Phangan's only fully-licensed international school is finally opening secondary classes

If you're a parent thinking about a longer-term move to Phangan, this is genuinely one of the bigger pieces of good news for families in a while.

What's launching

Si Ri Panya International School — the only fully-licensed international school on Koh Phangan, holding its official license since September 2019 — is opening its first Year 10 class in September 2026, with Year 11 to follow the year after. This marks the start of Upper Secondary (the Cambridge IGCSE exam years) actually existing on the island. Until now, families needing that level of education for their kids have generally had to look at Samui or send children away to boarding school.

Why it took this long

According to the school, they deliberately waited to launch Upper Secondary until they could do it properly — specialist subject teachers, purpose-built facilities, and genuine curriculum breadth rather than a thin offering. The school will run a full suite of Cambridge IGCSEs, and notably will be the first school on Phangan to offer BTEC qualifications, which matters for families whose kids are heading toward a more vocational or applied-skills path rather than a purely academic one.

What this actually changes

For families already here on DTV or long-term visas with younger kids, it means one less reason to eventually relocate off the island as children age up. For anyone considering a longer move with school-age kids, it's a genuine data point in favour of Phangan over some of the neighbouring islands, where international schooling options have historically been more limited.