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How Gecko Garden School came to be

Gecko Garden School is one of the most established and reputable international preschools in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The school originated as the ‘Little Gecko’ and ‘Garden’ playgroups in the late 1990s. The two groups joined in 2001 to create the first parent-run preschool in Phnom Penh. Gecko Garden School and its loyal, caring and kind group of Khmer and international teachers have welcomed more than one thousand children in the years since, maintaining an ethos that values play-based learning, multicultural diversity, and family involvement.

In 2018, the teachers and parents of Gecko Garden School decided to deepen our commitment to providing the most valuable, progressive and socially-appropriate education in the world, by becoming the first school in Cambodia to adopt the Waldorf education curriculum and become Waldorf/Steiner-inspired. This decision is deepening the educational offerings and relationships within our community and bringing an important approach to education to Cambodia.

The Gecko Garden School logo was designed as a gift from a talented and dedicated parent. The logo symbol represents the attributes we consider most important to our school:

  • Our children happily playing and exploring (the gecko)
  • Our teachers gently guiding our children in their play (the palm fronds)
  • A safe, wholesome environment and community fostering our children’s growth (the circle)