Australian International School

[Denise]

Coming to Singapore in March with boy 6, girl 8 (Australian) Any comments about the AIS would be appreciated. Thanks.

[jon01]

Hello Denise
The School is located on the central-western side of the island and is readily acessible by public transport/car.
It has very old and run down facilities, and this will not change for the next few years at least until it possibly relocates to the Braddell region.
The school is run for profit, and fee levels are very high by Australian standards (but not Singapore standards)and everything will be an additional cost (Bus,deposits, registration, trips etc.)so basically if the company does not pay you would need to be on a very good salary to accommodate this and coming from Australia the "value-for-money" does not seem to be there.
The standard of education is excellent,(based on the NSW System) especially at the primary level and the school is very achievement orientated with exams starting at year 3!
It would be worth a look if you want to keep to the Jan-Dec terms (and you do need to look past the run down appearance), but I would also look at the other schools (e.g Tanglin, UWC, OFS)if the system was less of concern

[AliB]

Just in case you get the wrong impression of a school falling down around the kids ears - it is not that bad! It is an old school by Singapore standards but regular maintenance, including painting is carried out.  It is the old campus for the American School and it actually has quite an interesting and workable design (I am speaking as parent of senior kids here) which the teachers seem to like.  The new school is to be built but until then we are assured that the maintenance will continue.

The primary school is very popular and  parents I talk to seem very happy with it.  I met the new head of Primary yesterday and he seems very switched on.

[Liya]

If we are coming on July-August, is that means our daughters, now second grade and kindergarten will join their class in the middle of the year? Basing on the term's facts that a year starts on January?
Are they the only one who start on January or the others start on September?

[AliB]

Liya

Yes the Australian School is the only school in Singapore which runs its year from January to December.  However it does compromise by having only a 4 week break at Christmas and another 4 week break in July so that parents with children at other schools can fit in to some extent.

So if you are coming in the middle of the year it will mean that your children will start half way through the school year but as 25% of the school population turns over every term, the school is used to these problems and at the age your children are I shouldn't think they would be very disadvantaged.

[Mark D]

Denise
I have a 8 and 11 year old who just started at AIS. If you let me have your email address, I would be pleased to give more feedback on the school.

Maybe my 8 year old could email yours and make her feel she has a friend before she arrives. They'll probably be in the same class.

You can email me by clicking on the icon above this posting.

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[Liya]

AliB,

Thank you for your comments. Now let me understand other issue, does it work regularly in OZ and NZ as well? Is this how the system works?

[AliB]

Not quite sure what you mean Liya but I assume you are asking me if all Australian and NZ schools run a school year from Jan to Dec.  Yes they do.  In Australia (I am not sure about NZ) summer holidays are generally 6-8 weeks with 4 terms of approx 10 weeks (term breaks in April, July and September and Dec/Jan).  I hope that answers your question.

[Liya]

AliB, That was exactly what i meant. Thanks a lot.

[aiss]

Yes, the school is in poor shape as far as the facilities are concerned. There are serious leaks in most of the upper classrooms and most of the furniture and fittings are also well worn.  Any maintenence being carried out is when things get desperate.
Ali have you looked "up" at school lately?? Most of the ceiling is falling down!

Having said that the staff are wonderful  - doing it for love (certainly not the money!) - and the children are well cared for and stimulated.
I am concerned about the lack of ECAs for young chilren. On a campus with so many senior students and limited space the "littlies" seem to come second, in terms of pool use, gym use, and access to computers etc.

Classes for 13 - 17yr olds are mainly regional students ( partic Indonesia and Korea) where english is the 2nd, or 3rd language - this tends to hamper learning for first language students in some instances. There are not enough esl classes for these students.

Given a choice of another school with the Jan - dec school yr I would have looked further afield than AISS. Seems they have the game sown up at the moment and they know it!

[Denise]

aiss thanks your comments are thought provoking to say the least.  I am not tied into a Jan-Dec. school year really, what other school would you reccommend.  I have the AIS eca's list and thought it was quite comprehensive, isn't it?  My children are coming from an International school with a British curriculum so I am not yet committed to anything.  Any more comments appreciated.

[expat]

If you are not committed to AIS then suggest strongly that you check out these schools with a British curriculum but are extremely highly regarded. Both schools have lots of pupils from Oz and NZ and other Commonwealth countries:
http://www.tts.edu.sg      (Tanglin Trust School)
http://www.uwcsea.edu.sg    (United World College of South East Asia)

However, they may have long wait lists as they are so popular - best to get your children's names down or at least make enquiries ASAP.

[Another Parent]

I'm an Australian with children aged 10 & 7 who I am considering sending to the AIS. I have walked through the school & it certainly appears very busy. This may seem a trivial matter but can anyone tell me where the kids play during lunchtime etc. I don't recall any areas set aside for running around.

[Denise]

I'd be interested to know that too.  Also how many Aussie kids at Dover Court or Tanglin Trust?  Is it true that the turnover per term at AIS is 25%  That doesn't sound very stable.

[also]

Denise, you may also like to ask about the staff turnover at the schools you visit.