I am delighted to share and celebrate the university destinations and achievements of our Graduating Class of 2026.
The Numbers, First
Grad’26 received 657 university offers across 19 countries. Of those, 358 came from institutions ranked in the Global Top 100 (by QS, Times Higher Education, and US News & World Report). Our Russell Group offers, the benchmark for the UK’s most prestigious research universities, rose from 120 to 228 in a single year. Eighty-seven percent of students received an offer from their first or second choice institution.
The spread of destinations has also widened considerably. One of the most interesting aspects of university destinations is how they evolve from year to year, often reflecting wider global trends and external factors that influence where students choose to study. This year, we have seen a slight shift from the United States, with the United Kingdom becoming the most popular destination. Canada offers nearly doubled year on year, with students gaining places at the University of Toronto, McGill,and the University of British Columbia, all ranked in the global top 50. The United States remains a popular destination, with 187 offers, including places at UC Berkeley (ranked 6th in the world), Brown University, Northwestern, and Johns Hopkins. Across the Atlantic, UCL offers rose from 5 to 27, while students received eight offers from Imperial College London this year.
Twenty-five percent of our cohort applied to three or more countries, with one student applying to six. A Patana education opens up a world of opportunity for our students, and that breadth of ambition reflects exactly what we hope to inspire.
Excellence at the Highest level
Among this cohort are stories that genuinely stop you in your tracks.
One of our students has secured a place to read Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Oxford. Over the years leading up to that offer, they competed in over 50 mathematics competition rounds across more than 30 events, earned a Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, and founded two social impact initiatives, both of which received the International Baccalaureate’s Global Youth Action Fund’s top grant of US$3,000. By the time their application was submitted, they had spent years building the life of someone who belongs there.
Another student achieved a perfect IB score of 45 points, the maximum possible, and is heading to the National University of Singapore. One student received an offer from Johns Hopkins to study Biophysics. Another will read at the London School of Economics. Two students will take up places at Imperial College London to study Molecular Bioengineering, one of them with 41 IB points.
And then there is the student heading to the Joint International Psychology Programme, a dual degree between Chulalongkorn University and the University of Queensland, spending two years in Thailand and two in Australia. Having served as Well-being Ambassador since Year 11, with a future goal of becoming a clinical psychologist, their destination grew naturally from years of purpose-driven choices, each one quietly pointing in the same direction.
The Full Picture: Breadth is a Strength
Some of the most exciting destinations in this cohort are the ones that reflect exactly who a student is and where they want their life to go, and they are every bit as impressive as any league table placement.
A student is heading to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology to complete a Bachelor of Flying. Another will study International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response at the University of Manchester, a course that speaks volumes about their sense of purpose. One student chose Oceanography and Biology at the University of Washington, Seattle. Another is reading Motorsports Engineering at Purdue, a competitive race car driver and self-taught photographer whose application told a story no one else could tell. A student beginning Medicine at Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, will walk the wards of one of Southeast Asia’s finest institutions. Another will study Criminology at Liverpool, another Global and Interdisciplinary Studies at Hosei University in Japan, and another still Music Composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
The best university is always the right university, for that student, for that subject, for that future. Our job is to help them find that match, and our team does this exceptionally well.
Our IBCP students
All of our IB Career-related Programme students received strong offers this cycle. They are heading into fields as varied as animation, fashion, acting, the creative arts, and primary teaching. Some are entering highly competitive arts institutions, one with a significant scholarship and one stepping into the classroom with a full Qualified Teacher Status degree.
The IBCP was designed for students with clear creative or vocational ambitions, and this cohort has shown exactly what the programme can achieve. Each of these young people followed their pathway with purpose and conviction, and the destinations they have earned speak for themselves.
How We Get There
University preparation at Bangkok Patana begins long before the Year 13 application window opens.
In Year 7, our well-being curriculum asks students to think about who they want to be and how they want to feel, planting the roots of self-awareness that will shape every future decision. By Year 10, students are completing a ten-week Global Citizenship programme, engaging with career exploration, and meeting professionals through our Careers Day. This year, 37 professionals joined us to work directly with students. From Year 10, each student is introduced to their dedicated university counsellor, and that relationship deepens year by year as students explore, question and refine their direction.
For students with particularly ambitious aspirations, we offer additional pathways of support. Our Cambridge and Oxford Preparation Programme (COPP) provides targeted guidance for students considering applications to the UK’s most selective universities. Aspiring medics benefit from a dedicated programme that supports them through the particular demands of medicine applications. We also offer an ECA focused on preparation for Ivy League and other highly selective universities, helping students understand what these institutions are looking for and how to present the strongest possible application.
Universities from around the world value our IB students and the qualities they bring to their campuses. More than 350 university representatives visit Bangkok Patana each year, giving students and families direct access to institutions across a wide range of countries and pathways. This Sunday, we are hosting Dartmouth, Duke, Northwestern and Vanderbilt university at school and parents are warmly invited to join us. Our annual University Fair will follow on Wednesday 16th September, bringing together universities from around the world here at Patana.
Our co-curricular life plays an equally important role. Model United Nations, the World Scholar’s Cup, Duke of Edinburgh, student-led social enterprises, sport, music, drama, CAS, leadership and our extensive range of ECAs and Community Engagement Teams, allow students to discover interests, build confidence and develop character. These experiences shape applications and, more importantly, help our students discover who they are.
In a society increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, distinctly human qualities matter more than ever. Agency, creativity, empathy, ethical judgement, teamwork, resilience and the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively are crucial to students’ future success. These are the qualities that universities seek, and they are developed every day through life beyond the classroom at Patana. Admissions tutors at the world’s leading universities want to see the person behind the grades. Our students have that in abundance.
Every family also has access to expert, comprehensive guidance throughout the process, from personal statements to interview preparation, scholarship applications to destination research. This is built into what we offer, and it is here for every student who walks through our gate.
A Message for Our Whole Community
If you are a parent of a child in Foundation Stage or Year 7, I hope this gives you great confidence in the journey ahead. If your child is approaching Year 10, I hope you and your family engage with the process that has now begun. And if you are navigating Year 12 or 13 right now, I hope these destinations, and the stories behind them, remind you of what is possible.
What makes these outcomes particularly special is that they represent many different definitions of success. Many students are heading to globally renowned universities. Others are pursuing highly specialised programmes that align perfectly with their talents, interests and ambitions. What unites them is the confidence to choose a pathway that is right for them and the determination to pursue it with purpose.
The Patana story does not end as our students graduate. In many ways, that is where it really begins.
