Australian International School Hong Kong

Coordinates: 22°20′8″N 114°10′42″E / 22.33556°N 114.17833°E

Australian International School
Hong Kong
Location
Hong Kong Kowloon Tong, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Information
Type R-12, private, international, co-educational
Established February 1995
Employees 120
Key people Leonie Drew (Co-Head of School & Principal, Primary)
Phillip Waugh (Co-Head of School & Principal, Secondary)
David Shirley (Assistant Principal, Primary)
Howard West (Assistant Principal, Secondary)[1]
Number of students over 1000
Colour(s) Green, gold          
School fees 60,800 to 105,700 HKD per annum (2008)[2]
Website www.aishk.edu.hk
Australian International School Hong Kong
Traditional Chinese 香港澳洲國際學校
Simplified Chinese 香港澳洲国际学校

Australian International School Hong Kong (AISHK; Traditional Chinese: 香港澳洲國際學校) is a co-educational, international school in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong which was founded in 1995. It follows the New South Wales curriculum where final year (grade twelve) students can either pursue the Higher School Certificate of the New South Wales Board of Studies or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (since September 2005 when it became an IB World School). Operating on an Australian school year (late January to mid December), AISHK aims to facilitate an easier transition for those students entering from, or returning to, Australian or Southern Hemisphere schools or tertiary institutions. Current enrolment stands at 1,140 students from Reception to Year 12. With 27 nationalities represented in its student body, around 72% of the student body claims Australian or New Zealand citizenship.

Campus

AISHK is also located close to American International School Hong Kong (AIS). The building is nine stories high with facilities such as an artificially turfed sports field, a gymnasium, a multi-purpose hall, a K-12 library, an auditorium and, located on the ninth floor, an aquatic centre with a 25-metre swimming pool. It was the winner of the 2001 HKIA Medal of the Year, Hong Kong's foremost architectural award.[3]

Admissions procedure

Admission into the Australian International School is competitive. Applicants submit their applications after which a written test and an interview are conducted to test the applicants' English language proficiency, their academic competency and their potential contributions to the school and society.

School system

The school follows a southern hemisphere custom where school year starts in February and ends in mid December. Mondays to Fridays are school days. Unlike at other Hong Kong local schools there are four term breaks during the school year, usually in April, July and October.[4]

House system

The school operates under a house system, each student is assigned to a house. The houses compete each year against each other to try and win competitions in both sports and academics. The houses are:

The houses are named after Australian plants.

Academics

The school campus

Emphasis is given to Australian English competence, sports, and knowledge of Australian culture and history. Chinese (spoken: Putonghua, written: simplified) is also taught as part of Chinese Studies to Primary students, as part of a language in Year 7–8 and as an elective in Year 8–12.

Junior secondary students study Australian geography and history. The School Certificate exam is undertaken at the end of Year 10 around November. Year 11 and 12 students are able to choose between the Higher School Certificate programme and the IB Diploma Programme. The Higher School Certificate is based on the New South Wales Stage 6 curriculum.

University entrance

Students have gained entrance to tertiary institutions such as University of New South Wales, University of Sydney and also universities such as Australian National University.

Students have gained entry to universities outside Australia such as Oxford University, Imperial College London, London School of Economics, Harvard College, Berkeley, Purdue University, University of Southern California and some other Ivy league universities.


Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Our Teachers". Australian International School Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  2. ↑ "Tuition Fees: 2008". Australian International School Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 21 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  3. ↑ "HKIA Medal of the Year". The Hong Kong Institute of Architects. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  4. ↑ "Calendar". Australian International School Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 16 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-16.

External links