will also open key stage 3, as there is currently strong interest amongst the local community for us to do so,” the advert says.
Eventually the school will offer secondary provision but this is likely to build up “one year at a time”.
The news comes amid ongoing teacher strike action at another school in the Glenalmond family, Craigclowan School and Nursery. Craigclowan merged with Glenalmond College in August 2024.
The action is being taken by members of the EIS union over changes to pensions.
The dispute - which follows walkouts over pensions at another Scottish private school in 2023 - is indictive of the financial pressure that private schools are under as a result of the introduction of VAT on fees but also rising costs and the impact of the Covid pandemic.
The international expansion race
Opening up branches overseas is, therefore, a tempting proposition for UK private schools, given that it can provide a good income stream at relatively low risk.
Recently, Reigate Grammar School - the alma mater of UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer - announced plans to open four schools in Turkey, beginning with a school in Istanbul scheduled to open in September.
The independent school has already established schools in China, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Cambodia.
Meanwhile, in November Vlog revealed that Queen Elizabeth’s School, in London, plans to become the first UK state school to open a fee-paying campus overseas, beginning in Dubai next year, and with plans for two more schools in India.
In an interview about the decision, headmaster Neil Enright said he hoped the move would help to bring an end to any “financial precarity” for the school.
In announcing the plan for a school in Thailand, Glenalmond College described the move as “a significant step in building our international community”.
So, while Glenalmond International School Phuket will be the first overseas school to bear the Glenalmond brand, it seems likely it will not be the last.
