We have not regretted our choice for a second... by Richard Green
we moved to Bangkok to run this new business. So far it has been a difficult but exciting challenge although we are determined to make this work.
Choosing a school for your early years child is a big responsibility. If you also throw into the mix moving to a new and unfamiliar city for some families it could be overwhelming. Thankfully, good advice and having a practical can-do attitude meant that new arrivals to Bangkok, Michael and Magalie Tytgadt, have chosen the best fit school for them and their children. Where are you from? We are originally Belgian; we grew up in the Flemish lowlands near the North Sea. What brought you to Thailand? Our family business manufactures industrial laundry equipment and systems. You would see our machines in the laundries of luxury hotels, hospitals, airlines, railway companies, factories and independent industrial laundries that cater for these organisations. In the second half of 2016, we began to look for potential new partnerships for our business to reduce manufacturing costs and open up new markets. This led to us acquiring a German competitor, a manufacturer based in Pathum Thani, North Bangkok in 2017. In August 2018 30
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Why did you choose Harrow Bangkok for your children? We have three young children: Louis who is 10 months, so not yet at school, Henry who is 3 and in Nursery class and Elisa who is 5 and in Reception. We visited lots of schools in early 2018 and quickly realised how congested Bangkok can be. It was clear that we needed to live close to the school or the children would have a long commute on a school bus. It would also make our day to day life simpler. We also need to be at our factory every day so didn’t want our commute to be a burden. This meant that, ideally, we needed to be close to Pathum Thani.
Given our European roots we were inclined towards a French or British school so searched for these kinds of schools in the North of Bangkok. We found Harrow International School Bangkok which seemed to fit the bill; in the right area, British curriculum, Early Years right through to Sixth Form and well established. At first, I did wonder how my children would fit in with the Thai population at Harrow Bangkok but it’s been fine. The housing community where we could live adjacent to the