If you're a foreign parent with a Thai or half-Thai child in a Thai-curriculum school, you probably know the moment. Homework comes home in Thai script, the test is on Friday, and the subject is something like Thai poetic metre or the history of the Lanna kingdom. You want to help and you can't read the worksheet. Your partner or the grandparents help when they can, but they learned it thirty years ago and the syllabus has moved on.
Thai families have a word for the answer: ติว (tiw), tutoring or cram classes, usually paid for and usually after school. Volunteer Student-Link takes that idea and makes it free, friendly and run by kids only a year older than the students they're helping. It's small and new, it serves one school for now, and it's one of the most encouraging things to come out of a Chiang Mai classroom this year. Here's everything we could find on it, translated from its mostly Thai website.
What Volunteer Student-Link Is
The project's full Thai name is โครงการติวฟรี by เด็กโรงเรียนสาธิต มช., "a free tutoring project by Satit CMU kids." According to its website, it was set up by the whole Mathayom 2 year group at Chiang Mai University Demonstration School (Demonstration class 58), led and founded by one of the Mathayom 2 students in the school's Intensive English Programme.
The idea is peer-to-peer learning. The Mathayom 2 students remember how hard the jump into Mathayom 1 felt, and how stressful the first end-of-term exams were. So they pass on what worked for them: summaries of each topic, memory tricks, past exam questions and practical exam technique, explained "in language that's easy to talk about, relaxed, no pressure." Their motto is Learn. Share. Grow.
The first campaign carried a catchy Thai slogan, "Student-Link พี่พาผ่าน (พ.พ.พ.)", roughly "the seniors will get you through", with the English mission name Mission: Pass All.
The numbers so far
- 5 student tutors and volunteers in the first team ("Student-Link 01")
- 40+ younger students joined the sessions
- 8+ core and supplementary subjects covered
- 14 sessions in the first season
- 100% free, with free summary sheets
These figures come from the project's own website as of November 2026.
Why This Matters for Thai and Half-Thai Kids
Plenty of mixed-heritage children in Chiang Mai go to Thai schools rather than international ones, for cost, culture, or so they grow up fully at home in Thai. That works well until the subjects foreign parents can't help with start to pile up. A few reasons this project is worth knowing about:
- It covers the subjects you can't. One of the first sessions covered the Thai sound system: consonants, vowels, tone marks, the three consonant classes, and the rules of khlong si suphap (โคลงสี่สุภาพ), a classical Thai verse form. A child who speaks Thai perfectly at home can still struggle with formal Thai grammar and poetry at school, and very few foreign parents can explain them.
- Teenagers explain things the way teenagers understand them. The project says its tutors "use the language of their own age group" and know exactly which points younger students tend to get confused about, because they were confused by them a year earlier.
- English help, taught by the school's English-programme kids. The English sessions were run by students from the Intensive English Programme, covering Present Simple and Present Continuous, adverbs of frequency, everyday vocabulary and common spoken idioms. If your child's English is ahead of their Thai, this may be where they shine and gain confidence.
- The pressure is off. Thai tutoring culture can be intense and expensive. A free session with friendly older students is a gentler way for a nervous Mathayom 1 student to catch up.
- The sheets are written to match the Thai curriculum. That makes them useful to whoever helps with homework at your house, whether that's your Thai partner, a grandparent or a paid tutor, even if you can't read them yourself.
Thai School Grades, Translated
Thai school years are named differently from Western ones, and the project's website uses Thai abbreviations throughout. This table should help.
| Thai level | Written as | US grade | UK year | Typical age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prathom 1-6 (primary) | ป.1-ป.6 | Grades 1-6 | Years 2-7 | 6-12 |
| Mathayom 1 (who Student-Link helps) | ม.1 | Grade 7 | Year 8 | 12-13 |
| Mathayom 2 (the student tutors) | ม.2 | Grade 8 | Year 9 | 13-14 |
| Mathayom 3 (end of lower secondary) | ม.3 | Grade 9 | Year 10 | 14-15 |
| Mathayom 4-6 (upper secondary) | ม.4-ม.6 | Grades 10-12 | Years 11-13 | 15-18 |
You'll also see class codes such as ม.2/5 IEP and ม.2/4 DS. These mean Mathayom 2, room 5, Intensive English Programme, and Mathayom 2, room 4, Data Science Programme: the tutors' own classes.
What the First Season Looked Like
The first season was exam preparation for the Mathayom 1 term 1 finals. Sessions were 45 minutes, held after school in the smart classroom in the school's academic building. A few examples from the published timetable:
| Date | Time | Session |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 14 Sep | 17:00-17:45 | Orientation and launch of Mission: Pass All, meeting the tutors, and an introduction to using an AI "study buddy" to plan revision |
| Tue 15 Sep | 16:00-16:45 | Basic English: Present Simple and Present Continuous, adverbs of frequency, common exam mistakes |
| Tue 15 Sep | 17:00-17:45 | Extra English: essential vocabulary (clothes, colours) and common spoken idioms, taught with pictures |
| Wed 16 Sep | 17:00-17:45 | Thai: the Thai sound system, tone rules for the three consonant classes, and the structure of khlong si suphap verse |
The season ran 14 sessions in total, covering mathematics, science, Thai, English, history and social studies, including local Lanna history. The website also has two preview teaching clips, one in science (how flowering plants reproduce) and one in history (prehistoric versus historic periods, and the stone, bronze and iron ages). A fuller video library is marked "coming soon".
What You Can Use Today, Wherever Your Child Studies
1. The free summary sheet library
This is the part any family can use right now. The tutors have put their summary sheets, teaching slides and session handouts into a public Google Drive folder, free to download at any time. They're in Thai and written for Mathayom 1. Thai schools build their courses on the same national core curriculum, so many of the topics should look familiar to a Mathayom 1 student at another Thai school, though each school sets its own exams.
Practical tip: print the sheet for whatever topic your child has a test on and give it to the person who helps with homework at your house. If you're on your own, sit with your child and have them explain the sheet to you in English. Teaching it back is one of the best ways to learn it, and you'll find out quickly which parts they haven't understood.
2. The website, in English
The Volunteer Student-Link website opens in Thai, but there is a TH | EN switch in the top menu. It has the timetable, the tutor team, the preview videos, a photo gallery and a question form where students can send a question or ask for a topic to be covered.
3. Instagram, for news of Season 2
The project announces its seasons on Instagram at @cmuds.volunteer.studentlink. The next season, Mission: Pass All Season 2, is midterm preparation for term 2, aimed at "Mathayom 1 students from every study programme", with mock-exam-style practice and new summary sheets. It's billed as Smart Classroom & Online Live. The website doesn't yet say who will be able to join the online sessions, so following the account is the simplest way to find out.
If Your Child Is at Satit CMU
- In Mathayom 1: encourage them to go. The sessions are on campus, run straight after school, and are aimed squarely at their exams. Check the timetable on the website before each exam period.
- In Mathayom 2 or above: they can volunteer. The project recruits older Satit CMU students who enjoy teaching, and it points out that tutors build up volunteer hours for their portfolio, which helps later with Thai university applications.
- Not a teacher type? The project is also recruiting a behind-the-scenes team from every year group at the school: admin (registration and attendance), IT helpers (the smartboard and live-stream setup) and coordinators. This is a good fit for a confident, techy teenager who'd rather not stand at the front of a room.
A Note on Respect and Privacy
Everyone running this project is a young teenager doing it for free in their own time. A couple of courtesies from us parents go a long way:
- Let your child do the contacting where possible. The question form and the sessions are built for students, not adults.
- Keep any message short, polite and about the project. Don't message the individual student tutors directly.
- Don't screenshot or share photos of the students from the gallery. We've kept their names and faces off this page on purpose.
- A thank-you goes a long way. If the summary sheets help your child pass a test, a kind comment on their Instagram is the best payment they'll get.
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- Volunteer Student-Link is a free, non-profit, student-run tutoring project from Chiang Mai University Demonstration School (Satit CMU), launched in September 2026.
- Mathayom 2 (Grade 8) students tutor Mathayom 1 (Grade 7) students in eight-plus subjects, including Thai language and poetry, English, maths, science and history.
- The live sessions currently serve Satit CMU's Mathayom 1 students. The Google Drive of summary sheets and slides is free for everyone.
- Season 2 (term 2 midterms) is billed as "Smart Classroom & Online Live". Follow @cmuds.volunteer.studentlink on Instagram for registration news.
- For foreign parents, the summary sheets are a practical way into Thai-curriculum homework you can't read yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Volunteer Student-Link really free?
Yes. The project states it charges nothing at all. Live sessions, the summary sheets and the teaching slides are all free, and the project describes itself as non-profit and run by students for education and charity.
Can my child join if they are not at Satit CMU?
Not the live sessions, for now. The first season was for Mathayom 1 (Grade 7) students at Chiang Mai University Demonstration School, taught on campus. The free Google Drive of summary sheets and slides is open to anyone, and the next season is billed as Smart Classroom and Online Live, so follow the project's Instagram for any wider opening.
What language are the sessions and sheets in?
Mostly Thai, because the students follow the Thai curriculum. The English sessions are taught by students from the school's Intensive English Programme, and the project website has a TH/EN language switch at the top.
What grade is Mathayom 1?
Mathayom 1 (written M.1 or ม.1) is the first year of lower secondary school in Thailand, the equivalent of US Grade 7 or UK Year 8, usually for children aged around 12 to 13.
How do I contact Volunteer Student-Link?
Through its website at volunteerstudentlink.com, which has a question form for students, and its Instagram account @cmuds.volunteer.studentlink. The tutors are school students, so keep messages short, polite and about the project.
Guru Tip
If your Thai or half-Thai teenager is a year or two older and doing well, show them this project. Nothing builds a teenager's confidence in Thai and English like explaining something to a younger student, and a volunteer tutoring role looks good on a university portfolio, in Thailand or anywhere else. And if your child's school doesn't have anything like this yet, Volunteer Student-Link shows that a handful of 13-year-olds with a smartboard and a shared Google Drive can start one.
