Why is location important when choosing the perfect school?

Choosing the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions a parent will make. A key factor to consider is the school's location, which can impact the student experience in various ways depending on their age group. Let's get right into it!

What to consider for each age group

Kindergarten and Early Elementary School Children*

For kindergarten-aged and early elementary school children, being close to home is ideal. At this young age, children still require a lot of hands-on parenting and supervision. Having a kindergarten within walking distance or a short drive of approximately 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes allows for easy drop-offs and pick-ups, and gives you peace of mind that you can quickly get to the school if needed. This also enables you to be consistently involved with the school for volunteering, meetings with teachers, and participating in school events, and all the other fun stuff!

Upper Elementary and Middle School Students*

By upper elementary and middle school, students can handle slightly longer commutes of about 30 to 45 minutes. Children at this age, however, are beginning to participate more in after-school sports, clubs, and social activities, all of which are fantastic in positively shaping your children's personality and social skills...and so convenience should still be a consideration to allow participation.

High School Students*

For high schoolers, location may become less about closeness to home and more about access to experiences. At this point, many parents also become less involved with the ongoings of a school and so it's very likely that you'll be coming over less often. High school students are also more capable of commuting on their own using taxis or public transportation systems such as the MRT or BTS. At this age, many students are also involved with various activities outside school hours, such as playing sports (both as a hobby and as part of a varsity team), practicing music, preparing for school events, socializing both in and outside of school. Obviously, the closer you are to school, the better, but if need be, high school students can handle commutes of 45 to 60 minutes.

Other factors to consider

Traffic conditions

When checking out how much time it'll take from your home to the school of your choice, make sure that you also take traffic before and after school into consideration. If you are using Google Maps, you have the option to set your "Depart at" or "Arrive by" times. Google Maps will then show you the traffic conditions on your route during those times you set as well as an estimate on how long it'll take you to travel that route at that specific time. Click this link to practice this skill by and finding out commute time to NIVA in the morning

Main road safety and pollution

Having young learners close to busy roads is a clear worry for many parents. Apart from the obvious higher potential for accidents, the noise and air pollution from traffic can negatively impact your child's development and health. Schools near main roads expose children to higher levels of PM 2.5 particulate matter as well as other noxious gasses, which can aggravate conditions like asthma and allergies. Even for healthy children, heavy traffic areas should be avoided as that can have negative impacts on their respiratory health and introduce asthma and allergies.

NIVA's location

NIVA's campus is conveniently located in between the Ladprao, Bangkapi, Nawamin, and Pradit Manutham areas of Bangkok, Thailand. Our campus is close to an expressway and so picking up and dropping off your child is convenient. We also have private vans for before and after school that operate to and from Ladprao, Minburi, Ramindra, Nonthaburi, Rachadapisek, Rangsit, and Pathumthani. This is vast coverage for safe and comfortable travel to and from school each day.

NIVA is also close to the Ladprao 101 BTS station, which means that students living in traffic laden areas can save a lot of travel time and potentially commute independently to school. And perhaps, most importantly, we are only a few minutes away from Vejthani Hospital allowing easy access to best-in-class medical facilities quickly in cases of emergencies.

NIVA's location also offers great experiences for our high school students that may like to spend a little bit of time with friends after school before heading home. The Mall Bangkapi offers amusements and arcades, food, and shopping options. Central Festival Eastville, The Crystal Park, and The Walk are also conveniently located near the school between the Ekamai and Ramindra Roads (Pradit Manutham Road). Many of our parents also enjoy spending their leisure time at these malls as well as the dozens of comfortable coffee shops near our campus.

For your convenience, we've gone ahead and done some research on how long it takes to travel to NIVA from various areas and landmarks in Bangkok. This data is from Google Maps with the assumption that you'd like to arrive at school at 7:30am* . Click here to check out how much time it'll take for you to get to NIVA from different areas of Bangkok!

Other schools in this area

There are also a few other full program (K-12) international schools in this area that we are proud to be sharing this area with including:

1. KIS (KIS International School)

   KIS International School is an IB school located in the Huay Kwang area.

2. Keerapat International School (KPIS)

   KPIS is an American curriculum school located in Soi Raminthra 34, which is also accessible from the Pracha Uthit Road.

3. RAIS (Ramkamhaeng Adventist International School)

   RAIS is an American curriculum school located right on Ramkamhaeng Road.

4. Regent's International School, Bangkok

   Regent's is an English National Curriculum an IB school located right of Pracha Uthit Road.

Conclusion

Choosing the optimal school location requires balancing many factors like proximity, transportation access, safety, and the surrounding environment. In general, the closer your home is to school, the better it is. But if travel is necessary, try not to exceed this:

• Nursery, Kindergarten and Grades 1-3: commutes of up to 30 minutes

• Grades 4-8: commutes of up to 45 minutes

• Grades 9-12: commutes of up to 1 hour

If you live in any of the areas above and are looking for a good international school for your child, come book a tour with us!