Dear Students, Colleagues, Parents and Board members,

It gives me great pleasure to be able to write to you for the very first time via the school newsletter and introduce myself and my family to your community. Although I am originally from Queensland, Australia, I write to you from our present home of Bangkok, where we have been living and working for the past four and a half years.

Both my wife Rachel and I have a background in education, and between us have been teaching or administering in the private and international educational sectors for more than forty years!   We decided to leave Australia in 1987 to enable our children to learn a second language. We left the shores of Australia, somewhat reluctantly, for two years and took up residence in a small village on the outskirts of Hiroshima.  Over ten years later, and now with our very much anticipated move to Oman ahead, our family back home has almost given up hope of us returning permanently.

Our stays in Japan, Denmark and Thailand have provided us with so many wonderful experiences, both professionally and personally. We and our children have gained such a lot from our international experience. We believe that much of this is due to our acceptance and appreciation of the various cultures in which we have lived and our attempts to learn the language – with very limited success on my part!

Our eldest daughter Helen is presently completing her A-Levels here in Bangkok and is contemplating how to spend her ‘gap’ between her graduation and the beginning of the university year in Australia in February. We hope that she will at least come to help us settle into our new home before embarking on her own adventures. Our two younger children, Timothy (16) and Bridget (13) will, of course, accompany us and are very curious about what life in Oman will be like.

A little about me professionally:

 I hold a teaching degree and post-graduate degrees in Education and Business Administration. I have been head of schools in Australia and Thailand prior to this post. In addition to my native Australia’s national curriculum, I have worked in international educational settings including American, IB PYP/MYP, and of course British National Curriculum.  I hope to consolidate the successes and initiatives established by the current Principal, Mr John Birchall, and very much look forward to the challenges that lie ahead as The Sultan’s School strengthens its IB programme and moves on into its next stage of development in the international school arena.

We very much appreciated your hospitality and kindness during our first visit to the region and can’t wait to return. I will be visiting the school twice before taking up residence in July, and do hope to personally meet with as many of you as possible during these visits.

Anthony Cashin