The first three pieces in this pillar looked at structure. Who owns the schools, what teachers earn, and what Hong Kong charges for priority admission. Today we move from structure to decision.
The question every British expat family eventually asks is the same. What does this actually cost? Not the headline tuition. The full bill, over the full education, for two children.
The answer matters because the choice of city dramatically changes the total. Sending two children through a top international school in Singapore from age 5 to 18 costs roughly £900,000-£1.2 million. The same education in Bangkok costs £480,000-£700,000. In Hanoi, £280,000-£420,000. These are not small differences. They are the difference between a £500,000 mortgage paid off twenty years early and a £500,000 mortgage that follows you to retirement.
This is the full three-city comparison. The fees that schools publish, the costs that schools don’t highlight, and the structural choices that change the maths by hundreds of thousands of pounds.
What we’re modelling
The model is built around a typical British expat family scenario: two children, both attending the same international school from age 5 (Reception or Year 1) through to age 18 (Year 13). That’s 13 years of education per child, 26 child-years in total for the family.
We’re using current 2025/26 fee schedules for the top-tier internationally-recognised schools in each city. The figures assume annual fee inflation of 4-5% over the 13-year period, which is in line with historical fee inflation across the major international schools. In real-terms 2026 pounds, the totals look like this:
| City | Top-tier school | Mid-tier school | 13-year total per child (top-tier) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanoi | BIS Hanoi (Nord Anglia) | UNIS Hanoi | £210,000 |
| Bangkok | Bangkok Patana, Harrow, Shrewsbury | NIST, ISB | £275,000 |
| Singapore | Tanglin Trust, UWCSEA, SAS | AIS, Stamford American | £450,000 |
For two children over a full school career, double those numbers. Add the hidden costs (we’ll get to them) and you get the headline figures: £900k+ for Singapore, £550k for Bangkok, £350k for Hanoi.
Let’s pull each city apart.
Hanoi: the value play
Hanoi is, by a substantial margin, the cheapest of the three cities for a British international education. This is the practical equivalent of the Vietnam Window thesis we covered in the cost-of-living series. The same forces that make Hanoi cheap for retirees also make it cheap for educating children.
The top-tier school in Hanoi for British curriculum is British International School Hanoi (BIS Hanoi), part of the Nord Anglia network (yes, the one owned by Canadian pensioners and Swedish private equity, as we established in Day 1). Annual tuition ranges from approximately USD 18,000 to USD 28,000 depending on year group, with the higher figure for IBDP students in Year 12-13.
Converting at current FX (USD 1 = GBP 0.78):
| Year group | BIS Hanoi annual fee (USD) | GBP equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Early Years (age 3-5) | 18,000 | £14,000 |
| Primary (Year 1-6) | 19,000-22,000 | £14,800-£17,200 |
| Middle (Year 7-9) | 22,000-25,000 | £17,200-£19,500 |
| Senior (Year 10-11 IGCSE) | 25,000-26,000 | £19,500-£20,300 |
| Sixth Form (Year 12-13 IBDP) | 27,000-28,000 | £21,100-£21,800 |
One-time fees on enrolment: roughly USD 4,000-6,000 application + registration combined (£3,100-£4,700).
Annual extras: bus VND 50-80m (£1,600-£2,500), lunches VND 20-30m (£640-£960), uniform USD 300-500, trips and ECAs USD 500-2,000.
13-year total per child at BIS Hanoi: approximately £210,000-£245,000 in fees, plus another £30,000-£40,000 in extras and inflation adjustments. Call it £250,000-£280,000 all-in per child.
The mid-tier option in Hanoi is United Nations International School Hanoi (UNIS Hanoi) at roughly USD 18,000-25,000, or the bilingual sister school BVIS Hanoi (also Nord Anglia) at USD 10,000-20,000. BVIS delivers the same British curriculum at 30-50% less, with the trade-off being shared bilingual instruction in Vietnamese alongside English.
For families willing to consider BVIS or UNIS Hanoi, the 13-year per-child cost drops to roughly £140,000-£200,000. For two children, that’s £280,000-£400,000 vs £500,000+ at BIS. That’s a £200,000 difference for a curriculum that, by most objective measures, produces comparable academic outcomes.
This is the value calculation that British families in Hanoi rarely make explicitly but that has enormous long-term financial impact.
Bangkok: the established middle
Bangkok has the deepest international school market in Southeast Asia. The top tier includes Bangkok Patana School (British, not-for-profit foundation, founded 1957), Harrow International School Bangkok, Shrewsbury International School, International School Bangkok (ISB) (American), and NIST International School (IB).
The pricing splits cleanly into three tiers, even within “top international schools”:
Non-profit foundation tier (Bangkok Patana):
- Primary: THB 495,000-620,000 (£11,500-£14,400)
- Secondary: THB 700,000-820,000 (£16,300-£19,100)
- Sixth Form: THB 830,000-880,000 (£19,300-£20,500)
- Entrance fee: THB 250,000 first child / 200,000 subsequent (£5,800/£4,650), non-refundable
- Capital Assessment: THB 45,000/year OR one-off THB 700,000 (£16,300)
Premium British/American tier (Harrow, Shrewsbury, ISB):
- Primary: THB 600,000-850,000 (£14,000-£19,800)
- Secondary: THB 800,000-1,050,000 (£18,600-£24,400)
- Sixth Form: THB 950,000-1,150,000 (£22,100-£26,700)
- Entrance/registration fees: typically THB 200,000-500,000 (£4,650-£11,600)
- Capital development levies: variable, often £4,000-£8,000
Hidden extras (across all tiers):
- Annual facility/technology fee: THB 20,000-50,000 (£465-£1,160)
- Bus fee: THB 50,000-90,000 (£1,160-£2,090)
- Lunches: THB 25,000-40,000 (£580-£930)
- Uniform: THB 10,000-18,000 initial (£230-£420), plus refresh costs
- Trips and ECAs: THB 20,000-80,000 (£465-£1,860)
The industry rule of thumb is to add 25-35% to the headline tuition for the realistic all-in first-year cost, and 10-15% for subsequent years.
13-year total per child at Bangkok Patana: approximately £200,000-£240,000 in fees, plus £35,000-£50,000 in extras and inflation. Call it £240,000-£290,000 all-in per child.
13-year total per child at Harrow Bangkok or Shrewsbury: approximately £260,000-£320,000 in fees, plus £40,000-£60,000 in extras. Call it £310,000-£380,000 all-in per child.
For two children, Bangkok Patana lands at roughly £480,000-£580,000 over the full school career. The premium British schools land at £620,000-£760,000.
The Bangkok lesson is one we covered in Day 1. The non-profit foundation schools (Bangkok Patana, NIST) are structurally cheaper because there are no shareholders extracting returns, and they tend to have slower fee inflation. Choosing Patana over Harrow or Shrewsbury saves a typical family £140,000-£180,000 over 13 years per child.
Singapore: the premium league
Singapore is the most expensive international school market in Southeast Asia by some distance. The four “premium” schools are Tanglin Trust School (TTS) (British, non-profit), United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) (IB, non-profit), Singapore American School (SAS) (American, non-profit), and Dulwich College Singapore (British, for-profit).
Tanglin Trust 2025/26 fees:
- Pre-school (age 3-4): SGD 31,695-34,770 (£18,300-£20,100)
- Primary: SGD 38,000-44,000 (£21,900-£25,400)
- Secondary: SGD 45,000-49,000 (£26,000-£28,300)
- Sixth Form: SGD 49,500-50,865 (£28,600-£29,400)
One-time fees: Application SGD 1,000, Enrolment SGD 4,500 (£2,600). Refundable security deposit of two terms’ fees, paid in advance and held throughout enrolment.
UWCSEA fees follow a broadly similar pattern, with primary at SGD 38,685-46,350 and IBDP years reaching SGD 50,000+. SAS is in the same band, with high school fees around SGD 48,000-55,000.
Hidden extras specific to Singapore:
- Two terms’ fees in advance: this is a meaningful working capital commitment of roughly SGD 30,000 (£17,300) sitting with the school throughout enrolment
- Bus service: SGD 4,000-6,500 per year (£2,300-£3,750)
- Lunches: SGD 1,500-2,500 per year
- Exam fees: SGD 1,000-2,500 for IGCSE/IB/A-Level
- Uniform: SGD 400-700 initially
- Trips: highly variable, easily SGD 2,000-5,000 per year
13-year total per child at Tanglin Trust or UWCSEA: approximately £330,000-£400,000 in fees, plus £60,000-£90,000 in extras and inflation. Call it £390,000-£490,000 all-in per child.
For two children at a top Singapore school over a full school career: £780,000-£980,000.
This is the number that makes Singapore the genuinely expensive option. The same British curriculum, delivered by the same kind of British teachers (often literally the same teachers moving between Tanglin and Bangkok Patana over their careers), costs roughly 60-80% more in Singapore than in Bangkok.
The three-city comparison in one table
For a British family with two children, age 5 to 18, attending the top-tier non-profit option in each city:
| City | School | Total cost (2 children, 13 years each) | Per year average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanoi | BIS Hanoi (Nord Anglia, premium) | £500,000-£560,000 | £38,500-£43,000 |
| Hanoi | BVIS Hanoi (bilingual, mid-tier) | £280,000-£400,000 | £21,500-£30,800 |
| Bangkok | Bangkok Patana (non-profit, premium) | £480,000-£580,000 | £37,000-£44,600 |
| Bangkok | Harrow/Shrewsbury (premium British) | £620,000-£760,000 | £47,700-£58,500 |
| Singapore | Tanglin/UWCSEA (non-profit, premium) | £780,000-£980,000 | £60,000-£75,400 |
| Singapore | Dulwich (premium British, for-profit) | £820,000-£1,000,000+ | £63,000-£77,000 |
A few patterns jump out.
Hanoi (BVIS) is the cheapest mainstream option at roughly £280,000-£400,000 total. Same British curriculum, same broad Nord Anglia oversight, smaller class sizes, less prestigious campus.
Bangkok Patana hits a remarkable sweet spot. At £480,000-£580,000 for two children, it’s only marginally more expensive than BIS Hanoi (the premium Hanoi option) and substantially cheaper than the Bangkok premium tier. For families committed to non-profit, high-academic-quality British education in Southeast Asia, Patana is arguably the single best value proposition in the region.
Singapore costs roughly 1.5-2x what Bangkok costs, for what is, in many respects, the same educational product. The Singapore premium is partly explained by Singapore’s higher cost of living (driving up teacher salaries and facility costs) and partly by the city’s positioning as the regional financial centre that absorbs the most price-insensitive corporate education allowances.
The structural choices that change the maths
Three decisions, made when a family arrives, can change the total cost by £200,000-£400,000 over the school careers of two children.
Decision one: non-profit vs for-profit.
This is the most consequential single choice, as we covered in Day 1. The non-profit foundation schools (Bangkok Patana, Tanglin Trust, UWCSEA, SAS, NIST) have slower fee inflation, more stable institutional missions, and surplus that reinvests into facilities rather than flowing out as private equity returns. Over 13 years, the cumulative fee inflation gap between a non-profit and a private-equity-owned school can easily reach 15-25%, or £50,000-£100,000 per child.
The catch: non-profit schools often have longer waitlists, more selective admissions, and harder access for families arriving mid-academic-year.
Decision two: premium vs mid-tier.
The premium tier (Harrow Bangkok, Dulwich Singapore, BIS Hanoi) typically charges 25-40% more than the mid-tier option in the same city. The educational quality is comparable in most cases. The differences are facilities, brand prestige, parent demographic, and (sometimes) class sizes.
For two children over 13 years, choosing mid-tier over premium saves roughly £150,000-£250,000. That money, invested in a UK ISA at 5% compound growth, becomes £230,000-£380,000 by the time the children leave school.
Decision three: city choice.
If you have flexibility on where to base your career (or your remote-working setup), the difference between Singapore and Bangkok is roughly £300,000-£400,000 across two children’s school careers. The difference between Singapore and Hanoi is roughly £500,000-£700,000.
This is a number worth running explicitly when comparing job offers. A Bangkok job at £100,000/year with £40,000 of school fees is roughly equivalent in disposable income to a Singapore job at £140,000/year with £75,000 of school fees, once you’ve adjusted for all the other living costs Singapore extracts on top.
What about employer education allowances?
Many corporate expat packages include an education allowance. These vary wildly. A typical allowance for a senior corporate role in Asia is £25,000-£40,000 per child per year, sometimes capped at one or two children.
The trap to avoid: assuming the allowance covers full costs. Singapore premium school full costs of £75,000+ per year vs a £40,000 allowance leaves you paying £35,000+ per year out of pocket per child. Over 13 years, that’s £455,000 per child you weren’t expecting to pay.
A more realistic framing: the allowance covers most or all of the fees in Hanoi, most of the fees in Bangkok, and roughly half the fees in Singapore. Singapore postings without a comprehensive education package routinely become net-loss positions for families with school-age children.
Run the maths before accepting the posting, not after.
When local schools become viable
One option that doesn’t appear in most British expat conversations: local schools or bilingual schools with strong English programmes.
In Hanoi, BVIS as described above. In Bangkok, schools like Wells International School or Ekamai International School at £8,000-£15,000 per year, with curricula that include strong English-medium instruction. In Singapore, the local government school system is genuinely world-class (Singapore consistently tops PISA rankings) but is generally not accessible to non-resident foreigners.
The financial case for these alternatives is strong. Two children for 13 years each at a £10,000/year school is £260,000 total. That’s £400,000-£700,000 less than the premium international option.
The trade-offs are real. Less English-medium peer environment. Local examination systems that may not transition smoothly to UK universities. Different cultural emphasis. For some families these are deal-breakers. For others, they’re a worthwhile exchange for £500,000 in family wealth retention.
The takeaway
The three-city comparison reveals what every British expat family with children eventually realises. The choice of city, school tier, and ownership model determines whether the family arrives back in the UK at retirement age with a paid-off house or with another decade of mortgage payments ahead.
For two children’s full school careers, the realistic 2026 numbers are:
- Hanoi (BVIS, value-tier): £280,000-£400,000
- Bangkok (Patana, non-profit): £480,000-£580,000
- Bangkok (premium British, Harrow/Shrewsbury): £620,000-£760,000
- Singapore (non-profit premium, Tanglin/UWCSEA): £780,000-£980,000
- Singapore (for-profit premium): £820,000-£1,000,000+
These numbers are not optional. If you commit to international school education in a major Asian city, you are committing to one of the largest discretionary expenses your family will ever undertake. The choice of city changes the total by hundreds of thousands of pounds. The choice of school tier changes it by another hundred thousand. The choice of non-profit vs for-profit changes it by another fifty thousand.
The schools don’t make these comparisons easy to run. They publish their own fee schedules without comparison, emphasise their own quality without context, and rely on the fact that most families don’t shop systematically before committing.
In the next pieces in this pillar, we’ll look at where the alternatives actually exist, the bilingual schools and value-tier schools that British families rarely consider but often should, the curriculum economics that shape what’s worth paying for, and the demographic shift that’s quietly transforming who actually attends “international” schools across Asia.
The single most useful question, before signing anything, remains the one we established in Day 1. Who owns the school? How much does it cost over 13 years? What’s the alternative? Run those three numbers properly and the rest of the education decision becomes much clearer.