A new international school has opened its doors on Samui and is preparing to relocate to a new location in September 2007. Bluewater International School hopes to take education to a higher level on an island that has been cursed with multiple closings and empty promises during years of rapid development.

A spokesperson from Bluewater said that new premises have been bought and that the school will be adhering to the National Curriculum for England & Wales while employing only experienced, fully qualified teachers.

School Director Jeremy Lees is keen to promote the learning institution and its teachers as an essential addition to the island for existing family residents as well the future of Samui.

“The island has been troubled by educational issues for many years, and this has been a potential deterrent to any investors or interested parties with children who may be looking to Samui as a possible home,” said one island resident.

The island has had other international educational institutions, such as the UK-affiliated Dulwich International College, which began construction on Samui in 2005, and piloted a pre-nursery program.

The project ended without completion due to internal problems and the Dulwich College name was finally revoked.

With plans to accommodate students up to the age of 18, Bluewater school has the community hopeful that quality education will no longer be an issue.

The school will have a full extracurricular schedule, a range of sporting facilities, state-of-the-art design technology labs and a well-stocked library. Classes will be offered in English to students of all nationalities.

Applications are now being accepted for the September term.

Celebrity spots: There has been renewed optimism in Samui’s real estate community and greater confidence among buyers with recent reports of the world’s rich and famous investing in land and holiday homes on the island.

Rumors have circulated that sporting greats such as tennis number one Justine Hennin, retired England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, and David Beckham and his famous brood will be making Samui their island getaway.

It has been reported that Beckham likes the island so much that he is trying to persuade his football chums to join him. Whispers of Wayne Rooney resting his golden feet on the shores of the Gulf have also emerged.

“The island has real Thai charm and beauty. It has Western amenities but has retained its authentic appeal of a beautiful island getaway,” said Jim Harrow, a potential buyer of one of Samui’s latest developments.

Political instability and continued controversy over illicit land deals have caused Samui’s real estate boom to slow in recent months. Yet, interest seems to be picking up, possibly due to faith in the famous and their influence on the market.

Popular real estate broker Justin Freedon said, “It’s not as bad as we expected it to be. People are buying and that is because well-priced properties sell and are selling.

Things are not as they were but we expect them to get better. There is a lot of pent up demand in these months before the elections.”

The news has brought the island and its community a new sense of pride and it is hoped that the trend will in turn show the rest of the world that Thailand, and Koh Samui in particular, is still a property hotspot.

Asked what he thought of the new famous residents, Mr Harrow said, “I can’t see that it will do any harm and maybe now the roads will get repaired.”

Sick leave. A cruise ship that recently docked off Koh Samui was reportedly infected with a gastroenteritis virus. Eighty-eight passengers and four crew members, aged between three and 83 years old, came down with the highly infectious illness while aboard the Superstar Gemini.

The ship, which originated from Singapore with 1,106 passengers, was on a tour of Southeast Asia when people on board began falling ill.

The vessel’s doctor reported that the illness had victims suffering from diarrhea, fever and vomiting, but no people were hospitalized.

Before arriving at its final destination in Hong Kong, the ship had visited Samui, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang in Vietnam.

The ship’s medical team determined that all passengers were healthy upon arrival in Hong Kong. Exactly how they contracted the illness, which left many holidaymakers ill for the duration of the cruise, is still unknown.

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