The headline premium-British decision in Pattaya. Both schools sit at the ฿800K+/year top of the market. Both offer British curriculum + boarding. The structural differences are what most parents miss on a first tour.
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Rugby and Regents both use their school-published 2026/27 fee PDFs. The table compares standard tuition before the schools’ full-year-payment discounts and labels each saving explicitly.
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| Dimension | Rugby Thailand | Regents Pattaya |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 (sister of UK 1567) | 1994 |
| Network | Rugby School Group (UK) | Nord Anglia Education (global) |
| Campus | 80 acres · purpose-built 2017 | Pong, Banglamung · ~30 acres |
| Sixth Form pathway | A-Levels ONLY | A-Levels + IB Diploma (choice) |
| Boarding from | Year 6 | Year 3 |
| Accreditation | Rugby School Group sister | IB World School since 2002 · Education Development Trust and ONESQA claims are school-published; no current campus-specific CIS claim |
| Pre-Nursery tuition | ฿345,000/yr half-day standard | ฿464,000/yr standard; annual prepayment ฿440,800 |
| Year 1 tuition | ฿736,000/yr | ฿649,000/yr standard; annual prepayment ฿616,550 |
| Year 7 tuition | ฿868,000/yr | ฿765,000/yr standard; annual prepayment ฿726,750 |
| Year 10 IGCSE tuition | ฿988,000/yr | ฿890,000/yr standard; annual prepayment ฿845,500 |
| Year 13 Sixth Form tuition | ฿999,000/yr (A-Level) | ฿899,000/yr standard (A-Level or IBDP); annual prepayment ฿854,050 |
| One-time acceptance fee | ฿200,000 non-refundable | ฿60K Pre-N–Reception / ฿107K Y1–13 |
| Application fee | ฿5,500 | ฿7,500 |
| Sibling discount | 5% second child · 10% third · 15% fourth and later | 5% third child · 10% fourth and later |
| Bus fees (per term) | Tariff not published; request a written quote | ฿45,000–฿126,000/year one-way or ฿60,000–฿168,000/year two-way |
| Languages | English · Thai · Mandarin | English · Thai · Mandarin |
| Famous facilities | 4 pools (incl. 50m Olympic), Webb Ellis Centre, 55,000m² pitch space | Sport + theatre complex, Nord Anglia STEAM lab access |
| Live editorial | Rugby → read editorial | Regents → read editorial |
| Published support-cost label | Combined school label — “EAL & SfL Fees: English as an Additional Language and Support for Learning”; ฿5,500–฿70,000/term. | Separate school labels — English Language Acquisition Programme: ฿131,000–฿214,000/year; Personalised Support Programme: ฿27,000–฿92,000/year, plus ฿3,000 inclusion assessment. |
At standard 2026/27 tuition, Rugby Years 12–13 cost ฿999,000 and Regents Years 12–13 cost ฿899,000, a ฿100,000 difference before optional discounts. Rugby Year 1 first-year cash is ฿1,041,500 including its refundable ฿100,000 deposit; Regents Year 1 standard tuition plus application and enrolment is ฿763,500. Regents boards from Year 3 and Rugby from Year 6. Rugby does not publish a transport tariff; Regents publishes annual one-way and two-way zones.
If yes — Regents. It's the only one of the two offering both A-Level AND IBDP at age 16. Students choose pathway after IGCSE. If no — either school works, with Rugby being slightly more "pure A-Level traditional British" in atmosphere.
If yes — Regents. Boarding from Year 3 (age 7-8). Rugby's boarding starts at Year 6. For younger boarders, only Regents works structurally.
If yes — Rugby. 80-acre campus, four pools including a 50m Olympic-size pool in the Webb Ellis Centre, FIBA-standard courts, 55,000m² of pitch space. The school is built around the "whole person" sport-arts-academics integration. Regents has good facilities but isn't built at Rugby's scale.
If yes — depends which network. Rugby Thailand is the first international member of the Rugby School Group (Warwickshire). Regents is part of Nord Anglia Education — 80+ schools globally, including the famous British School of Beijing and many others. If you're likely to relocate within Asia or globally, Nord Anglia's network is denser.
Rugby's headline tuition is ~฿146,000/yr higher at Sixth Form (฿999K vs ฿854K). Plus Rugby's ฿200,000 acceptance fee is non-refundable (vs Regents' ฿107,000 enrolment for Y1+). Real all-in difference over a 6-year secondary education: ~฿1M+ in Rugby's favour-of-cost. For families where that swings the decision, Regents at Sixth Form is the structural fit.
Rugby and Regents are both established British international schools with boarding, but their senior options, entry ages, campus routines and fee structures need to be tested for one child rather than reduced to brand prestige.
Ask both admissions teams to map the proposed year through IGCSE and post-16 study. Rugby publishes an A-Level route; Regents publishes A-Level and IB Diploma options. Request the subjects actually expected to run for the relevant cohort, minimum enrolment, timetable constraints and guidance on choosing combinations. A pathway name does not guarantee every subject.
For a younger pupil, concentrate first on the present classroom. Observe an ordinary lesson, compare current work from the offered year and ask how teachers report progress. Note how pupils receive feedback, how classes are grouped and what happens when a child needs more support or greater challenge. Senior optionality should not compensate for a poor day-to-day fit now.
Request dated 2026/27 invoices for the child’s exact year and identify standard tuition separately from annual-payment reductions. Regents publishes a 5% discounted annual figure when payment is made by its stated July deadline; Rugby’s own payment choices and discounts must be labelled on their written basis. Compare standard with standard, then model the payment option the family would actually choose.
Add application, enrolment or registration, deposit or retainer, meals, transport, books, uniforms, devices, trips, experiential programmes, examinations, clubs and language or learning support. Split the acceptance-stage amount, complete first year and recurring year. Record due dates, late-payment terms, notice requirements and refund rules beside the totals, because cash timing and exit exposure matter at this fee level.
Rugby records boarding from age 10, while Regents records boarding from Year 3. Confirm eligibility for the child’s actual start year and do not compare the lowest boarding ages as though they guarantee a current place. Ask to visit the relevant house and review a normal weekday, weekend and exeat schedule.
Request nights included, room and supervision arrangements, meals, laundry, activities, device rules, medical cover, transport, airport support, holiday closures and communication with parents. Identify every sum outside the boarding tariff. Ask how new boarders are supported through homesickness and how day and boarding pupils mix. If the child will be a day pupil, remove boarding prestige and cost from the score entirely.
Ask for the actual class size and adult staffing in the proposed year, not only a whole-school ratio. Observe arrival, lunch or a class transition to understand how each campus’s scale feels in practice. A larger network or campus can create subject and activity breadth; a child may still prefer the routines and relationships in the particular class they are offered.
Request a current activities list for the relevant age and identify which options are included, charged separately or subject to limited places. Ask how pastoral concerns are noticed, who becomes the parent’s first contact and how boarding and academic teams share information.
Ask who assesses English, learning, developmental or wellbeing needs, what can be provided inside the classroom, when outside assessment is required and which services carry an additional fee. If support affects acceptance, obtain the staff member, frequency, group size, duration, review date and price in writing. General capability is not the same as an allocated plan.
Separate English acquisition from learning support. Ask how support interacts with examination access arrangements and senior subject selection. If boarding is considered, clarify who implements the plan after lessons and how parents receive updates.
Drive both routes at the intended arrival and collection times, including work and sibling stops. For school transport, request the exact pickup window, likely time on the vehicle, supervision and price. For boarding, model weekly or termly family travel instead of treating the commute as zero.
Place each calendar beside the family’s travel and work dates. Check term starts, holidays, weekend expectations, closure periods and transport availability. A school can look equally convenient on a map while creating a very different weekly rhythm.
Before accepting, rehearse one change of plan: switching from boarding to day attendance, moving abroad or changing the intended senior route. Ask which fees, places and subject choices could change and how much notice is required. This makes flexibility a documented comparison rather than an assumption made after circumstances shift.
Save both offers, terms, calendars and pathway answers together. Write why the selected class suits this child now and why its senior route remains credible later. Any missing subject, boarding inclusion or support commitment stays open until the school confirms it in writing.
Neither is categorically better — they serve different families. Rugby fits facility-heavy British public-school culture, A-Levels at Sixth Form, and boarding from Year 6. Regents fits IB Diploma optionality, Nord Anglia network, and boarding from Year 3.
On standard tuition, Rugby Years 12–13 cost ฿999,000 and Regents Years 12–13 cost ฿899,000, a ฿100,000 difference. Regents’ 5% annual-payment option reduces its row to ฿854,050; Rugby’s 3% option reduces its row to ฿969,030.
Regents boards from Year 3 (age 7–8). Rugby boards from Year 6. Younger boarders need Regents structurally.
Regents only — IB Diploma or A-Level at Sixth Form on the same fee. Rugby is A-Level only at Sixth Form.
Rugby — 80 acres, four pools including 50m Olympic, Webb Ellis Centre, 55,000m² pitch space. Regents has strong facilities but is not built at Rugby's scale.
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