I have ‘a home away from home’ and it's called Regents International School Pattaya by Austin, Year 13 Boarder

Having been in boarding schools in many other countries beforehand, I came to have a certain expectation of what to look forward to in a boarding school. Starting out here in Year 10, I did not think too much about a new boarding environment, I just wanted to get going with my academics and move on, probably back to Europe where I feel a sense of belonging - but that's not what happened.

Regents both as an institution of learning and a place to live grew on me slowly and by the end of the academic year, my desire to leave had decreased significantly. Initially, I was perplexed by this new development of course. I never felt a connection to boarding like this before and I had to do some inner reflection to find out what’s so different about Regents.

Midway through Year 11, I started to sense something about Regents, it was not a thought but a feeling, a sensation. After thinking about it, I came to a realization that what I sense is the feeling of family and security. Having been an international boarder for most of my post primary years, and changing schools very often,  I had not lived with my family for most of the year, having my family at home and now a boarding family was strange but very welcoming. It’s like a part of me came to life here, a feeling that I never thought I needed or particularly wanted, but once understood, made me realise boarding is special.

Thinking about it now as a Year 13 student, I believe something that makes Regents stand out is its sense of unity and community. It's not something you can see looking from the outside-in as it's an abstract concept but if you are a boarder here like me, it's easy to sense the feeling of connection within the community, regardless of nationalities, age or beliefs. This feeling can only be described as permeating the environment everywhere you go.

During the hard time of the Covid-19 outbreak, all the boarders returned to their homes. The distance away from boarding initially did not bother me since I got to see my family, but over time, it was like a part of me was missing. It’s not really a Wednesday night for me if I don’t get to play a game of football with the lads, it’s not Saturday dinner if I don’t see the GAP Staff carrying pizza for our Saturday special, it's not a normal day if the boys don’t knock on my door looking for food! It was just not normal and after a few months, I just wanted to go back to my boarding ‘home’. Soppy story aside, for the first time, I think I can genuinely say I have ‘a home away from home’ and it is called Regents International School Pattaya.