Written by BISP Sports Intern Louise Jones

Here at BISP, we are very proud of our High Performance Sport Academies. In this article, our Sports Intern, Louise Jones, reflects on the structure of our academy programmes and the impact they have on student-athletes. 

At BISP, student-athletes train with highly experienced coaches who have competed at professional levels in golf, football, tennis and swimming. These additional training sessions, alongside the school curriculum, allow students to develop their skills and compete against other high-performance athletes across Asia.

Kunanan Pantaratorn (Puthi) is one of the top players in the BISP Tennis Academy. He is currently ranked 70th in his age group and has also been accepted into Ivy League University, Dartmouth College. He is competing in tournaments across Asia and most recently played at J500 Osaka, one of the highest levels of junior competition and the closest tier to a Grand Slam. He reached the semi-finals and defeated Ryo Tabata, who is ranked 11th.

Since June, Puthi has won five tournaments, including J30, J60 and J100 events. Although he has not yet competed in America or Europe, this could be a possibility in the future. In doubles, he has won one J100 and three J60 tournaments. In July, he passed qualifiers at an M15 tournament and beat the number one seed in the first round, earning his first ATP point.

Tarita Hongsyok (Ig) is another strong athlete in the tennis programme and is currently ranked 516th. She reached the final of a J30 tournament in Bangladesh and won back-to-back J30 tournaments in the Maldives in both singles and doubles. She also reached another J30 final in Thailand.

Tarita has also achieved significant success in doubles. During the summer, she won a J30 in Thailand, and in mid-October, she won a J60 in both Thailand and Malaysia. Her results highlight how the support and structure provided by our High Performance Academy help athletes achieve consistent success.

Students in the Cruzeiro Football Academy are coached by former professional footballers from Brazil. Cruzeiro students train six times a week, both before and after school. Players are regularly given opportunities to travel and compete against other football academies.

From 29th October to 2nd November, our U19 girls’ team competed in the Borneo Cup in Malaysia. The Cruzeiro Cup also took place on 1st and 2nd November, hosted here on the BISP football pitches. These competitions form part of the preparation for one of the biggest tournaments of the year: Soccer 7s.

Some notable recent achievements include the U17 girls finishing as silver medallists at the 2025 Samui Camp Tournament in October. The U17 boys’ team remained undefeated throughout the same tournament and were crowned overall champions. These results demonstrate what hard work, focus and teamwork can achieve within our High Performance Academies.

The High Performance Swimming Academy focuses on both the physical and theoretical aspects of swimming, allowing students to reach their full potential in both the pool and the classroom. Swimmers complete eight to ten pool sessions per week in our Olympic-sized swimming facilities. Teachers, academic staff and sports staff work closely together to create flexible schedules that support the demands of the swimming programme.

Our coaches bring extensive experience, from grassroots development to international podium success. They focus not only on technical performance but also on athlete wellbeing, discipline and long-term development.

BISP swimmers compete at both local and international levels. There are regular meets across Bangkok and Phuket, including the Thai National Championships. Internationally, athletes compete at events such as the Asian Games, Youth Asian Games and Junior World Championships.

This season, one of our swimmers, Ekhmand, represented Mongolia at the Junior World Championships and the Youth Asian Games, reaching finals in multiple events. Another BISP student, Lynna, represented Malaysia at the Asian Games, competing at the open level for the first time.

Looking ahead, our High Performance Sport Academies will continue to represent BISP at the highest levels and build on this growing success.