Shrewsbury International School Bangkok Riverside has set a new benchmark with its ambitious 1.1 billion Thai baht senior school. The culmination of Project 2021 dramatically increases the provision for Science, Mathematics, Computing, Innovation, Robotics, Sixth-Form, Higher Education Counselling, Dining and Sport at Thailand’s leading independent international school. Nestled on the banks of the famed Chao Phraya River, the sleek, modern Sir David Lees Innovation Centre, incorporating the Stephen Holroyd Sixth Form Commons and the world-class Sports Performance Complex, will ensure the school and its community continue to thrive well into the future.
Named after the respected Chairman of the Board of Governors and admired UK businessman, Sir David Lees, the Innovation Centre is as impressive inside as it is to look upon. Shrewsbury students and the school’s superb teaching staff have an abundance of new creative spaces, learning environments, and facilities to enable them to extend themselves fully. Sixteen Mathematics classrooms will increase provision of a subject in which Shrewsbury students regularly achieve extraordinary outcomes. Meanwhile, the science department benefits from 18 university-standard laboratories – a dramatic boost to a faculty that regularly sends students to premier medical schools in Thailand and abroad.
In partnership with lead architect Robert Philip Holmes of City Realty Company Ltd. and DWP Architects, the Shrewsbury community has designed an incredible 17,000 sqm learning environment with space to house over 1000 Senior School-aged students. It is anticipated that these additional spaces will be in high demand by Thai and international families.
On the ground floor, a 700-seat air-conditioned dining hall greets visitors. Take an elevator to the top, and an entirely different environment emerges – the multi-level 4000 sqm Stephen Holroyd Sixth Form Commons. Here, the foundations are laid for tertiary education with Shrewsbury’s award-winning higher education team. With a café, numerous breakout spaces, and quiet, flexible working areas, all with stunning views of the magnificent Chao Phraya River, the School’s talented and dedicated students will thrive in such an inspiring environment that offers space to think and collaborate.
Supported by the Sophonpanich family and excellent governance linked to Shrewsbury School in the UK, this new development delivers new and exciting opportunities for aspirational parents, staff and students alike. There is no better example of this than the investment in new and emerging technology. Shrewsbury have elected to create four new computing suites, a robotics lab and an innovation space which will bring together elements of the computing and design technology department all under one roof. Here students will be exposed to university-like facilities and resources, expertly preparing them for the next phase in their education.
Sport at Shrewsbury is also being given an enormous boost, with the completion of an additional sports hall complete with a peerless strength and conditioning (S&C) zone. Two basketball courts have been added to the existing three in the original sports hall, giving added provision to the school’s burgeoning netball, badminton, and volleyball programmes. The school’s elite athletes, also known as ‘Team Shrewsbury’, will be particularly fond of the 80 sqm Yoga and Spin Bike rooms. However, the jewel in the crown is undoubtedly the S&C zone, which was modelled on the Powerbase concept from Loughborough University, where many of the UK’s finest Olympians and elite athletes train and develop.
Owner of Shrewsbury, Riverside, Khun Chali Sophonpanich, rightly believes that the Sir David Lees Innovation Centre, the Stephen Holroyd Sixth Form Commons and the adjacent Sports Performance Complex are places students will discover, develop and prosper in their learning journeys. “We are proud to be delivering two wonderful buildings that, for years to come, will continue to offer Shrewsbury students a chance to find and fulfil their potential – particularly in the sciences, mathematics, computing and sport - and ultimately to secure places at world-leading universities of their choice,” he commented.
Principal Chris Seal echoed K. Sophonpanich’s sentiments and gave thanks to the whole school community for its input to this fantastic new facility. “Shrewsbury Riverside is built on aspiration. The Sophonpanich family and the governing body showed foresight and ambition in launching this project before my appointment. I have thoroughly enjoyed bringing it to fruition and look forward to seeing the impact of these amazing spaces on our young people and their learning,” he states emphatically.
With Project 2021 now at an end, the school looks toward its new goal: Towards 2026. Plans are already underway which will see further developments in the remainder of the senior school departments (including a new world-class art facility by Christmas 2021) and renewal of the prep and pre-prep buildings.
This ongoing development at Riverside, coupled with the beautiful, age-specific Shrewsbury City Campus in Rama 9, further guarantees Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok’s position at the very pinnacle of international education in Thailand.
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