Meet the judges

As CEO of COBIS, Colin works with British International schools across more than 80 countries worldwide.

Representing the sector, he’s appointed to the UK Government’s international Education Sector Advisory group and the UCAS International Advisory Group. Plus, he’s a founding member of the International Task Force on Child Protection, a Trustee of the British School in Tokyo.

He has taught in the UK, Asia and Europe working with the Department for Education in the UK and with the Government Office for London has led educational projects on a global scale.

Safeguarding is of paramount importance to COBIS and Colin has a strong partnership with ACRO, cementing COBIS’ position as the founding Global Ambassador for the International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC), and our commitment to keeping children safe around the globe.

Natasha Hilton is an experienced primary school leader who has been in education for over 16 years. After leading in inner city schools in London in the UK she moved into international education in the Middle East.

She moved to Qatar as Head of Primary at Park House English School last year after a successful six years as part of the leadership team at British School Muscat, Oman.

Natasha is a strategic lead for WomenEd and on the board of advisors for TES. She works with BSME and is leading the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion network.

John started his working career in banking (The Midland Bank - or now HSBC) before pursuing his teaching qualification at The University of Wales, Trinity College in Carmarthen.  He took up his first appointment as a teacher in 1976. 

In 1986, John embarked on his International career in Hong Kong, and has since worked in Malaysia, Indonesia and Lao. In 2019 John was appointed the inaugural CEO of FOBISIA (Federation of British International Schools in Asia) which now has a membership of over 100 premier British International Schools across 20 countries in the continent of Asia. John was awarded the MBE in her Majesty's Queen Elizabeth the II's Birthday Honours list  in 2020 for his services to British International Education. 

John values the importance of collaboration across the British International School sector and in particular the role that BISSC (British International Schools Safeguarding Coalition) plays in keeping our children safe.

Liz Free CEO and Director of the International School Rheintal, an IB continuum school in Switzerland.

She is a globally recognised educator with expertise leading some of the world's most successful schools and in leading teacher professional learning at OUP, Oxford University and as founding Director of the International Leadership Academy in The Hague.

Alongside this work, Liz is a founding trustee of the global charity WomenEd and board member for the Swiss Group of International Schools (SGIS) and TES Global. Liz is a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and Fellow of RSA.

An educator for over thirty years in international education, Ms. Vanita Uppal OBE is the Director of The British School New Delhi.

She is the proud recipient of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of her services to British education in an international context, becoming the only Indian serving principal to receive this honour.

Under her leadership, the school has won global acclaim and prestigious international awards such as the TOP British School in the world (2018). She is a member of the IB Heads Council and Chair of the Executive Board of FOBISIA.

Debra Forsyth has been dedicated to education for over 30 years since starting her career teaching Chemistry in London.

A move to the emergent city of Abu Dhabi in 1987 ignited Debra’s life-long passion for international education. She has since capitalised on the opportunity to work with children and educators from around the world in a variety of fascinating locations, including Muscat, Damascus, Vienna and Sharjah.

Debra has worked across a wide range of educational systems and establishments and held a variety of senior leadership and advisory roles.

Dr Nicole Bien is Chief Schools Officer at the International Baccalaureate (IB) and has also served as Global Director of Learning and Teaching leading all aspects of programme and curriculum design for IB’s four programmes.

After a career in strategy, marketing and product development at Fortune 500 companies, Dr Bien began her work in the education sector as an advocate for at-risk youth from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Dr Nicole Bien has extensive international experience having lived and worked in Europe, Asia, Australia and now America.  She holds a PhD and MA in education from the University of Sydney, an MBA from Columbia University Business School, and a BA from Yale University.

Helen Morgan is Head of Leadership Development and Learning at ECIS. She collaborates with schools, groups and organisations to design and deliver impactful training, coaching and consultancy. She has a track record of building strong relationships with some of the most influential and innovative international schools in the world.

Prior to her role at ECIS, Helen worked extensively as an independent educational consultant with a range of international schools and organisations including Cambridge International and High Performance Learning.

Helen is also an accredited Senior Practitioner Coach with the European Coaching and Mentoring Council, empowering executive leaders to drive improvement. She has a Master’s degree in education and holds the National Professional Qualification for Headship.

After graduating from Cambridge University and then a Masters degree at Oxford, Rob Millar worked for 13 years in the UK in three large state Secondary schools before moving with his family to take up a post in Shrewsbury International School Riverside, Bangkok in 2010.

Having worked as Assistant Principal (academic) and Vice Principal (Head of Senior) he was appointed Principal of the school campus in 2022. His wife works as Head of History at the school which his 3 children also attend.

Kai Vacher is the principal of British School Muscat and British School Sallah in Oman, roles he had held for over 10 years. He is also a board member of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) and a facilitator for its Programme for Aspiring Headteachers. He also hosts The Educator’s Corner podcast and is a regular writer for Tes Magazine.

Mark Leppard MBE is headmaster of The British School Al Khubairat in the United Arab Emirates. He is also a member of HMC, sitting on their Safeguarding Committee, and currently Chairman of BSME, a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teachers and a British Schools Overseas (BSO) Lead Inspector.

Mark sits on the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund Advisory & Decision Committee, supporting entrepreneurs to establish and grow their business ideas in the UAE.

Mark was awarded an MBE for his services to education and has an M.Ed in Educational Leadership. Mark is very happily married and has three children of adult age.

Ruth Sanderson is a highly respected international school leader with a career spanning nearly three decades in world-class educational settings across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. 

Her most recent role was as Principal of The British School of Amsterdam, and she has held senior leadership and teaching positions in prestigious schools in Malaysia, Brunei, South Korea, and Qatar. She also holds an MBA in International Education, and has been a founding member of the TES Global Advisory Group since 2019.

Ruth has a strong track record of strategic leadership, safeguarding, curriculum innovation, and a dedication to fostering excellence in independent international education. She is passionate about supporting the global community of schools.

Rob is an experienced UK and international school leader. He is currently the Executive Headteacher of Perrott Hill British Schools, Prague and Board Member of Thames British School, Madrid. He previously served as CEO & Director of Heritage International School, Moldova from 2019 until 2025 and remains active in the international education landscape. He is a long serving British Council Ambassador, an advisor and keynote speaker at many international conferences and serves on the Varkey/UNESCO/TTF2030 Global Leaders Network. He is also the Founding Head of St Michael Abbey School, UK and a frequent contributor to Tes Magazine.