I worked at Yuwapat Kindergarten from September 2014 to March 2016. I had an absolutely amazing time at the school. From the moment I stepped off the plane in Bangkok until my last day I worked at Yuwapat I felt supported and cared for. The English staff was incredible. I learned so much from the talented and diverse group of individuals. I loved speaking with my colleagues to learn about their teaching methods. Everyone was very warm and helpful. My bosses, Keith and Margaret were all very attentive and friendly. I'm sad to say but I don't think I will ever get to work with such an outstanding group of individuals again.

The Thai staff at the school were just as exceptional. They created a sense of family and fun at the school. The staff are incredible with the students and they work so hard! My Thai teachers were always patient with me, even when I didn't have a clue. They helped me to develop my teaching by introjecting when I was struggling.

Nakhon Sawan is a great city. It's a perfect size city. It's not too overwhelming and has many western comforts. The park is a beautiful place to spend the hour and a half lunch break.

I am forever indebted to the fantastic staff who became my family away from home. They helped me gain confidence in my teaching. If you are looking for a good first teaching/living abroad experience, yuwapat is a fantastic starting point.

The school is pretty lenient about dress code so I think a foot tattoo is fine but a nose piercing will likely have to come out. The dress code is black pants and yuwapat polo shirt.

I'm sorry to hear of the bad experience this person has had. I had read this post prior to working at Yuwapat and, after some further research, I found mixed reviews on the school. I decided to take the job and spent eighteen months at Yuwapat Kindergarten (one year contract, extended by 6 months), this was my first ESL teaching experience and it inspired me to continue. The Elementary and the Kindergarten are now on separate campuses, so I can only comment on the Kindergarten. During my time at Yuwapat I met some fantastic people, there was much support amongst the staff in sharing ideas and workload, I had a lot of fun with both students and staff, and I learned a lot about ESL teaching. It is a private school so of course it is a business, but the staff and the Principal are very dedicated and there's a great sense of fun and collaboration. I didn't work directly with the Director mentioned in the previous post, I had heard he was a formidable character however my own interactions with him were always positive and professional. He originally hired me, picked me up from the airport, introduced me to the city, assisted with finding accommodation, and offered all the support I needed to begin work at the school. I was then managed by his colleague at the Kindergarten campus, and had no further interaction with the Director until my final day when he called to thank me and wish me well. I'm sure there are several people who could debate the positives and the negatives of working at Yuwapat, I had heard both sides in my time there, but it's important to understand there is good feedback as well as bad, and it's a job with ups and downs just like any other in your career.

A little more on the school: Lesson plans are written by teachers according to a syllabus supplied by the school, which focuses on phonics, vocab, and reading & writing skills. It mirrors the Thai curriculum and for the K3 students there are also additional classes in basic Maths, Science and Cooking. Most of the lessons take place in the morning and the schedule allows for plenty of planning and prep time. There's usually a buzz of activity in the afternoon, as teachers exchange ideas and prep craft lessons. In my time at Yuwapat I worked with various personality types and the diversity of characters sometimes clashed, but on a positive note our differences provided tonnes of learning experience. During Summer School when the schedule was much less full, I used downtime to sit in on everyone else's classes and I learned so much from my colleagues.

The students learn through 'immersion', where no Thai is spoken in English class, and you'd be surprised how much they soak up in such a short time. This was one of my worries before I began teaching, but it was an easy transition for me. The kids are happy, excited, eager, and sometimes mischievous just what I'd expect from Kindergartners, and they were a joy to teach.

About the city: Nakhon Sawan is a large city in Central Thailand, it's got most of the things you'll need, unless you have very specific requirements, but usually you'll find everything for your day to day. Transport is a bit tricky, there are Sorngthaews (trucks with benches in the back) which operate like buses, and they run in various routes around the city. You can get around in these, albeit slowly, but they don't operate to a timetable and they stop in the evenings. Tuk Tuks and motorcycle taxis are available at certain shopping centres and near the hospitals, but seem to disappear at night. The best form of transport is motorcycle and it seems to be getting easier to find people who will hire them out. They're cheap and convenient, but I'd advise getting familiar with how the locals drive before attempting to take one on!

The city isn't visited by tourists so it's a fantastic place to sink into Thai culture and learn the language, you have little choice as English is rarely spoken, although it's easy in this environment to pick up the vocab you need.

Accommodation is plentiful, but private houses are more economical than the apartments/long term hotels you'll be introduced to first. These are useful while you're getting to know the city as they're centrally located, but once you have stayed your minimum contracted term, you may want to look for something cheaper.

The only downside about living in Nakhon Sawan for me was the distance from the coast, it can take at least a day to get to the beach. I would have liked to have spent more time there, as there are a lot of days off here and there in celebration of various Buddhist holidays. If you're satisfied with being inland then NS should have everything you need. It's surrounded by beautiful countryside, but the transport issue mentioned above may cause problems here, you would need your own. Cities and towns nearby hold a lot of interest and travel within Thailand is extremely cheap, even for 1st class seats. Nakhon Sawan is excellently situated between popular locations in the country so it's a great jump off point for road transport.

The cost of living is very low if you eat local food and rent cheaply, however if you're stocking up on home comforts you'll get through your money faster. There's plenty of opportunity to pick up extra work, so if you're smart with your cash and you don't mind a few extra hours you can save enough to set yourself up for your next adventure.

The people of Nakhon Sawan are wonderful, some can be inquisitive as white people are rare in this city, so you will get stared at a lot. My advice is to smile, and say hello. You may even get stopped on the street and beckoned into a car, it's happened to me several times and always because the person feels sorry for me having to walk.

I've heard of crime in the city, my neighbour was burgled twice in the year I lived next door to her, but I never saw or experienced any myself. The rule of thumb here, like in any other city in the world, is to exercise caution.

A big challenge I faced living in Thailand was understanding the cultural differences. You'll experience many scenarios that will confuse and frustrate you. Take a deep breath and let it go. Most of the issues I had were due to my own inexperience of the culture. Once I understood the Thai culture a lot of things clicked into place regarding how and why things are done a certain way.

There's so much more I could say on my experience in NS, so if anybody has any questions on Yuwapat or Nakhon Sawan just drop me a message.

Those interested in applying for job at Yuwapat Elementary School in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand should DEFINITELY read this post prior to accepting the job over there.

Let me first start off saying that this post has nothing to do with the children or the thai faculty themselves and *everything* to do with the english director there. His name is M[edited] M[edited] and never before in my life have I ever met such an unprofessional employer, in every sense of the word. He treats his teachers with little to no respect unless you're one of his buddies that drinks every night with him after school. I worked there for a year (my full contract), did everything that was asked of me, taught my children to the best of my ability and NOT ONCE did he say thank you or even goodbye when I left. The man has absolutely no tact and it is truly a tragedy that many brilliant teachers have left (on worse terms than I) because of his undeserving huge ego and utter crude nature with the teachers he hires. Apart from his inconsiderate treating of his employees, M[edited] allows racist, sexist, homophobic, and vulgar conversation to flow through the office as if he were chatting about the weather. I can't even count the number of times my ears were subject to the vile subject matter tossed around the office by his cronies. Thank goodness for headphones!

The children on the other hand were an absolute dream and made the entire, unpleasant experience definitely worth. Not a day goes by that I don't miss the incredible children I met at this school. Again to reiterate ... the children and the thai teachers there make that place magic and it sad that someone can take SO much away from this incredible school.

So again ... if unprofessional, tactless, rude and arrogant employers are your cup of tea, by all means apply for a job at Yuwapat. But if you're like me and require a little respect in the work place then I'd search elsewhere.

Hope this helps your decision! :)