Leadership Team

Frazer Cairns joined ISL as its Director in 2017. With a background in management consultancy and journalism, he has worked as a science teacher and as a school leader in the UK, Indonesia, Switzerland, and Singapore. Frazer holds masters and doctorate degrees in education, his research focusing on the place of bilingualism in international education, and an MBA from Warwick Business School. Frazer is also the Chair of the Board of the Swiss Group of International Schools (SGIS).

Simon is British and Irish and joined the school in 2005, becoming Assistant Principal in 2007, and Secondary School Principal in 2015. He previously taught in the UK, Italy, and Thailand.

Sarah Gifford is American and Danish. She previously taught modern languages and humanities in Alaska, New Mexico, and Germany. Having completed a Masters in International School Administration just before joining ISL in 2019, Sarah takes a particular interest in student well-being and developing leadership in young people.

David is British and joined the school in 1997, after moving to Switzerland in 1992. He is an IB MYP evaluation visit leader and teaches in the science department.

Michael is British and joined the school in 2015, becoming the Diploma Programme Coordinator in 2020. He previously taught in the UK and Hong Kong, and he is a passionate teacher of both economics and the theory of knowledge.

Darryl is Canadian and joined the school in 2015. He previously worked in Thailand, India, and Colombia. Darryl is also an MYP evaluation team member, workshop leader, and Personal Project examiner. He teaches in the humanities department.

Stuart is from New Zealand, has a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Waikato, and was the President of the Normal and Model School Association of New Zealand, an advisor to the New Zealand Ministry of Education, member of the New Zealand Teaching Council leadership stewardship group and an associate lecturer at the University of Waikato. Before joining ISL as the Primary Principal in August 2021, he was also a board member of Water Boy, a non-profit organisation that aims to further access to sport and education. Over his four principalships spanning 15 years he has developed strong coaching and mentoring skills and is passionate about growing and supporting emerging leaders.

Kyle is Canadian and joined the school in 2022 as an Assistant Principal and PYP Coordinator. He has held positions previously in Canton Zug, Seoul, Singapore, and Bangkok. Kyle holds a number of post graduate degrees in education focusing on literacy and educational leadership. He is an active IB workshop leader and CIS team evaluator.

Jill is American and joined ISL in 2016 as a Year 5 teacher, becoming Primary School Assistant Principal in 2019. She has previously taught in the United States, Dubai and Singapore.

Hannah is British and joined the school in 2014, becoming the Early Childhood Coordinator in 2019. Before moving to Switzerland she was working as a Specialist Speech and Language Advisor and has also worked in a number of international schools in Switzerland and the UK. Hannah is passionate about supporting our youngest learners and also enjoys teaching English as an Additional Language at ISL.