Headmaster & Principals

Headmaster Mr. Simon Leslie
    headmaster @ nist.ac.th

Mr. Leslie has been the Headmaster at NIST since August , 2004, having previously been the head of the International School of Tanganyika in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
During his career, Mr. Leslie has spent a significant amount of time working in Thailand at other prominent international schools. In total, Simon has lived in Thailand for 10 years. He first came to Thailand in 1994, when NIST was very young, on a one year assignment from Geelong Grammar School in Australia to assist with NIST’s development. He has also been head of the Regents School in Pattaya, Thailand, and at the Geelong Grammar School Timbertop Campus in Victoria, Australia. Mr. Leslie has vast experience in running both the academic and business sides of large international schools and has worked in multi-cultural environments for a number of years. He is originally from Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia, where he obtained his Bachelor of Education degree at Sturt University. Mr Leslie and his wife, Joy, have three children all of whom have attended NIST.

Deputy Head Mr. Adrian Watts
    awatts @ nist.ac.th

Mr. Adrian Watts has been Deputy Head and Director of Academic Studies at NIST since August 2007, having previously been the Secondary School Principal from August 2000. He gained a Joint Honours Degree from Durham University and a Post Graduate Certificate of Education from Loughborough. Originally from England, he left in search of fame and fortune in 1987, discovered the International Baccalaureate programmes and has since taught mainly in IB schools, working as an administrator in Mexico, Kenya, Spain and the United States. Mr. Watts has taught MYP Humanities and Diploma Economics, Geography and History in his career and still retains his passion for the classroom and student learning. He enjoys working in multi-cultural environments and cherishes the opportunity to learn from the school and local community. Mr. Watts has a teenage daughter who attended NIST.

School Director Ms. Poonam Sachdev
    PoonamS @ nist.ac.th

Khun Poonam joined NIST in September 1995 and has worked in several different roles in administration and alumni management. She is currently the Thai Director of the School. Her key responsibilities include dealing with Thai Government agencies including the Ministry of Education, the Immigration Office and the Labour Department to ensure that the School is in compliance with Thai Laws. Khun Poonam earned her Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Punjab University (India), a Diploma in Teaching from Suan Sunantha College (Bangkok), and a Master’s in Educational Administration from Assumption University (Bangkok). Both her children graduated from NIST and are now attending Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.

Secondary Principal Mr. Julian Edwards
    jedwards @ nist.ac.th

Julian Edwards joined the school in August 2007. He is originally from the United Kingdom but has spent a great deal of his teaching career in IB schools, working previously as an administrator at the Western Academy of Beijing and the International School of Tanganyika. Mr Edwards has experience of working in Secondary, Elementary and Special Education. He has an B.Sc. in Geography and Sports Science from the University of Loughborough in the UK and a Masters degree in Education from the University of Birmingham. Mr Edwards’ wife teaches at the school and his oldest child is a student at NIST.

Elementary Principal Mr. Brett Penny
bpenny@nist.ac.th

Mr Brett Penny returns to NIST as the Elementary Principal after eight years in Zurich where he held the position of Primary Principal of the Inter-Community School Zurich. After a successful teaching career in his home country of New Zealand, Brett commenced his career in international education, working at NIST from 2000 – 2003 as a Year 6 teacher and the Year 6 Coordinator. He holds a Diploma of Teaching from the Dunedin College of Education (NZ), a Bachelor of Education from Otago University (NZ) and a Master of Arts in Education Leadership from Columbia University (USA). Brett is joined in Bangkok by his wife Debbie (NIST 2001 – 2003), a Canadian national, son Liam (5) and daughter Hannah (2).