Moving with Family: International Schools & Child-Friendly Living

Siem Reap is an increasingly practical place to raise a family, but the school landscape is small and moves quickly, so the first rule for parents is this: verify every detail directly with the school you are considering, in person or by email, before you commit. Fee tables and curriculum summaries on the open web — including some widely copied ones — are frequently years out of date, and a figure from 2014 is not a plan. This article sets out what is verifiable today, what to ask, and how to build your own checklist.

International schools you can verify

International School of Siem Reap (ISSR) operates two campuses and, on its own website, provides Cambridge International Education while adhering to Cambodia's Ministry of Education guidelines. It runs a Day Care Centre, a Primary School and a Secondary School. Its admissions page explains that enrolment is initially based on age and that every new student must complete assessments in English, Mathematics and Science, and it lists required documents including school reports, photographs of the child and parents, a passport copy, a birth certificate and a vaccination record. It publishes its exam-fee structure (for example, Cambridge Checkpoint and IGCSE exam fees) and payment options, with separate contact lines for the day-care, primary and secondary campuses.

Lycée Français International Norodom Monineath Sihanouk is the French international school and the successor to École Française de Siem Reap. Its own site links it to the AEFE network (the French agency for French education abroad) and describes a French national curriculum from nursery through kindergarten, elementary, junior secondary and senior secondary, taught in French, English and Khmer. It publishes an admission form and a pre-registration form.

Other schools exist. Tree House International School is often named, but its website was not reachable for verification at the time of writing, so we are not quoting its fees or curriculum here. Several international kindergartens and nurseries also operate, including ISSR's Day Care Centre.

Curriculum and accreditation: what to ask

The two clearly verifiable international curricula are Cambridge (at ISSR) and the French national curriculum (at the Lycée Français). Accreditation and licence details are where you should press hardest:

• Which curriculum does the school actually follow, and is it a registered exam centre for that curriculum?
• Is the school licensed by Cambodia's Ministry of Education, and can it show you the registration?
• What do the school's accreditation claims mean in practice, and who issues them?
• Where do graduates go on to study?

Ask for answers in writing. A confident verbal answer is not the same as a document.

Fees: why we are not printing a table

Published fee figures for Siem Reap schools vary widely by year and by key stage, and many online tables are outdated or come from secondary directories. We deliberately do not reproduce them, because presenting a stale number as current would mislead you. Instead: request the current fee schedule from each school directly, and ask specifically about one-time registration or enrolment fees, annual fees, exam fees, English-language support charges, lunch, and after-school care. ISSR's own admissions page, for example, sets out exam-fee and payment-option details you can use as a template for what to ask.

The admissions process, in general

Most schools here follow a similar shape:

1. Enquiry and a campus visit.
2. An application form with documents — typically passport copy, birth certificate, previous school reports, photographs and a vaccination record.
3. An assessment or placement interview; for older students, subject assessments.
4. An offer and a place confirmation, usually with a registration fee.
5. Placement within a year group, which international schools usually align to age.

Start this months before you move. Places, especially in the right year group, are finite.

Childcare and day care

ISSR runs a Day Care Centre for young children, following the English Early Years Foundation Stage, and a number of bilingual nurseries and preschools operate across the city. Nannies are also widely available and commonly used. Whichever you choose, visit in person, ask about staff-to-child ratios, first-aid training and pickup security, and — the question parents most often forget — what happens if a child becomes sick or hurt during the day.

Health care for children

Angkor Hospital for Children is a children's hospital based in Siem Reap with specialist and intensive-care facilities for children, and Royal Angkor International Hospital lists a Children's Health centre; our healthcare guide covers the wider picture. For families specifically: confirm your insurance covers children and any pre-existing conditions, keep vaccination records accessible, and know where you would go at night.

Getting around safely with children

Scooters are common, but road-safety organisations report that helmets are compulsory in Cambodia for riders and passengers, including young children, and the driver may be held responsible for passengers not wearing one. If you use a school bus or a driver, check the vehicle and the driver's licence, and always use child-appropriate helmets on a motorbike. Traffic is the single biggest risk to children here, so treat transport decisions seriously — see our guide to getting around.

A research checklist for parents

• Contact two or three schools; ask for current fee schedules and a campus visit.
• Confirm curriculum, exam-centre status and ministry licence, in writing.
• Ask about English-language support and how new students are settled in.
• Visit any childcare provider in person and ask about ratios and illness policy.
• Check that your health insurance covers your children, and identify local paediatric options.
• Plan transport: school bus, a trusted driver, or helmets for everyone on a scooter.
• Budget for one-time fees, not just annual tuition.

A note about VillageLife

VillageLife is a project in development in Siem Reap, and this article is general information about the city, not an offer to families. VillageLife does not offer family accommodation and does not accept children; it has no such approved policy. Memberships and crowdfunding are not open. If you are moving with a family, the decisions above rest with you and the schools — not with us.