The educational options for parents of expatriate children living in Lao are severely restricted as the nation is poor, the standards of living are low and the availability of local and international schools is limited; in fact international education in Laos comes primarily in the form of the Vientiane International School.

The Vientiane International School is a private school teaching boys and girls of all nationalities through the medium of English from the ages of three through to eighteen and it provides many options for parents of German, Dutch, Japanese, Nepali and Thai children for example to have extra English as a foreign language lessons as well as extra curricular lessons in their own mother tongue.

As the name suggests the international school is located in Vientiane which is the capital of Lao and it is also the main employment hub for expatriates living and working in Laos meaning that they and their families have easy access to a school.  The school runs from August until June and there are a number of after school social and sporting clubs for children whose parents have to work outside of school hours or for children gifted or interested in the particular activities on offer.

The curriculum at the Vientiane International School has been adapted from those in a number of international schools in Asia and combined mainly with the US system of education.  The main emphasis is on providing a good all round education for children to enable them to re-enter schools in their home country, progress to alternative international schools elsewhere in the world or indeed to graduate and go to college or university.

The teaching staff at the school come from a range of international backgrounds and there are local teaching assistants who help with the younger children.  Primary age children are taught a broad range of subjects in a single class while secondary school students attend specialist classrooms on a subject by subject basis.  Class sizes are limited to ensure that all students receive the attention they need.

The teaching and sporting facilities at the school are good and there is a large well stocked library also which means that the standard of education in Laos available for international students is actually far superior to that available in many better developed nations around the world!  Those expatriate parents aware of the poverty in Lao but considering jobs in Laos who are worried about the continuing educational welfare of their children should contact the Vientiane International School for more details.