Phuket International Academy.
PIA operates as both a conventional day school and a specialist sports academy on the same campus, offering the IB Diploma at the senior level alongside IGCSE. Founded in 2009, it sits on the eastern fringe of Phuket Town, which gives it a different geographic catchment to the cluster of schools in the north-west. The sports academy track, covering football, swimming, and athletics, draws student athletes from across Thailand and the region for residential programmes.
Why PIA Day School matters for buyers.
PIA is the school Mario watches for buyers who are priced out of the Cherngtalay premium but still want an IB Diploma pathway. Phuket Town and its surrounding neighbourhoods run at a meaningfully lower price per square metre than the west coast villa belt, and PIA is the primary reason some international families anchor there. The sports academy boarding element also generates a distinct rental demand profile: parents of athletes renting short-stay accommodation during term-time competitions and events.
Communities walking or short drive from PIA Day School.
Phuket Town
Sino-Portuguese architecture, lowest entry prices, highest cultural density.
View community →
Karon
The longest beach, the most tourist beds, the steadiest cashflow.
View community →
Kata
Family beach south of Patong, quieter and increasingly undervalued.
View community →
Rawai
Where people who moved to Phuket to stay actually live.
View community →
School first, property second.
Almost every family I work with chooses the school before they choose the home. PIA Day School is one of the schools that materially shapes the property decision in Phuket. Walking-distance buyers pay a clear premium, and the rental market in the catchment reflects it.
If PIA Day School is on your short list, message me. I will tell you which areas give the best access, where the rental market actually sits, and which buildings are inside the realistic morning commute.
Mario Costa, Founder | Costa Global Capital
