Mom Luang Tridhosyuth Devakul (Mom Tri), the founder of this campus and the Chairman of the Board of Governors which oversees the operation of the Prem Center, received his formal education in the USA. He attended St Albans Cathedral School, Washington DC, did his undergraduate studies at Dartmouth (Magna Cum Laude) and received a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University. Over many years he was associated with summer camps at the Chewonki Institute, Maine, as a student, counsellor and leader.

In the early 1970s, he returned to Thailand as a practising architect and in the late 1970s was a Senator. He uncovered the tourist potential of Phuket, being instrumental in the development of an international airport. He also built and owned a number of major hotels. He presently owns the boutique hotel the Villa Royale and is a partner in a villa/hotel complex, Trisara, both in Phuket.

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In 1992 Mom Tri lost a young son and he was determined to develop a world-class school for Thais here in Thailand, in his son’s memory.

In 1994 Mom Tri bought the rice paddy fields from which the present campus has been established. The plan was to build a three-generation school village. The campus would comprise a world-class independent school teaching the Thai curriculum in English. It would be surrounded by apartments which parents could lease.

It was anticipated that most of the parents would be living in Bangkok and other parts of Thailand beyond Chiang Mai – and in many cases it would be the grandparents or other relatives (the extended family) who would be living on campus looking after the children - thus the three-generation concept: child, parent or relative, and grandparent. The older generation was to be seen as an educational source of wisdom, and the setting was to be used to promote healthy living and environmental awareness.

The Tridhos Three-Generation School Village opened in May 1997. In July, Thailand in particular, and Asia in general, was overwhelmed by an economic crisis. The Tridhos School was particularly hard hit. For the next three years it struggled to survive. In the meantime Mom Tri was looking for educational partners to develop a fresh momentum.

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At this time Geelong Grammar School, Australia, was involved in a joint-venture with the King’s mother’s foundation, the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, to develop an international boarding school at Doi Tung in the far north of Thailand. Because of the economic crisis, Geelong Grammar was forced to suspend its project. In late 1997 ML Tri started discussions with the Headmaster, Lister Hannah, and in September 1998 both the Headmaster and the Chairman of the Geelong Grammar School Council visited and were impressed with the campus. In late 1998 the Chairman of the United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) also visited and was similarly impressed.

In early 1999 the UWCSEA agreed to enter an understanding to advise on the development of the Tridhos School along United World College lines. In May 1999, Lister Hannah accepted the position of President of the Traidhos Foundation with the agreement not only to develop a school along UWC lines but also to develop a broader concept: a Center for International Education.

His Excellency General Prem Tinsulanonda, Commander-in-Chief of the Army in the late 70s, Prime Minister 1980-88, and since then Privy Counsellor to the King and now President of the Privy Council, the only Thai accorded the title of Statesman, was approached to give his name to the Center. He agreed.

It was concluded that the Tridhos School would close in March 2000. In its place the Prem Tinsulanonda Center for International Education would come into existence in January 2000.

The Centre, now re-named as the Traidhos Three-Generation Community for Learning, includes Prem Tinsulanonda International School, specialist sporting academies for tennis, golf, cricket and football, an organic farm and cooking school, a small hotel and spa and Premburi – a residential estate on the western side of the campus.

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The Visiting Schools Program (VSP) was launched early January 2000 with 300 Grade nine students from the Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore. Seventy Grade 11 UWCSEA students did their IB Geography fieldwork from Prem in March, starting a tradition that continues today.

Eleven years later the VSP has over sixty schools involving over 3000 students a year.

It has grown from its foundation of four focuses (cross-cultural activities, environmental sustainability, community service and adventure) to add a fifth focus on leadership and team building. Whilst most schools visit for five days or a week days, Kardinia International College, Australia, sent its Grade 9 students for eight weeks, from October 2003 to June 2011.

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The barge program was established by Mom Tri in 1995. The barge - a one-hundred-year old converted teak rice barge with covered decks, an air-conditioned cabin for sleeping, a kitchen and other amenities - was donated several years later to the Magic Eye Foundation who in turn gave it back to the Prem Center in 2005.

It provides a floating classroom which travels the river studying its ecosystems, culture and history. The program has now expanded to land-based programs and the study of the river's watershed: mountains to the sea!

This year the Barge Program welcomed over 4200 students from thirty-eight international or Thai schools.

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The first IB Asia Pacific workshops were run at the Center in March 2001, before the school had opened. A number of PYP and MYP workshops drew nearly 300 teachers over ten days.

In January 2002 PYP, MYP and Diploma workshops were held on successive weekends. This has become an annual occasion and draws roughly 250 teachers from seventy schools in twenty countries each year. Since January 2003 the IB has franchised Prem to organise and administer these workshops.

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The Tridhos School closed in March 2000. Eight primary-age students stayed on in a mini-international school while planning continued for a full international school to be opened in August the following year.

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n August 2001 the school opened with seventy students (six of whom were boarders), thirteen teaching staff and administrators and four interns. It covered Kindergarten to Grade 10, comprising composite classes, with Grades 9 and 10 the IGCSE classes as stand-alone classes. Enrolment grew to just over 100 students by the end of the year. IB Diploma authorisation was granted in February 2002 for the program to start in the next year. August 2002 saw the school opening with just over 200 students and its first IB Diploma class.

By August 2003 the enrolment had grown to 280 students. PYP authorisation was formalized in February and the first 2004 Graduation was held on the last Friday of May with sixteen students (from fourteen nations) in the class. General Prem Tinsulanonda was the guest of honour and graduation speaker.

The 2004-5 school year saw another growth spurt in enrolment, starting with 290 students and closing with 345. Boarding had grown from high 40s to high 60s. A second Grade 12 class of twenty-four students graduated in May 2005.

The school experience steady growth over the years and now has a population of approximately 400 students and 120 boarders from thirty-five different countries world-wide.

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