Have you ever wondered what life would be like studying overseas at a young age? Leila Soontornvinate, daughter a famous TV host – Wittawat Soontornvinate, shares her story of living in her “second home”.


The first day at school
“At first I cried a lot. I was 14 years old when I left Mater Dei and started at Ascham, a reputable boarding school in Sydney, Australia. I remember feeling homesick at first but things got better after I made friends and settled into the school environment”, Leila said.


Life on board
Studying in a boarding school, Leila said she learnt to manage her own life and cope with problems as they arose. Ascham takes great care of students and helps them to acquire life skills including teaching students to plan, structuring their thinking, integrating, communicating. Leila added that “the school is very supportive. The teachers identify your special skills and encourage you to apply your expertise to related activities to further develop yourself”. She said that the boarding school experience made her grow up and become a mature adult.

Looking back
From Ascham, Leila decided to stay in Australia so she undertook a Bachelor degree in Industrial Design then a Master of Finance both from the University of New South Wales. After graduation, Leila returned to Thailand to work as a Creative Assistant for 2020 Entertainment Company. Looking back on her school years, she said that there are many things that seemed big at that time but are now really small issues. “All good and hard times are valuable as they prepare you for the real world. Australia is comfortable to live in and its people are friendly and open-minded”, she said.

Words from father

Wittawat Soontornvinate said from his own experience of living, studying, and working in Australia that the country to him is a place to “train for life”. “The education is of good quality and has helped to build good futures for my kids”, he said.  The Australian curriculum encourages and facilitates students to think and have a breadth of knowledge, not to memorise. “For a subject like history, my daughter had to analyse the past, think about how it could have been improved”, he explained. Wittawat’s suggestion to other parents is “when you and your children are ready financially and emotionally, give your children an overseas school education which will allow them to have a strong foundation of knowledge and language skill to achieve their future goals”. 

There are several public and private schools in Australia which support individual student interests. For examples, New South Wales government schools like Balilna High school has a Marine Discovery and Resource Centre and the Hill Sports High school features sport targeted programs which are delivered under the direction of nationally accredited coaches. St Paul’s school in Queensland offers a creative, dynamic learning environment with supportive learning facilities such as a golf driving range, music facility and recording studio, and science laboratories, supporting children to develop their unique potential.