Niva International School


Niva American International School is a privately owned coeducational school located in Bang Kapi District, Bangkok, Thailand. Niva IS is a K-12 school with approximately 500 students from over 25 different countries. The international school was founded in 1991. It uses a North American curriculum as its academic foundation while also incorporating selected international curricula for its culturally diverse students. The school groups its educational levels into nursery, kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school levels. Teachers come from Asia, America, Australia, Africa, and Thailand. Niva celebrated its 25-year anniversary in 2016.

History

Construction

Niva was founded in 1991 as Niva Overseas School, a private study center catering to overseas students who wanted to prepare and sit for the International General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations. In 1999, Niva International Kindergarten was built to accommodate to the younger siblings of the students of NOS. By the end of 2001, the combined enrollment at NOS and NIK had reached 250 students. Therefore, the decision was made to purchase the land where the current school now stands. The first building and its facilities were completed in July 2002. Some of its facilities were a basketball court, a volleyball court, a football field, an auditorium, and equipped science labs. Niva International School opened on August 5, 2002.
The construction of the school's second building was completed in 2011, along with renovations of the first building. Additional renovations to the school include the construction of a swimming pool and an indoor sports hall and expansion of the library.

Curriculum

Originally a British curriculum school, Niva first offered private studies to overseas students who wanted to sit for the International General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations, though in time, it expanded to include younger students. Over time, it incorporated American and other international elements in its program. In 2004, the Thai Ministry of Education approved the school's American curriculum from Kindergarten through grade 12, allowing its students to follow an American/International path to graduation. All subjects at Niva IS, with the exception of Thai, Chinese and modern languages, are taught in the English language.

The Name Niva

The name Niva was chosen as a combination of the first two letters in the names Nicholas and Vanisara, the children of the school's founders. Niva also acts as an acronym meaning "Nurturing, Innovative, Virtuous and Achieving. "