Finnway International School

Finland is recognised and envied by the rest of the world for two significant reasons. Firstly, their high-quality educational system, which has elevated them to achieve some of the highest academic results in the world. Secondly, the highest levels of happiness in the world that their children and adults enjoy. The Finnish way (Finnway) combines an academic curriculum of excellence with innovative learning engagement, where the educational process includes the happy, healthy and holistic development of the whole child. Imagine a proven school system where your child reaches exceptional academic heights, but the learning journey is one of personalised, fun, hands-on learning experiences, which makes your child excited to come to school every single day.

To provide a unique international school community, that inspires a passion for innovative teaching and learning, enabling students to successfully adapt to their rapidly changing world.

To build and support a dedicated team of exceptional educators to craft engaging, personalised, and innovative learning experiences that develop the whole child to reach their full potential within a stimulating and inspirational learning environment.

Rainbow Trout Creativity, The Harbour School was the first kindergarten in Thailand to adopt the acclaimed Finnish curriculum. The school was established by Thai owners and founders, Kanokkarn (Nae) and Pakakrit (Bank) Wasiksiri, whose vision was to build a school where their own children could benefit from a system that prioritises the joy of learning. They aimed to create a nurturing environment with well-trained, dedicated, and compassionate teachers and staff. Looking beyond traditional subjects like reading, writing, and math, students embark on an extraordinary adventure of self-discovery and exploration through engaging, collaborative, and project-based lessons. To emerge as young innovators ready to make a positive impact in our ever-changing world.

The school opened its doors under the leadership of Principal Jacqui Kuter, in April 2018, with six students.

We held our first summer camp at the school and welcomed children from the ages of 3 to 5. This was a great success and introduced the name Rainbow Trout Creativity, The Harbour School to Phuket.

We quickly doubled our intake and grew to twelve students by the start of the new academic year in August 2018.

We held a 2-day parenting conference with a guest speaker, Minna Björkman from our partners and teacher trainers, Finhow Education Ltd. Proudly members of Education Finland which is a governmental cluster programme supporting the best education providers in their growth on the international market. The programme is coordinated by the Finnish National Agency for Education.

At the start of the 2019/20 year, the school had expanded further and was able to open specific Pre-K, K1, K2, and K3 classrooms.

The benefits of the Finnish curriculum were clearly visible in the holistic progress and developing characteristics of the students. This prompted the school and parents to continue the learning journey beyond kindergarten. Our first Grade 1 group was established with students graduating from K3. The school made a small adjustment to the name and became Rainbow Trout International Kindergarten.

Our Grade 2 class opened with our graduating Grade 1 students and we reached the 80-student mark across Pre-K to G2, this growth was remarkable despite the COVID-19 Pandemic and school closures.

To accommodate growing student numbers and the addition of Grades 3 and 4, the school moved to a larger facility and rebranded as Finnway International School Phuket. The new campus opened on August 29, 2022, marking a significant step in the school's journey and reflecting its dedication to Finnish educational principles. See our staff section to meet the full management and school team.