Australian Schools- AIS vs Avondale?

[AussiesToSing]

Hi there, We are moving from Australia to Singapore later this year, and are considering the 2 schools offering Australian curriculum (& adhere to Australian school calendar).
The 2 options as far as I know are AIS (Australian International School) and Avondale. They differ in many ways - AIS is huge (3000 students) vs Avondale (300 students). AIS is further out, Avondale is more central. AIS offers IB (international baccalaureate) vs Avondale which is more conventional curriculum.
When we move our kids will be 3 & 5 years of age.
I would love to hear from parents who have children attending one of these schools. Or from someone who has informed opinions about these schools.
Thanks so much!! Lara

[elspike]

Hi AussiestoSing,

We were in the same situation a couple of months ago. I posted to this thread: http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic ... highlight=

Since then we are in our first week at AIS, and I'm still very happy with our choice. Feel free to PM me if you'd like more information.

[AussiesToSing]

Thanks for your reply- I appreciate it.
How is the settling in going? I am a little worried about how my 2 will feel starting at a new school - as they are so happy at their current schools.
Where are you living in Singapore? - and how are you getting the kids to school- and how long does the commute take?
Also-
Did you consider Avondale?

[elspike]

Settling in is going very well. Our older boy is in year 1 and they have a great program of making sure they always have a buddy and are included in activities.

International schools are always cycling through students so the kids are very used to making new friends and being inclusive.

Our 3 year old literally launched himself at the teacher on the first day and gave her a giant hug. He has always been very social but he is absolutely thriving here.

We too came from a wonderful primary school in Perth, where we knew all our neighbours and other parents.

We are currently in a Serviced Apartment near Nicoll highway MRT and it takes us about 40 minutes from door to door. We are moving to Bishan (Marymount Road) and it will take about 20 minutes door to door.

We did consider Avondale. As I said in the above linked post, we visited them and had a tour. It definitely has a more small community primary school feel to it. The staff are nice and were welcoming to visitors. The school is based out of a converted office building and the rooms are very strangely laid out which threw us off a bit, and after seeing the facilities at AIS which was designed as a school from the ground up it was quite striking a difference.

There are pros and cons to all the schools here in SG. You need to come up for 3-4 days and schedule some visits to all of the schools. Don't just limit yourself to AIS and Avondale too. Go see One World International, and Overseas Family School and United World College. It will help you get a feel for the different options. They are all about the same cost in the end.

You should also take a look at a few apartments in the areas you think you may live so you can get a perspective on the size of them.

They are very different to housing in Australia. And places that advertise as 120m2 are much smaller than the equivalent size due to space being set aside for maids rooms and extra bath rooms.

[shauneagle]

AIS by a country mile, Avondale has very poor reputation in Sing due to management problems and very high staff turnover. When you compare the campus alone, it's an easy decision for the same money.