>“I had probably the best and most rewarding 3 months of my life volunteering…”  Peter E., U.K.

>“I have had two fabulous weeks being looked after so well by the teachers at B..W…P… school (I mean it those guys are truly incredible and deserve to get volunteers !!!!)…

  The whole experience has been exactly what i needed in order to explore my powers of selflessness once more and well i feel strong and refreshed and grateful for all i have back home. I think this has been for me an amazing learning curve and I think that this experience will also succesfully help me make some much needed changes to my lifestyle and my way of thinking at times…”   Wilhelmenia E., U.K. 

>“It’s hard to write this review without sounding cheesy so I’m not going to try.  My time at T…School was the most rewarding and greatest achievement of my life. I absolutely loved every second of it. Obviously the arrival was terrifying as I am sure it was with those before me. However you are soon made to feel as if you were at home.

The teachers did all they could to ensure I was well fed, watered and looked after. They would also do their utmost to resolve any confusion flowing around my head. They were truly fantastic and over the five months that I was there I made great friends that I will never forget.

The children are obviously the most important part of the volunteering and they make it a wonderful experience. They are all so playful and willing to learn. They put our over privileged cheeky little brats of England to shame. There is not one malicious bone in any of their bodies. They are fantastic to be around and a joy to teach. As I’m sure many of you have read already, the more you put in the more you get back…”  Jason S., U. K. 

>“The experience and opportunity to teach children a language that comes as my natural tongue, while seeing the untouched un-commercialized areas of Thailand, which has not been seen by the average tourist to Thailand, is a true privilege.

On first arriving at the school it was made very plain by the children and teachers, that they felt having me here was a privilege of their own. A delightful experience in itself. The children with gleaming smiles, and the teachers just as welcoming. This surely is the real Thailand which is much neglected by the thousands that travel to Thailand each year and only see the normal tourist areas. Teaching is something I have never even considered before nor had any previous experience, but it has come so very naturally. The best advise I was given from the start was from D.  "you are the best English speaking person the kids will meet." This is apparent on arrival and fills you with instant confidence when stood in front of a class of children. The classes are not as I know them from home with 30+ in a class the most in a class here is 14 which makes it much more manageable for someone with no obvious teaching skills as my self, the children are all desperate to learn, which is a win/win situation."

Joe B., U. K.

>“I am really enjoying my time at B…D… school. The teachers really take care of us and the students are great! I think we have taught them a lot and helped them to improve their English, especially their pronunciation. The pupils now seem to really enjoy and have fun speaking English. I have also become good friends with the other volunteers. We have undertaken some excursions together, for example to Chiang Mai and Mae Salong and have seen a lot of northern Thailand…”  Anje B., Germany. 

>“I wanted to thank you for arranging my placement at the school in S…Y…  The teachers are very friendly and made me feel welcome there and I really enjoyed teaching the children and mixing with them. I got to learn about their backgrounds as well as their aims and hopes for the future. The behavior of the children is a lot different to the UK and I didn't really have any problems with controlling the class…”  Karl D., U. K. 

>“If you’re coming to Thailand to teach, you’ll have an amazing time, no matter how short the time you're there for. The headmaster at our school was also fantastic - so passionate about teaching and learning, in particular the English language. He would always be there when we needed him for booking weekend guest houses, driving us into town, or translating concepts which were difficult to explain to the children using only hand gestures! Between the wonderful children, the staff who were friendly and generous, and the residents in the village who made us all feel completely welcome, our stay in Chiang Rai was nothing short of incredible.

D. and S.  were entirely dependable as well - checking up on us regularly and even inviting us round to spend the day together while S.  was up in Chiang Mai. We always felt secure and well looked after… If our experience is anything to go by you'll remember your time there forever. “

Nikki and Dave, U. K.

>“The four of us are having a wonderful time up north. Seen so much and the school is lovely. The children are great fun and have been very helpful towards helping us to improve areas of our accommodation (looks great now!)   The Director has been fantastic in helping us to settle in…”  Sammy A., U. K. 

>“We are having an amazing time out here in the volunteer school!
The kids are all so lovely and so eager to learn! We have been made feel right at home by everyone within the school!..  Thank you for placing us in such a wonderful school…”  Hayley S., U. K. 

>”When I left for Bangkok it was my first time on a plane by myself. (I was Shitting my self). I did not know what to expect.  Is any one going to meet me at the airport, am I actually going to get to teach? 
 
Then my story in Thailand Began.
 
After safely being picked up at the airport.....
 
..I met D.  at stupid o'clock in the morning, and you could not ask for a nicer person to meet after being awake for 36 hours and the sun was rising.
 
I felt safe and I new that this thing was real "OH SHIT!! I have to teach Thai children how to speak English."
 
All I wanted to do was to Teach in a school down in the South of Thailand, but D.  knew to send me to M. School, a couple of hours north of Bangkok. When I arrived I was very happy immediately I could not stop smiling the kids were amazing.
These Children have characters that put a smile on your face Almost! every day. I was teaching at the same school for just over 2 months and you truly become connected with these individuals.
 
I came to Thailand on a spiritual journey and working with D.  and S. and their amazing team work gave the greatest foot hold to help me on my journey.
 
This adventure would not have been made possible if it was not for the amazing children, the experiences that took place, the people I met, the fun I had and most of all the hard work, commitment and passion that S. and D. put into making all this possible."
 
Nicholas Jon V., U. K.

>“…My weeks spent in Thailand were up there in the top best moments of my life. I had an incredible time.

I arrived in Thailand from India, after spending a month travelling and volunteering.

I was knackered from my night flight and given a room and water as soon as I got to the volunteer house and left to sleep. D.  and S.  run the teaching program. I admire them hugely for the amazing improvement they are making to English education across Thailand. S.  was away at a school and D.  gave a kind of intro to teaching English. I was really nervous about running classes having never, like most people who do this, done teaching in my life. Having to practice talking slowly and clearly to D.   is a little embarrassing shall we say but his talk gives such good pointers…”

Vicky H., U. K.

>“We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here and the hospitality of all the teachers and students have been amazing.  Hopefully there will be an opportunity to do something like this again in the future.  English camp was legendary and I hope the teaching week will also be equally as good if not better.  Thank you for sorting everything out for us, and with any luck we will be able to see you before we go next week so we can say goodbye in person…”

Jon and Laura, U. K.

>”I don't really know what to say or where to start, Thailand has left me speechless! When I first arrived I was so nervous about being in another country and teaching English without a lot of knowledge of what I really needed to do. There were many times in that first day when I thought to myself I just want to go home! But I am so happy that I stayed!

The people of the town are so lovely and welcomed us equally as much as the school had. They really do make you feel like a celebrity, so so special! The people at and around the school really did make my experience. We lived in a treehouse which was so amazing and really added to that rural experience. I thought that the teaching side of it and roughing it up would be my least favorite part of it, but I can honestly say it made my entire trip. The children really did change my perspective on things, they were all adorable!
If you get the chance to attend an English camp when you are in Thailand, it is a must. You get the chance to meet other volunteers, of which I made some really good friends and had an awesome time. You also get the chance to sing the YMCA over and over again which is brilliant. Although I can't honestly say that the children learn loads of English this way but it gives them an environment to open up and try speaking English with others providing a platform for them to hopefully develop their English in the future. It's a pleasure to see the smiles on their faces throughout the day!

The hardest and only negative thing I have to say is when you have to say goodbye to them children. I poured my eyes out! It was the hardest thing of the whole trip. You really do grow to love the children and their whole culture. I have only been home 5 days and miss Thailand so much! “

Annie H., U. K.

>“As cliché an opening to this review is I just don’t know where to even begin summing up my time at this school!  One thing you should take from reading all of these is the consistency of what’s being said.  Therefore if you are sitting reading this a bit scared and apprehensive, then let me put your mind at ease. 

I’m not an English teacher.  I have no English degree or qualifications and I slightly doubted myself prior to arriving.  Sitting here now I can tell you all that worrying was for nothing as the one quality you have they don’t is a native tongue—and that is all you need!

The children are magic!  They put English children to shame and will blow you away with their energy, intellect, passion for learning and mostly their ability to make you smile.  They make you realize all of the “problems” and “issues” you deal with back home are insignificant when you see how little they have in terms of wealth, but what they lack in material items, they make up for in love, friendship and a passion for life. 

I consider myself in touch with my emotions.  I can sit through many sad stories of love and war and not shed a tear but leaving the children?  Heartbreaking!  Truly indescribable!  Seeing their faces as they beg you not to leave them while they are crying was the hardest thing.  Be prepared the longer you stay, the more you will cry!..  I will wrap this up by saying that this has been the most rewarding, incredible and most significant chapter in my life to date.”

Justin G., U. K. 

>”…Thankyou very much for the effort that you put in for the Kanchanaburri English summer camp both Jenna and I had a great time and really enjoyed it as well as feeling very welcomed from the teachers at the school and the children being very friendly! it was also great to have a few days extra to go see the waterfall properly and enjoy what Erewan falls has to offer.” 

Ryan and Jenna, U. K. 

>”This e-mail is for the new recruits that are volunteering. Hello there my name is Ryan I came to Thailand almost 3 months ago now. At first I thought I would only be volunteering 1 month at most but after I found my placement it was like my placement found me! The teachers and children were thrilled to have me. I'm sure that if u haven't done this before like me you are sitting on the coach worried and confused wondering what's going to happen next ? Rest assured you are doing a wonderful thing and please don't hesitate to call on D.  or S.  for anything they have all the answers and are properly the most decent people I have had the pleasure to meet. They can help you with anything.  The best thing about all this is now that I am leaving I feel I have bettered myself in a lot of ways and the feeling you get when the kids fully understand what you are telling them is amazing truly magical! I would wish u luck my friend but u will not need it the hard part is over if your reading this, Have a great time!"

Ryan P., U. K.

“Hiya,  everything is great. Chiang Mai is beautiful. The school is brilliant. The teachers are all very friendly and the students are completely mental. ha. having a really good time.”

Jason U., U. K. 

>”Just thought I would send you guys an email letting you know how things went.
I have had a very good time, the kids were lovely, and the school itself and the accommodation were fine.    

The kids were always dragging us left right and centre do play games, read them a story, or try to teach us Thai, which was kind of the opposite of what we were supposed to be doing, ha ha.
Great evening games of football, spent one weekend at the village, and the kids showed us around, we had the little girls on Saturday, and went to the waterfall with the boys on the Sunday...

On my last day the director asked to talk and thanked us very much. She said she had noticed the kids being more confident about speaking English. She thinks that the simple things like hello, good morning, how are you, most kids already knew, but were not confident using it, and didn’t have many English speakers to talk to anyway. She reckons that in the past few weeks she has noticed the kids using their English a bit more, so that was nice to hear. Was not expecting to make a massive difference in such a short time (especially when the kids are kicking a ball around most of the time, ha ha) so it is nice to think that I have made at least a small difference.”
  
Mike R. U. K.

>”Expressing the extent of my enjoyment I have experienced on a daily basis during my time teaching in Thailand would be, quite simply, impossible. I have now taught at two schools and have on both occasions been met with both wonderful staff and children who are ever eager to make one's stay as comfortable and exciting as possible. As for D.  and S.   I have had my every need catered for, especially in regards to travel. Further to this I have numerous times called S. with  many questions and so forth and she has always had the time to answer said questions and to thus point me in the right direction. It has been a truly wonderful experience…”

Edward A., U. K.

>“I have enjoyed my teaching here and will DEFINITELY be coming back to Thailand whether it be a holiday, backpacking or maybe in the future a job and living here. Teaching has changed my entire outlook in what I wanted from this experience, firstly I was looking into returning and going into catering I now will be going back and decided to enroll at Uni (again) and studying teaching.
 
To be honest I've been pretty unhappy in the UK for the last 2 years knowing there was something out there for me and the last 3 weeks have been the happiest I've been in a long time. I have been thinking this through all week and am still wondering if I am making the right decision, do I go back to England and it turn out to be nothing? or do I stay and it get worse?? Like I said I've not been this happy in a long time so this is why its such a hard decision to make.
 
All I can say is thank you for giving me this opportunity, I will never forget it…”

Jason K., U. K.

>“The students and teachers could not be more welcoming and appreciative! Generally we taught 3 hours a day but were in school from 8am-3.30pm

We lived onsite in a lovely little room with a fridge.

We spent spare time playing badminton with the children/cycling to 'small Tesco'!. At the weekends we were lucky enough to be taken to Ayutthaya to see elephants and a floating market. We also were treated to many delicious meals! The people in the village are very friendly and we felt very looked after and safe the whole time. 

It was such an amazing experience and we will never forget the generosity of the people. We learnt so much so try not to panic and just enjoy everything!

D. and S.  were on hand throughout and helped us a lot with our travel after the teaching.”

Lauren and Becky, U. K.

>“Chiang Rai.  What can I say about a place that has given me so many amazing memories and has literally changed my life.  It is hard to express into words what this experience has given me.  The School and the children are amazing they will give themselves fully to you engulfing you into their lives and culture.  The children have a unique quality of wanting to learn, grasping each second with you.  They are so responsive to what you are teaching, eager to learn.  Their energy is absorbing it is hard not be excited and it compels you to teach.  Everyday was a surreal time being a novice teacher and in a different country.  I expected to be challenging, but the atmosphere of the school made it easy.  The only advice I can give is, enjoy the moment go with the flow, relax, introduce your own ideas, make it enjoyable the rest will fall into place automatically.”

John P., U. K. 

>”I love everything about this place, the children, the school, the teachers and the village.  I am genuinely extremely saddened to have to leave so soon.  I wish I could stay longer and intend to return next year for more fun!..

 I have some amazing friends, including the teachers and now have many more “sisters.”  Every single one, the teachers and students have a special place in my heart.  They have changed my perspective on life greatly and I will miss them so much!..

The village is a truly beautiful place, I am truly grateful for having such an experience and really do love everybody too much.

I think I may be crazier now than I was before.  England won’t know what’s hit it!

Thank you for the beautiful memories!  I will return!”

Sinead P., U. K.

>“I had never pictured myself as a teacher and didn’t for a second dream I’d be any good at it.  But hey!  The world is full of surprises.  Not only did I enjoy every second in the classroom (to the point we were teaching in the break times!); I definitely feel I gained something from the time I spent at the school.  How appalling is the average kid’s attitude to a free education back home? 

We take far too many things for granted.  I wish more people realized that.  I shall be sending more volunteers this way!”

Rex W., Hong Kong