Bangkok · History
Brighton College Bangkok: from a single campus to a top-100 school in a decade
Founded in 2016 on a purpose-built east Bangkok campus, Brighton College Bangkok reached its tenth year as one of only two Thai schools named in the Spear's Schools Index 2026.
Brighton College Bangkok opened in September 2016 as the sister school to Brighton College UK. It was the third school in the Brighton College international family, whose parent institution in Sussex had been educating pupils since 1845. Richard Cairns, Head Master of Brighton College UK, was instrumental in steering the group toward Thailand as its first Asian venture after two successful openings in Abu Dhabi.
Origins
The campus sits on 20 acres in Krungthep Kreetha, east of Bangkok. It is approximately 30 minutes from downtown Bangkok and 15 minutes from Suvarnabhumi Airport. The school is a collaborative partnership between Brighton College International Schools and The Ocean Group, a highly respected Thai company led by the Assakul family. That structure gave the venture both the educational governance of the UK original and the local operational knowledge to function within Thailand's regulatory environment.
The purpose-built campus was designed to house a pre-prep, a prep school, and a senior school, catering for up to 1,500 boys and girls across the 2 to 18 age range. The school is divided into two schools on the same campus: a Preparatory School for children aged 2 to 11, and a Senior School for children aged 11 to 18, incorporating a Sixth Form.
Curriculum and Identity
Brighton College Bangkok follows the British curriculum, leading to IGCSEs and a choice of 21 different A Level subjects. The school follows a British-type curriculum and offers the International General Certificate of Secondary Education and A Levels. A Levels were introduced from September 2019 as the first Sixth Form cohort came of age.
Accreditation by inspection teams from the Educational Development Trust (EDT) and British Schools Overseas (BSO) saw Brighton College Bangkok receive the highest grades possible, 'Gold' and 'Outstanding'. Pupils have achieved outstanding A Level grades, with a four-year rolling average of over 70% A* to A. In 2023, the school achieved 80% A* to A at A Level, with 47% achieving A* grades in the Sixth Form, ranking among the top 10% of leading private schools in the UK. In 2024, Brighton College Bangkok recorded a 100% A Level pass rate.
Students received recognition from the exam boards as either the best in Thailand or best in the whole of South East Asia. Leavers have gone on to universities including Cambridge, Imperial College London, and Emory. The school joined FOBISIA in 2020.
Growth
Brighton College Bangkok built a record of some of the best examination results in Asia and, in 2024, was named British International School of the Year at the Independent Schools of the Year Awards. In 2026, the school was honoured to be included in the Spear's Schools Index 2026, recognised as one of the 100 leading private schools in the world, and one of only two schools in Thailand to receive this distinction.
Due to exceptional demand at the Krungthep Kreetha campus, Brighton College opened the doors to a second school in Bangkok in August 2025. Situated on Vibhavadi Road and spanning over 21,000 square metres, the new campus represents an investment exceeding 1.4 billion baht. The grand opening was attended by the British Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Mark Gooding. The Vibhavadi campus operates under its own founding Head Master, Crispian Waterman.
As Brighton College Bangkok celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2026, the college announced the most significant phase of investment in its history since founding, a programme designed to enhance every aspect of pupil life and learning. At the heart of this development is the introduction of an Olympic-standard athletics track, providing pupils with a professional-level environment to train and compete.
Present Day
The Krungthep Kreetha campus has a current roll of around 700 pupils drawn from more than 40 nationalities, with British and Thai nationals making up the majority of the student body. Brighton College now has ten sister schools worldwide, with Bangkok represented by both the Krungthep Kreetha and Vibhavadi campuses, alongside schools in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Singapore, Hanoi, and in the UK. The Krungthep Kreetha school, where the Bangkok story started a decade ago, remains the group's flagship campus in South East Asia.