Banglamung School will reserve up to 20 percent of its seats to impoverished children and those with exceptional talent in sports, technology and the arts when applications open again in March.
Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome chaired the Feb. 10 meeting of the Banglamung Basic Education Commission to set entrance guidelines for the next school term. The committee set quotas for how many district children will be taken, as well as levels of “special-consideration” applicants.
Director of Banglamung School, Noppadol Luangonn, explains the criteria for students to apply to the school for the 2014 academic year.
Banglamung School is highly competitive as it has been selected for international-level testing. Students graduating from Banglamung School have been accepted in Thailand’s top 4 universities and the school has maintained leading scores on the annual Ordinary National Education Test.
Applications for the coming term will be taken March 20-24, with 500 new students taken for each Mattayom 1 and 5.
All applicants will have to pass the school’s entrance exam and meet requirements. At least half the students will be taken from Banglamung District while the balance of the desks will be open to non-residents.
Class sizes are extremely large, by international standards. Each of Banglamung’s 10 classrooms will be filled by 50 students.
Up to 10 of the 50 desks can be filled by special-consideration applicants. While students still need to meet all entrance requirements, priority will be given to applicants with special skills in sports, music, music, classical dance and technology. School officials argue that such pupils will bring fame to the school from national and international competitions.
Special consideration also will be given to applicants who finished last in their class, who are impoverished, who are children of teachers or school staff, or who are under the care of the school’s financial benefactors.
Students in Mattayom 3 with grade-point averages higher than 2.0 will pass to Mattayom 4. Those between 1.5 and 2.0 will be evaluated with their talents in sports or other areas taken into consideration.
Mattayom 3 students from other areas wanting to apply to Banglamung School will be selected thorough examinations, talent evaluation and special conditions, which also applies for Mattayom 1 applicants.
Parents interested in sending their children to continue Mattayom 1 and Mattayom 4 at Banglamung School located on Sukhumvit Road can call 038-221620-1, fax. 038-223500, 038-221377; email: [email protected].
