> IN THIS SECTION
Early Years Programme
At UWC Thailand, our Early Years Programme (EYP) is where curiosity, play, and discovery lay the foundations for a lifelong love of learning.
Guided by the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, our youngest learners grow through play, discovery, and caring relationships.
At this age, learning is not about worksheets — it’s about climbing, painting, building, imagining, and asking “why?” We nurture the whole child — physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual — so they can thrive as confident, curious learners.
We welcome children from the age of two into our Mini Mantas (Junior and Senior Pre-K) and Kindergarten classes. And with rolling admissions, children can join as soon as they turn two — at any time of the year.
Learning Through Inquiry
In the Early Years at UWC Thailand, learning happens through Units of Inquiry — big ideas that spark children’s curiosity and guide them to explore the world. Each unit connects to a central theme (like Who We Are or How the World Works) and is designed to be meaningful and engaging for young learners.
For our Mini Mantas and Kindergarten students, this might mean: exploring what it means to be part of a community, discovering how celebrations bring people together, investigating how movement helps us understand the world, asking where our food comes from and how we care for nature.
Rather than teaching subjects in isolation, each Unit of Inquiry weaves together language, mathematics, science, art, and personal development in playful, hands-on ways — helping children make connections, share ideas, and see themselves as capable learners.
“When our Pre-K students noticed there were no swings in one playground, they didn’t just ask for them — they organised, built, and tested their own tire swings for everyone to enjoy.”
Hands-On Learning
At UWC Thailand, we believe that children are capable and curious learners who — when given the opportunity — will act with agency to naturally question how the world works around them and test their theories through playful inquiry and research. Following the principles of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, we construct learning opportunities and provocations that are hands-on, authentic and developmentally appropriate.
Through play, children actively construct meaning from their interactions with their physical and social worlds. It is our belief that building opportunities for agency and self-efficacy are fundamental to learning; at UWC Thailand children of all ages are given voice, choice and ownership over their learning. You will see students of all ages negotiating, problem-solving, being creative and contributing to our UWC Thailand family in their own passionate ways. Even our youngest students know they have agency over their learning and have been known to take meaningful action around campus.
In the past we have seen a variety of forms of action including students advocating for and physically setting up tire swings on various playgrounds for all to enjoy, re-organising our recycling center, creating kindness campaigns, teaching each other phrases in different languages to making others feel welcome to seeking ways to take care of the bugs and insects on our outdoor campus.
