3months
Settle & restore
Slowly step out of the old system of pressure, and first recover a sense of safety, physical vitality, emotional steadiness, and a basic interest in everyday life.
Phuket Island Academy
Phuket, Thailand · a one-year island program.
Let sunlight, the sea, and gentle people reawaken a child's curiosity and sense of safety.
The island campus
Bright, open, and surrounded by kindness — the place a child wants to wake up and walk into each day.
Island Academy
A one-year growth program,
built for families in educational transition.
It is not a summer camp, not a cram school, not a clinic — but a growth community that brings together the natural environment, companionship, project-based learning, emotional support and family co-learning. What we do is not to pull a child "back onto the old track", but to walk with them in an environment that fits better, where a sense of safety, interest, self-worth and the will to act can grow again.
For children like these
- · Upper-primary to middle school, with motivation fading
- · Low energy for a long time, little interest in much of anything
- · Going through a leave of absence, a transfer, or a move into international education
- · In need of a gentler, more supportive environment to rebuild steadiness and the will to act
We don't ask "what went wrong"
We ask instead: what state is the child in now, and what kind of environment can truly support them to grow again? We don't expect a child to force themselves to fit an environment that doesn't suit them. We redesign the environment, so that it first understands and holds the child, then supports them to slowly recover their strength.
Choose a term, begin a year
Each cohort is a complete one-year journey, with a clear start date.
Cohort I
Starts Sep 1
Three terms · full island year
- · On an international-school campus in Thailand
- · Eligible for international-school enrolment
- · Student visa support for the family
Start date provisional, pending official announcement.
Cohort II
Starts Oct 1
Three terms · full island year
- · On an international-school campus in Thailand
- · Eligible for international-school enrolment
- · Student visa support for the family
Start date provisional, pending official announcement.
Cohort III
Starts Nov 1
Three terms · full island year
- · On an international-school campus in Thailand
- · Eligible for international-school enrolment
- · Student visa support for the family
Start date provisional, pending official announcement.
One year, three terms
Rather than pushing a child suddenly into new pressure, the year unfolds step by step — settle and restore, then explore and rebuild, then bridge toward the next path.
3months
Explore & create
Once steadier, through varied courses, interest exploration, project work and peer collaboration, the child rediscovers their interests, abilities and ways of expression.
6months
Transition & bridge
Following the child's state, abilities, interests and the family's plans, we gradually bridge toward the next educational path — adapting to international school, preparing English and academic ability, gathering project outcomes, planning the road ahead, and a family-shared transition support.
Not "managing a child for a year", but walking with them through a process — from recovering, to rebuilding momentum, to moving on to the next stage of education.
Real learning on the island
The classroom is not bound by four walls. The sea, the jungle and gentle people are all a child's teachers — in the real world, curiosity grows on its own.
A growth ecology that keeps growing
From "I feel safe", to "I find my interests", to "I create value".
Creating safety and belonging
Morning circle, mindfulness, shared meals, community assembly, fireside talks and mentor companionship — first let the child feel: "Here I am safe and seen, and I can open up slowly."
Discovering interests and abilities
Psychological growth, drama, art-making, photography, sport, financial literacy, shared international-school classes and local exploration — through rich, real attempts, the child discovers "what I'm interested in, what I'm good at".
Turning interest into real value
Project practice, community governance, entrepreneurship, public good, creation and sharing of outcomes — in real tasks, learning to ask, collaborate and solve problems, and to take responsibility for one's own choices and actions.
Between the three rings there is also an "idea market": any child or mentor can raise an idea here, gather companions and incubate a project — a child is not only a participant, but can become an initiator and a creator.
A day at the academy
Not a schedule packed full, but a day designed around a child's own rhythm of growth.
Morning · Connect
Morning circle, mindfulness and an emotional check-in, to enter the day with steadiness.
Forenoon · Explore
Varied courses that open up interests and abilities.
Afternoon · Create
Real projects, turning ideas into action.
Evening · Reflect
Activities, evening sharing and a quiet hour, to release and integrate the day.
Eight capability coordinates · 8C
After Sir Ken Robinson — not a checklist of skills, but directions in which a person grows inward.
01
Curiosity
02
Creativity
03
Critical Thinking
04
Communication
05
Collaboration
06
Compassion
07
Composure
08
Citizenship
Island faculty
Handing your child over, the deepest fear is "handing them to just one person". On the island, four kinds of mentors hold one child together — through recovery, growth in ability and educational transition.
HEAD OF SCHOOL
Wei Wei
Trained as an anthropologist, she is used to stepping into real life to understand a person; she once built a team from nothing, making liberal education into something a child wants to come close to.
MA Anthropology, Department of Sociology, Peking University · BA Management, Sun Yat-sen University · Content Director at Zhiya, building the content team from zero to one
Full profile to follow
Growth Mentor
1:3 companionship — one mentor closely accompanies three children, looking after daily rhythm, observing their state and giving stage-by-stage feedback; the steadiest everyday support.
Emotional Mentor
Not aiming to "diagnose" a child, but within a safe relationship helping them recognise emotions, understand themselves, and develop a steadier inner strength.
Curriculum Mentor
Mostly international and cross-disciplinary teachers, using drama, art, photography, financial literacy, sport and international courses to reopen interest and expression.
Project Mentor
Leads children into PBL project-based learning, starting from real problems to develop responsibility, autonomy, creativity and collaboration.
The people who hold them
Lüdou (Tu Bin)
Curriculum mentor · Expressive arts therapy
Through drama, dance and writing, helps children let unspeakable feelings move — safely.
MA Education, Stanford · double BA in Psychology & English Literature, Peking University · dance-movement therapist
Larisa Gharakhanian
Behaviour support · Special needs
Sits with children on the autism and ADHD spectrum, reading difficult behaviour as a need not yet put into words.
MSc Applied Behaviour Analysis, University of Bangor · years of front-line SEN experience
Shanzhu (Xu Aijing)
Curriculum mentor · Children's & arts education
Through nursery rhymes and children's theatre, brings a closed-off child back to singing, playing and laughing.
Education Director, Yedishang Parent-Child Academy · founding member of Xin Theatre · author
Adam Sheridan
Interdisciplinary · Outdoor
Takes children into nature and sport, rebuilding confidence through making and doing.
MA Linguistics, Australian National University · science / PE / nature exploration
Huang Lixiang
Curriculum mentor · Drama in education
Through improv theatre, helps a child who won't speak dare to express themselves before others again.
Xiamen University · seasoned drama-in-education facilitator and Playback actor
Emily Paul
English · Psychology background
For children who move at a different pace, makes the classroom a place you're allowed to go slowly.
Psychology background · early-years and special-needs teaching, Phuket & the US
Wang Jieyi
Curriculum mentor · Story & media
Teaches children to tell their own story — turning what they've lived into a voice worth hearing.
BA Journalism, Indiana University · content creator and podcast producer
Arianne Verzo
Music & Arts
Through music and the paintbrush, gives feelings that can't be spoken a place to flow.
BA Music / Arts (cum laude) · pursuing an MFA · 5+ years teaching
Matt Christensen
English (EFL)
Uses English as a bridge, helping a child dare to speak — and be heard — again.
BSc Biology, Luther College · TEFL trainer · 1,000+ learners taught
We don't promise to fix anyone —
only this: no child faces it alone.
Small classes · no more than 15 per class · mixed-age learning — closer to real society, learning to communicate, collaborate and take responsibility amid difference.
The four goals of education
Social
Rebuild social confidence, helping a hurt child open up again.
Economic
Skills for the age of AI, and an irreplaceable creative character.
Cultural
Understanding Chinese tradition, with cross-cultural fluency and an appreciation of diversity.
Personal
Finding one's Element — turning "made to learn" into "wanting to learn".
As a child grows their strength again,
parents are also learning anew how to walk alongside.
In the first term, parents stay in Phuket to accompany their child, and take part in the growth learning of the Parents Academy — the point is not to "supervise the child", but to adapt together to a new rhythm of life, a new way of education and a new parent–child relationship. Whether to continue accompanying afterwards is assessed together, according to how the child is settling in. Only when the family environment and the learning environment change together can growth truly last.
Learn about the Parents Academy →About joining · common questions
What is the application process?+
Four steps: ① submit an enquiry → ② a one-to-one family conversation → ③ a 10-day trial (¥15,000) in Phuket → ④ once both sides agree, settle the start date and learning stage together.
What is the 10-day trial for?+
It is not an exam or assessment, but a real experience for the child and family of how the academy learns, lives and gathers as a community. The child takes full part in morning circle, exploration courses, PBL projects, sport, shared meals and mentor companionship; after ten days the mentor team and the family talk through feedback and offer a recommendation on joining.
Is there enrolment status and a student visa?+
The base is PGIS International School in Phuket, Thailand. Eligible students may, in line with Thai regulations, be assisted by PGIS with enrolment/attendance documents for a student-visa application (subject in the end to review by the consulate and immigration authorities); enrolment status and grade level are determined by PGIS under its own assessment system.
Which children fit — and which do not?+
A good fit: upper-primary to middle school, going through fading motivation / low emotional energy / a leave of absence or transition, with parents who understand the philosophy, do not expect "quick change", and are willing to take part in the Parents Academy. If a child currently needs intensive medical care, closed-setting care or round-the-clock one-to-one supervision, the academy is not the most suitable choice, and we would suggest seeking more fitting professional support first.
After the year, where does the child go?+
We do not judge success by a single standard, nor push every child toward the same exit. Depending on the child's state and the family's plans, this might mean: returning to their original school, transferring to a more suitable international/innovative school, entering an overseas education path, continuing project-based / personalised learning, or, where needed, extending the transition.
When can a child start?+
Enquiries and applications are welcome all year round. To cherish the community and peer relationships, we do not run a "join anytime" model, but bring a child in at a fitting point — so they settle in more smoothly, and the learning community stays steady.
Fees & enquiry
We put the tuition here plainly — a big decision deserves to be made with full information.
Meet us in ten real days first
10-day Trial
¥15,000 / 10 days
Not an assessment, but a chance for child and family to truly live a day at the Island Academy — morning circle, exploration courses, projects, shared meals and mentor companionship. After ten days, we judge together whether this is the right place for where your child is now.
If you decide to stay, walk the whole year
One Year · Full Island Term
¥240,000 / academic year
Covers growth-mentor companionship, courses and project learning, community life, the Parents Academy and stage-by-stage growth feedback. Tuition is paid by term, not all at once — leaving room for a family to reassess midway. Accommodation, meals, visa and insurance are subject to the formal fee statement.
We'll first understand your child and family, then decide together — no pressure, no sales.