​School Founders:​
​
Jeremy & Victoria Lees
​​​​
Jeremy & Victoria Lees founded the International School of Samui in 2007, having moved to Koh Samui in 2005. They orignally called the school Bluewater, in recognition that Koh Samui was surrounded by clear blue water, but they then changed its name to the International School of Samui in 2010, inviting the then British Ambassador, his Excellency Quintin Quayle, down to Koh Samui to officially open the school.
​​​​​​​
Jeremy and Victoria first met at the University of St Andrews in 1993 and graduated in 1997, Victoria with a Master of Arts in Modern Foreign Languages and Jeremy with a Bachelor of Science in Laser Physics & Optoelectronics. Prior to moving to Koh Samui, Victoria led a successful career in the UK in Marketing and PR, whilst Jeremy served as a combat helicopter pilot in the British Army. They married in 2001 and have 5 children. All 5 of their children have been educated at ISS and all of them have very fond and lasting memories of their time as ISS students.
Two of their children are now at University in the UK. One is reading Ocean Science and Marine Conservation at Plymouth University and the other is reading Chemistry at Balliol College, Oxford. The younger three are still at school.
​
Victoria and Jeremy have always believed that academic and extracurricular success accompanies children who are truly motivated and engaged, whilst having a clear sense of purpose during their learning journey. They strongly believe that children at school should be allowed to explore and experience a wide range of academic and extracurricular activities to maximise their personal development, encourage positive habits, learn from role models and discover what motivates them.
​
The independent school model in the UK has a very similar outlook to education, and Jeremy was fortunate enough to experience such an education in the UK, as a boarder at Rossall School, so Jeremy and Victoria chose to build and operate ISS on these strong foundations. ​
In 2022, after 15 years of leading ISS, Jeremy and Victoria handed over the day to day running and Executive Leadership of the School to Mr Stephen Andrews.
​