Mahidol Wittayanusorn School

Mahidol Wittayanusorn School (Thai: โรงเรียนมหิดลวิทยานุสรณ์; RTGS: Mahidon Witthayanuson ), also known colloquially as Mahidol Wit, Mahidol Witt or Mwit, is a secondary school in Thailand. Situated on the Salaya Campus of Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom Province, it enrols Mathayom 4–6 students (grades 10–12), and is the first specialised science school in the country, designed to provide education for the full development of exceptionally gifted and talented students in science and mathematics. The school is unique among Thai schools in that it functions as an autonomous public organisation, and receives direct funding from the government of up to ฿100,000 per student, which means that all students are awarded a full scholarship including accommodation in the space of three years at Mahidol Wittayanusorn. Since its conception in 2000, the school has rapidly become one of the most prominent schools in Thailand, with extremely intense competition for enrolment. (20,871 students sat the school's entrance examination in 2009, while the school enrols 240 students annually.)

Background
Mahidol Wittayanusorn School was founded with the purpose of promoting science and mathematics education in the Thai school system, due to concerns regarding Thailand's lack of human resources specialised in science and technology. The school was established on 28 August 1990 with cooperation between Mahidol University, which was already recognised for its science studies and would provide academic support, and the Department of General Education of the Ministry of Education, which would be the school's governing authority.

The school opened on 3 June 1991. Initially, classes were temporarily held at Wat Rai Khing in Sam Phran District until the school finally settled at its current location on the Salaya Campus of Mahidol University in 1995. This initial arrangement, however, had many limitations, mostly due to the teaching system, which still depended on the national curriculum, and inflexibility due to organisation structure as a governmental agency, and the school saw relatively little growth during the first ten years.

In 1999, government policy pushed for the development of science-specific schools to accommodate students talented in the scientific and mathematic fields. Mahidol Wittayanusorn School was accordingly remodeled as an autonomous public organisation under the supervision of the Minister of Education on 25 August 2000, and was designated the country's first specialised science school. The first principal of the school in this form is Dr Thongchai Chewprecha, who was the director of the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology.

Under this new structure, the school came under direct authority of the Mahidol Wittayanusorn School Board, and enjoyed more flexibility as well as greater financial support from the government. The school developed its own curriculum and teaching systems, and began admitting students under this new phase in the 2001 academic year. The school then rapidly grew in fame, attracting some of the brightest students from all over the country, not least for its abundance of resources. The number of students competing for admission increased from 8,501 in 2001 to 17,539 in 2006.

Locations in the school
The school occupies 4 hectares on the northeastern section of Mahidol University's Salaya Campus. School facilities include the academic resource centre, astronomy virtual reality theatre, science, language, electronics and computer laboratories, industrial drawing, mechanics and ceramics workshops, and a 4-storey sports centre. The school also has a computer network system featuring 400 computer terminals, and the entire school campus is equipped with wireless network access.

Since the school focuses primarily on natural sciences, its laboratories possess sufficient equipment, some of which are rare to other high schools or even some universities. The school library, officially called the academic resource centre, stores a huge number of books. Together with an unlimited internet supply, adequate quality computers and available lap-tops for all to borrow, the school allows students to enhance their knowledge both theoretically and experimentally, including their detailed projects required for graduation. Teachers are encouraged to be functionally literate at technology such as computer and smartboard. The school also provides most classrooms with a computer and a projector.

The newly built sport centre involves 4 badminton courts, table-tennis, squash rooms, dance floor, a fitness centre and a basketball pitch. Recently the swimming pool has been built and ready for use. The school also has another cement basketball pitch and a green standard football field, the periphery of which is a quality running track. The school also has a first aid centre, a shop, or colloquially called the minimart, and a canteen.