Bangkok · History
From a Bangkok kindergarten to a full British through-school in Nonthaburi
Denla British School opened its doors in 2017, but the family behind it had been educating young Thais since 1979. Here is how that kindergarten legacy became a full British through-school.
The Pandejpong family founded Denla Kindergarten in 1979 on Petchkasem Road in Bangkok, with a straightforward aim: quality, caring education for young children. For more than two decades that single campus served the local community, building a reputation on diligent teachers, loyal families, and a culture of continuous improvement. A second kindergarten branch followed in May 2006 on Rama 5 Road, arriving alongside the family's second generation, who introduced Total Quality Management principles that were, at the time, virtually unheard of in Thai kindergarten education.
The Case for a British School
By the early 2010s, board directors Dr. Toryos Pandejpong and Dr. Temyos Pandejpong had identified a gap the kindergartens could not fill. Thai graduates, however well-schooled domestically, often lacked confidence in English and the breadth of skills, creative, sporting, academic, that international universities and employers were demanding. The family consulted international education experts and concluded that the English independent school model, with its extended co-curricular programme and rigorous examination pathway, was the vehicle they needed. The result was Denla British School, formally launched at the British Embassy in Bangkok on 20 March 2017.
Opening and Early Growth
The first full academic year began on 28 August 2017 on a purpose-built campus at 58 Moo 2, Ratchapruek Road, Om Kret, Pak Kret, in the Nonthaburi district roughly 30 minutes northwest of central Bangkok. The school initially enrolled children aged 3 to 11, covering Early Years 1 through Year 6, with close to 200 students on roll by the end of that first year. Year groups extended to Year 8 in 2018 and continued expanding upward, with the school adding Senior School and eventually Sixth Form to reach the full Pre-Early Years to Year 13 range. A Sixth Form Centre, designed around Japanese spatial principles to encourage collaboration and independent study, was completed in Term 1 of the 2024/25 academic year.
Leadership has evolved alongside that growth. Mark McVeigh, whose appointment the Bangkok Post noted in October 2018, served as Principal through the school's formative years. Alison Turner, who had led King's School Dubai to eight consecutive outstanding inspection ratings and held responsibility for three of its campuses as Executive Primary Headteacher, followed. Jonny Liddell is the current Headmaster.
Curriculum and Identity
DBS grounds its programme in the English National Curriculum from the Early Years Foundation Stage through to Year 6, with specialist teaching in Thai, Mandarin, music, PE, computing and art woven throughout the lower school. Upper school students work toward Cambridge IGCSE qualifications in Years 10 and 11, then proceed to Cambridge A-Levels in Sixth Form, with Pearson Edexcel and Oxford AQA also available as examining boards. The school also holds Cambridge International School authorisation and is an approved Edexcel and Oxford AQA centre.
A defining structural choice is the Extended Day, an additional 1.5 hours beyond a standard school timetable used for co-curricular and enrichment activity. The school describes this as central rather than supplementary, not an add-on, but baked into the structure of each student's week. A traditional House system, with four houses named Windsor, Balmoral, Buckingham and Sandringham, organises students across year groups for sporting, academic, musical and charity competitions, mirroring the culture of a British independent school.
Thai culture is not treated as a token subject. Mandarin and Thai are taught as full curriculum languages, and the school explicitly embeds Thai values and traditions within the broader international programme, a deliberate decision by founders who wanted Thai students to compete globally without losing their cultural roots.
Accreditation
DBS holds accreditation from the Council of International Schools (CIS) and is an accredited member of COBIS, one of only four schools in Thailand to hold that status. It joined FOBISIA in 2021, giving students access to inter-school sport, music and drama competitions across the region, and is also a member of ISAT and Thailand's national quality body, ONESQA.
Present Day
The school now enrols around 900 students from more than 20 nationalities, on an 18-acre campus with a 600-seat auditorium, indoor swimming pool, three sports halls, a 400-metre athletics track, science and technology labs, a makerspace, and a dedicated Sixth Form centre. The Denla Group now operates three schools: the original Denla Kindergarten network, DBS, and the newer DLTS International School, which follows an American curriculum within an IB framework.
Academic results have tracked the school's growth. The Class of 2025 collected 171 university offers, including 13 from Russell Group institutions and places at leading Thai universities. At the World Scholar's Cup 2024 Tournament of Champions at Yale University, one DBS team ranked first in Thailand, second in Southeast Asia, and eighth globally. In the same year, DBS took the Best School Award at the World Science Championship, with Head of Science Samantha Cronin named Best Teacher at the international level. The school's motto is Semper Ad Maiora, always to greater things.