Scotland's Glenalmond College Opens Its First International Campus in Phuket

Phuket is about to welcome its first campus carrying the name of a British independent school with nearly two centuries of history. Glenalmond Phuket International School opens in August 2026 inside the Thanyapura Sports and Health Resort, becoming the first school to take the Glenalmond brand beyond Scotland. As Tes reported when the expansion was announced in January, the Perthshire school is entering Southeast Asia at a moment when British independent schools are racing to establish international footholds before the region's most attractive sites are taken.

The school is named after Glenalmond College, founded in 1847 by William Gladstone and long regarded as one of Scotland's leading boarding schools. Dr Khalid Al-Attiyah, chairman of the Glenalmond Group, described it as "a great honour to mark the opening of the first international school of Glenalmond College." Khun Chatchai Yenbamroong, the local owner of the Phuket campus, noted that the partnership allows the new school "to benefit from 178 years of experience, tradition and excellence."

A Scottish curriculum, reworked for Asia

The school is beginning with Early Years and Primary provision, following the EYFS framework and the National Curriculum for England. It departs from a straight British-import model in two meaningful ways. Singapore Mathematics is compulsory from Year 1, and Mandarin forms part of every pupil's timetable throughout the school. Both choices reflect a clear reading of what families in the region are looking for: international credentials combined with the skills that matter most in the Asian economic environment.

Digital literacy is a third explicit pillar. Coding, AI awareness, and robotics are built into the timetable as core curriculum, not extras. The campus has been designed to match those ambitions, with dedicated specialist rooms for science, design technology, and digital learning, alongside a lecture theatre and a 450-seat multi-purpose auditorium. For a school opening at primary level, those facilities are well ahead of what most new international schools offer at launch.

Sport at the centre

The Thanyapura partnership is perhaps Glenalmond Phuket's most distinctive feature. By opening inside one of Asia's leading sports and health resorts, students gain day-to-day access to Olympic-standard swimming pools and athletic training grounds that most international schools, regardless of fee level, cannot match. Glenalmond in Scotland has its own long tradition of sport and outdoor education, and the Phuket campus appears to have been consciously designed with that institutional identity intact.

To mark the August opening, a student pipe band from Glenalmond College UK is scheduled to perform on 19 August, a gesture that signals the parent school's direct involvement in the launch rather than a more arms-length licensing arrangement.

What comes next

The school has indicated it may open Key Stage 3 alongside its initial Early Years and Primary provision, citing strong local interest. A full secondary pathway through IGCSE and A Level sits further out on the roadmap. Phuket already has several established international schools, and building meaningful enrolment in that market will require Glenalmond to demonstrate something its competitors do not have. The Thanyapura facilities and a 178-year Scottish pedigree are a compelling starting point. Whether they translate into sustained demand will become clearer over the coming academic year.