Australian International School Singapore

Australian International School
Location
1 Lorong Chuan
Singapore 556818
in Serangoon Gardens area
Singapore, Singapore
Coordinates 1°20.740′N 103°51.630′E / 1.345667°N 103.860500°ECoordinates: 1°20.740′N 103°51.630′E / 1.345667°N 103.860500°E
Information
School type Private International School
Established 1993
Founded Coral Dixon
Principal Mr. Andre Casson
Faculty over 300 academic; over 70 teaching support; over 50 admin (2013)
Enrolment Over 50 nationalities, with 67% from Australia and New Zealand[1]
Average class size 25
Education system IGCSE, IB, HSC
Classes offered prep-12
Language English, Chinese, French and Indonesian
Hours in school day 10
Campus Urban
Campus size 1000-1300 square metres
School color(s) Green & Gold
Slogan Globally focused, distinctly Australian
Song Reach for the stars
Mascot Sharks
Nickname AIS
Accreditation IB, NSW Board of Studies, University of Cambridge IGCSE, Association of International Schools, EduTrust Singapore
School fees $20,000-$40,000 a year, depending on age and grade
Phone +65 6883 5155
Death of Dr. Nick Miller (Former Principal) Wednesday, 8th April 2015
Former Principals Coral Dixon, Peter Bond & Nick Miller
Website www.ais.com.sg

The Australian International School (AIS), is a private co-educational international school in Singapore. The school is owned by Cognita. AIS is made up of three sub-schools; an Early Years Centre, an Elementary School and a Secondary School. The Early Years Centre includes Nursery and Preschool (age 2-4 years). The Elementary School includes Lower Elementary School (Prep-Year 2) and Upper Elementary School (Year 3-Year 5). The Secondary School includes Year 6 to Year 12. Each of these three schools have their own Head of School, who report to the Principal.

In 2007 the school adopted the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program (PYP) and in 2009 the IB Middle Years Program (MYP) for Years 6 - 9.[2] The IB curriculum is taught in conjunction with New South Wales Board of Studies syllabuses. Final year students take the New South Wales Board of Studies Higher School Certificate examinations. In 2013 AIS implemented the IGCSE curriculum and examinations for Years 9 and 10, in place of the MYP, with the Australian curriculum for Years 6-8.

History

The Australian International School opened on 3 February 1993 on Mount Sophia, an area behind Plaza Singapura and the Cathay Building reconstruction. The School started under the leadership of Miss Coral Dixon, with 32 students and 7 teachers, with no air-conditioning, uniform or facilities that are now taken for granted. By the end of 1993 there were over 200 students.

The School experienced rapid growth and by the end of July 1994, with numbers just over 500, the students moved to Emerald Hill, directly behind Orchard Road. Although the School was bigger and could accommodate more students it still did not have a full–sized gym, pool, theatre and other much needed facilities.

As the School continued to expand it was clear that space was running out at Emerald Hill and by the end of 1997, AIS had moved to Ulu Pandan, near Clementi, the site of the old Singapore American School, which had recently moved to a new site at Woodlands.

The School enjoyed just over 5 years at Ulu Pandan during which time it finally secured land to construct a purpose built school at Lorong Chuan, with first class facilities. In February 2002, Mr Peter Bond began as Principal of AIS. The School moved from Ulu Pandan to its final “home” at Lorong Chuan over the holidays in July 2003, with 1100 students enrolled. The school was officially opened by then Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, John Anderson and Singapore's then Acting Minister for Education, Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

In October 2007, the School was purchased by the Cognita Group of Schools and in July 2008, a Junior School and Preschool wing were built to house children from Preschool to Year 2 at a purpose-built facility. The campus is a bright, airy and semi-modern building with large pod spaces for group work. In 2011, a new Senior building was opened to accommodate Year 10, 11 and 12 students. This wing incorporates private study spaces, nearly 40 classrooms and a new Science area.

In January 2012, Dr Nick Miller took over as Principal of AIS, and the School moved to a new school structure with two sub-schools: Elementary School (Preschool, Junior School and Primary School) and Secondary School.

Towards the middle of 2014, Dr Nick Miller stood down as principal due to Motor Neuron Disease.

Mr Andre Cason became acting principal, and was given the job in Term 4 of 2014.

Dr. Nick Miller passed away on the 8th of April 2015

Currently there are roughly 2600 students enrolled and the School employs over 300 members of teaching staff.

Student Body and Teaching Staff

Today the student body is made of over 50 different nationalities, with 66% coming from Australia and New Zealand. Very few Singaporean students attend the school as the Singaporean government's regulations prevent most of its citizens from attending international schools within the country. The average stay of a student is approximately 2–4 years and the average stay of a teacher is approximately 5–6 years.

Ownership

AIS has been privately owned by Cognita since 2007. Cognita is a leading international independent schools group, committed to excellence in education. Founded in 2004, the Cognita family of schools now incorporates over 64 schools world-wide, with schools in the UK, Spain, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Brazil and Chile covering the age range of 2 – 18 years.

References

  1. ↑ "Information to New Staff for 2009". The Australian International School. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  2. ↑ Official list (from the IBO) of schools in Singapore offering IB Programs

External links