Australian International School Hong Kong

Not to be confused with American International School Hong Kong.

Australian International School Hong Kong 香港澳洲國際學校
AISHK Campus Entrance
Address
3A Norfolk Road Kowloon Tong , Kowloon Hong Kong
Coordinates
Information
Type	Private
Established	1995
Chairperson	Tom Corkhill
Head of School	Mark Hemphill
Enrollment	1100
Language	English
Colour(s)	Green, gold
School fees	HK$95,100 to HK$204,800 per annum (2017)
Website	www.aishk.edu.hk

Australian International School Hong Kong (AISHK) is a co-educational international school in located in Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Founded in 1995, the school follows the New South Wales curriculum where senior students in Years 11 and 12 can either pursue the Higher School Certificate of the New South Wales Board of Studies or the IB Diploma Programme. Operating on an Australian school calendar (late January to mid December), AISHK aims to facilitate an easier transition for those entering from, or returning to, Australian or Southern Hemisphere schools or tertiary institutions. Enrollment currently stands at 1,100 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.

AISHK is widely considered one of the most prestigious schools in Hong Kong.

History

The school was founded to fulfill the growing demand for an Australian educational institution in Hong Kong. The school opened on 6 February 1995, and in 1999, the first group Year 10 students were awarded their NSW School Certificate. The school’s new permanent campus in Kowloon Tong opened on 4 September 2001, with student numbers growing to over 500 students that year.

Campus

The building is ten stories high with facilities such as an artificially-turfed sports field, an aquatic centre with a 25m indoor swimming pool, a gymnasium, a multi-purpose hall, a R-12 library, an auditorium and, located on the tenth floor, a green roof.

The campus building was the winner of the 2001 HKIA Medal of the Year, Hong Kong's foremost architectural award.

School system

The school follows a southern hemisphere calendar where the school year starts in February and ends in mid-December. School days are between Mondays to Fridays. Unlike other local Hong Kong schools, there are four term breaks in the academic year, usually in April, July and October.

House system

The school operates under a house system where each student is assigned to a House. The Houses compete against each other each year in competitions to win points, in hopes of winning the House Cup at the end of the school year. The Houses are named after Australian plants.

The houses are:

• Eucalypt (green)
• Jacaranda (blue)
• Waratah (red)
• Wattle (yellow)

Curriculum

The school offers education from Reception to Year 12. The primary curriculum is based on the Australian National Curriculum that has been adapted to suit the international setting..

Students in Year 7-10 follow the NSW Stage 4 & 5 Syllabus developed by the New South Wales Board of Studies.

In Years 11 and 12, students can either select the Higher School Certificate of the New South Wales Board of Studies or the IB Diploma Programme.

Chinese 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.

For 2009 results:

Year 10 – School Certificate:

The school maintained the trend established at AISHK over previous years, Year 10 School Certificate results were again outstanding, students significantly exceeding comparative State (NSW) data across all Key Learning Areas of Mathematics, English, Science, History, Geography and Computing.

Year 12 – Higher School Certificate (HSC):

One student being placed on the Prestigious All Rounders List i.e. scoring more than 90 in every subject

AISHK being ranked 47th in Mathematics results and 99th in English results from over 600 schools

In Design & Technology, a course taught by Ms Kate Vaughan, the percentage of AISHK students scoring 90 or above ranked our school No 1 of all schools presenting 5 or more candidates in the HSC.

International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma:

One student received 45 points (maximum possible)

15% of IB students received 43 or higher points

30% of IB students received 37 points or higher

69% of IB students received 31 points or higher

University Entrance

37% of AISHK students (HSC & IB) received an Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranking (ATAR) of 90 or above. This placed them in the top 10% of all applicants to Australian Universities

54% of AISHK students (HSC & IB) received an Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranking (ATAR) of 85 or above. This placed them in the top 15% of all applicants to Australian Universities

67% of AISHK (HSC & IB) students received an Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranking (ATAR) of 80 or above. This placed them in the top 20% of all applicants to Australian Universities

Based on its HSC results alone, AISHK ranked 61st from more than 600 schools in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Merit List for Distinguished Achievers (i.e. ranked percentage of students who scored more than 90 in a subject).

University entrance

Students have gained entrance to tertiary institutions in Australia, such as The Australian National University, The University of Sydney, The University of Melbourne, The University of New South Wales, The University of Queensland and Monash University.

Students have also gained entry to universities outside Australia, such as The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, City University of Hong Kong, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, London School of Economics, University College London, Central Saint Martins, The University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, Durham University, University of Warwick, University of Manchester, University of Birmingham, University of Nottingham, University of Bath, Queen Mary University of London, Royal Holloway, University of London, Loughborough University, Harvard University, The University of Chicago, Columbia University, New York University, University of California, Berkeley, Boston College, Boston University, Berklee College of Music, Purdue University, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, University of Southern California, Santa Clara University, University of Florida, The University of Arizona, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, Humboldt University of Berlin, Copenhagen Business School, Sogang University and Chulalongkorn University.

Admissions procedure

Admission into the Australian International School is extremely 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.

Society

It is estimated that over 72% of the students are passport holders of Australia and New Zealand, while the remaining are from Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, Korea, and other countries.

Notable alumni

• Stephanie Cheng - Hong Kong singer
• Rachel Poon - actress for TVB

External links

• Official website