American Pacific International School

In Brief

APIS suits families who want a full IB continuum with the option to board - the only school in Chiang Mai that combines a residential programme with IB from Nursery through Diploma. If your child is a day student and you live in the city, you need to decide early which campus makes sense; the Primary Campus is convenient, the Main Campus is not.

APIS runs IB PYP, MYP and DP across two campuses, with boarding at the Main Campus in the Samoeng hills - a combination that attracts families on regional postings who need an internationally recognised pathway and the option for residential life. The Primary Campus near Mae Hia Market covers Nursery to Grade 5 in the city; the Main Boarding Campus runs Grades 5-12 in Samoeng, about 35-40 minutes from central Chiang Mai. Across both campuses, about 400 students from 20+ nationalities are enrolled.

Day students at the Primary Campus get short commutes from most city neighbourhoods, with a pool and playground on site. The Main Campus is a different school experience: mountain setting, residential life programme, IB senior school, and a community that multiple families describe as having a genuine family feel - some have been at APIS for more than 20 years across generations.

The two-campus model creates practical complexity: Grade 5-6 families need to actively choose which campus, and the move to Samoeng means buying into the boarding or long-commute model. Day fees are published; boarding fees require direct contact with the school. Confirm boarding costs, current class sizes and DP mean scores at any campus visit.