CLASS OF 2021 EARN EARLY OFFERS TO TOP UNIVERSITIES

Graduating students from Shrewsbury International School Bangkok, Riverside will yet again be attending the finest universities in the UK, USA, Thailand and across the World thanks to a number of early offers received over the last few weeks. 

Over 300 offers from world-leading institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge, Cornell, Stanford and UPenn have already been secured, with an incredible 1 in 7 graduating students booking their place at medical school. With a large number applications still in process, the Class of 2021 are set to continue Shrewsbury’s unrivaled track record for top university placements and further strengthen its reputation as Thailand’s most successful international school.

For the third year in succession, Stanford University - California’s technology and innovation powerhouse, with a notoriously low student acceptance rate (under 5%) - appears in the list of early offers. Art Scholar Bhumikorn (Bhu) Kongtaveelert, who is currently completing A levels in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics, is excited by the prospect of developing his practical design skills  to complement his long-held passion for aesthetics within Stanford’s Product Design programme.

2021 sees two more students celebrate offers from the University of Cambridge, continuing a long unbroken run of offers to one of the world’s finest  universities. Tanai (Prompt) Chotanaphuti has been offered a much sought-after position to study medicine at Gonville and Caius College, taking advice from 2017 alumnus, Earth, who is in the fourth year of his medical degree. Meanwhile, Tamisa (Tuang) Ketmalasiri achieves an offer to Fitzwilliam College to study Computer Science – a subject with a heavy mathematical component. Both students are excited to embrace English culture and feel at home in one of the world’s finest tertiary providers.

Above: Prompt (back row, fourth from left) is amongst 14 Class of 2021 students to have so far secured places at medical school

There are three offers from the University of Oxford too; Petra Pongsudhirak who joined Shrewsbury in Year 7,  Thien Udomsrirungruang, who started in Shrewsbury’s Early Years, and Class of 2020 Lucy Chen, who successfully re-applied to Oxford this year to read History of Art. Petra has earned the chance to follow her passion for ‘green’ Chemistry at St Hugh’s, while Thien earns an offer to Keble College to study Computer Science. Both students are active in their extra and co-curricular exploits with Petra, a keen Volleyball player and Thien, a competitive mathematician and computational thinker. These activities have kept them grounded throughout their studies and the application process.  

Above: all rounder, Petra

Director of Higher Education (HE) and part of Shrewsbury’s award-winning HE team, Ms Joanne Fretwell, says this is an exciting time of year for students who are now looking forward to embarking on a brand new journey beyond Shrewsbury.

“We are extremely proud of our students who have achieved their dream university places around the world, in Thailand, the UK, the US and beyond. As a team [of five Higher Education advisors], it is an enormous privilege to work with such talented young people; they inspire us with their passion and enthusiasm for learning above and beyond the curriculum. We wish them all well with their next steps and look forward to hearing about their future successes”.

Another student that we’re sure to hear more from in the future is guitarist, Music Scholar and future Berklee College of Music Student, Mate (Matthew) Prompatanapak. In his 15th year at the school, Matthew is looking forward to heading to Boston and the vibrant musical scene at Berklee, where has also been offered a scholarship. He will be joined in Boston by Mia Fomiatti, who after joining Shrewsbury as a Sixth Form entrant (Year 12) achieves her dream of studying Clinical Psychology at Boston University.  Applying to a US college is not a common choice for Australian nationals, but benefiting from the advice of US university counsellor, Ms Angela Dunham (one of two full-time US specialists at Shrewsbury) – Mia took the leap and was rewarded with a place at one of the world’s best psychology departments.

Above: Matthew earns a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, Boston

Early offers to Ivy League schools are always a huge cause to celebrate, and for two of Shrewsbury’s Year 13s, that is precisely what they will be doing. Rarinsri (Pin) Assakul repeats the achievement of Class of 2020 alumni, Patorn and Maywa with her offer from Cornell, while Deputy Head of School, Karit (Teddy) Thepsutha, emulates another Class of 2020 graduate Derya, with his offer from The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). Both students are looking forward to the full freshman experience at these world-renowned universities and hope that the COVID-19 pandemic has abated sufficiently to allow travel to the USA.

Closer to home, but equally prestigious, at least 13 Shrewsbury students will attend Universities around Thailand to study medicine – an area of significant expertise at Shrewsbury. With a number of the programmes incorporating a portion of study held in England, Shrewsbury’s potential doctors will be assured to gain immeasurably from the overseas experience as well.

The students’ dedication, attention to detail and hard work are considerable factors in yet another successful year of early offers. However, recognition must also go to teachers, tutors and Higher Education specialists that guide, cajole, encourage and advocate for Shrewsbury students during the application process and long before.

Above: Shrewsbury's award-winning team of Higher Education specialists

Ms Rachael Walker, UK HE specialist and Head of Year 13, says the students at Shrewsbury make the job more straightforward due to their determination and a never-ending drive to succeed.

“I remain in awe at the resilience shown by our students, who have collectively listened to advice and applied to outstanding global institutions that are the best fit for them. I am also confident that when they take these incredible offers up, their drive and commitment for academic success will enable them to thrive at university and beyond; we very much look forward to following their journeys beyond Shrewsbury” Ms Walker insisted.

With hundreds of applications still in process, the Shrewsbury community can be assured of ongoing success for the Class of 2021.  And with future generations set to benefit from 1.1bn THB investment in STEM learning, Higher Education and Sport from August onward, we can expect that trend to continue for many years to come.

Congratulations to all students with fantastic Early Offers, we look forward to more news from the Class of 2021 very shortly. 

Read their stories and book a tour at: 

https://www.shrewsbury.ac.th/riverside/academic/higher-education/university-offers-2021