Australian International School Saigon, Australian International School in Saigon

• Year founded: 2006
• Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Number of students: 1330
• Type of education: mixed
• Type of institution: private international day school with boarding
• Language of instruction: English.

Australian International School Saigon (AIS Saigon) — a private international school in Ho Chi Minh City. Its history began in 2006 with a secondary school campus in District 3; already in 2007, the Lotus and Cherry Blossom campuses for kindergarten and primary school, along with a sports center, opened in Thao Dien, while the main full-cycle campus — for students from 18 months to 18 years old — was built in Thu Thiem.

The academic model combines the early play-based Inspired approach, the IB Primary Years Programme, the Cambridge Middle School programme, the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), and the Diploma Programme in the upper years. Following accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) in December 2025, Year 13 graduates gained a new pathway: they can earn the International Baccalaureate Diploma, an American High School Diploma with NEASC accreditation, or both qualifications simultaneously.

Since 2019, AIS has been part of the Inspired Education Group: the network unites 121 schools and educates more than 95,000 students. In 2020, AIS became the first international school in Vietnam with a premium boarding facility on campus. In 2024, AIS undertook a major renovation of three campuses, upgrading learning spaces, sports areas, and facilities for younger year groups.

The academic programme at AIS increases in complexity gradually: from a play-based environment in the lower grades to exam preparation in senior school. At the early stage, children learn through play following the Inspired Early Years approach. From the age of three, the Primary Years Programme of the International Diploma begins: students work with themes, questions, observations, and projects, connecting different subjects within a single learning task. In Years 1–6, Cambridge English & Maths are added to this foundation.

In middle school, students progress to Cambridge Lower Secondary, then to IGCSE. In Years 10–11, each student studies eight Cambridge subjects: English language, mathematics, one language or global studies block, three elective subjects, and physical education without an exam. For Vietnamese students, Vietnamese literature, history, and geography under the national curriculum are additionally compulsory.

In Years 12–13, students choose their graduation pathway. Senior students are supported by university admissions counsellors, tutors, a school psychologist, and dedicated wellbeing sessions; separate study areas are provided for independent work on campus.

• The AIS boarding school became the first international boarding school in Ho Chi Minh City.
• The school is built on the Australian educational tradition: openness, confidence, support, a commitment to quality, creative thinking, fair play, and a willingness to try new things. In school life, this is expressed through sports, the arts, the house system, the AIS Titans teams, and extracurricular activities.
• AIS has a separate sports program, Kidzone, in Thao Dien, open to AIS students and children from other schools. Classes take place at the Cherry Blossom sports center and include swimming, karate, basketball, football, and pickleball. The program offers Waterbabies classes for children aged 6 to 36 months, Li’x Kix Swimming for children aged 3–6, and Advanced Swimming for students who are already confident in the water and continue to develop their swimming technique.

The AIS boarding house is located on the Thu Thiem campus and accommodates students in Years 7–13. The school describes this format as the first premium international boarding house in Ho Chi Minh City. Capacity is 50 students; residential rooms, common areas, and independent study spaces are provided.

The boarding house operates in two formats.

• Full Boarding provides accommodation from Monday to Sunday, except on public and school holidays.
• School-Day Boarding is designed for accommodation from Monday to Friday, except on public and school holidays.

The fee includes breakfast and dinner on school days; for full boarders, lunch is also included on weekends.

Catering is provided by the partner The Caterers. The school menu includes Asian, Western, and vegetarian dishes; the school does not use nuts in its meals and accommodates allergies and dietary requirements. Payment for meals and campus purchases is handled through a cashless system: students use their school ID card. The boarding menu is published in advance; snacks and beverages can be purchased separately.

Laundry service operates daily: linen is collected, washed, ironed, and returned within two days. Access to the residential building is monitored around the clock: security is in place at the entrance, separate rules apply to visitors, and access to residential floors is restricted.

Leisure at AIS is built around sports, arts, music, technology, and community initiatives. School interest-based classes run Monday through Friday from 14:50 to 15:50 — led by AIS teachers, teacher assistants, and invited specialists.

Extracurricular activities include the GLEE choir club, Arts & Crafts, chess, tennis, basketball, football, netball, the Swim Squad swimming team, Robotic STEM, drama, dance, Magic Club, Spanish and Chinese languages, roller skating, acrobatics and gymnastics, judo, sewing, golf, and surfing. For younger students at Thao Dien, the school holds regular events, field trips, and camps for Years 2–6.

School sports are represented by the AIS Titans teams. AIS has 50+ competitive teams and 30+ coaches, with students competing in more than 12 sports: from football, basketball, volleyball, swimming, and tennis to badminton, netball, cricket, touch rugby, t-ball, benchball, and athletics. Teams participate in SISAC, AISA Games, ASAC, UNIS Swim Invitational, AIS Sprint Invitational, and the ISB Meet in Bangkok.

For boarding students, AIS organizes a dedicated after-school and weekend program: sports, creative activities, cooking masterclasses, and group evenings. On weekends, students go out to the city: to the Military Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Independence Palace, Tao Dan Park, Dam Sen Cultural Park, Jump Arena, climbing centers such as Push Climbing or Skywalk Climbing, as well as shopping malls and cinemas in Ho Chi Minh City.

• Full educational pathway from 18 months to 18 years: kindergarten, primary school, middle school, IGCSE, upper school, and graduation tracks.
• Two urban clusters: the main Thu Thiem campus for the full cycle and Thao Dien with Lotus and Cherry Blossom sites for kindergarten and primary school.
• Boarding house for Years 7–13 students, with a capacity of 50 places.
• International Baccalaureate authorization — from the Primary Years Programme to the Diploma Programme.
• Cambridge programme in middle school and IGCSE in Years 10–11.
• Accreditation by the Council of International Schools and NEASC, with the option to obtain a High School Diploma.
• The average score of graduates in the Diploma Programme in 2025 was 34.5 points against a world average of 30.58; 77% of graduates received a bilingual diploma.

AIS operates on three campuses.

• Thu Thiem — the main campus, designed for ages 18 months to 18 years. It is located on the Thu Thiem peninsula, in the rapidly developing urban area of Ho Chi Minh City. Full-cycle programs, high school, the diploma program, boarding, and the main sports infrastructure are all based here.
• Thao Dien serves kindergarten and primary school. This cluster consists of two buildings within An Phu Superior Compound:
  • Lotus for kindergarten,
  • Cherry Blossom for primary school.

They are just 300 meters apart. After kindergarten, children move to Cherry Blossom; after Year 6 — to Thu Thiem.

Thu Thiem is home to a library and media center, a dedicated zone for diploma program students, science laboratories, computer classrooms, design and technology workshops, music and dance rooms, and its own theater. In the workshops, students engage in engineering design, robotics, and prototype development.

Sports facilities are distributed between the Thu Thiem and Thao Dien campuses. Thu Thiem features a FIFA-standard 7-a-side football pitch, a 25-meter swimming pool, a large air-conditioned sports hall, and covered courts for volleyball, tennis, pickleball, netball, and basketball. Thao Dien provides swimming pools and an all-season covered multi-sport court for younger students.

The AIS academic year is divided into two semesters and four academic periods: the first semester includes periods I and II, the second — periods III and IV respectively. Classes are held Monday through Friday, from 8:00 to 14:40. The school office is open from 7:30 to 16:30 during the academic year.

Additional expenses:

• registration fee,
• place confirmation fee,
• boarding accommodation,
• meals,
• school bus,
• school uniform,
• medical insurance,
• learning materials outside the standard package,
• EAL/IELP language support,
• special educational needs support,
• participation in academic competitions,
• sports trips.

It is also recommended to budget an amount for students' personal expenses.

Admission usually begins with a tour of one of the campuses — Thu Thiem or Thao Dien. After that, the family fills out a registration form and uploads documents: school reports for the two previous years, a translation into English (if required), the child's passport or birth certificate, parents' documents, information about special educational needs (if any), as well as certificates of academic, sports, creative, or community achievements.

The school then invites the child for an entrance assessment and an interview with the principal or their deputy. If AIS is ready to accept the student, the family receives an offer letter.

To secure a place, the enrollment confirmation fee must be paid, followed by the tuition itself. After that, AIS completes the enrollment process, arranges language support or learning adaptation assistance if needed. For boarding students, the accommodation format, meals, and arrival date on campus are agreed upon separately.

After AIS, graduates enter universities in Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, the USA, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Among the first-choice universities are the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne, the Australian National University, Monash University, the University of New South Wales, the University of Auckland, RMIT University Vietnam; Duke University, Georgetown University, the University of California, Los Angeles, New York University, Boston University, the University of Oxford, King’s College London; the University of Warwick, the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, Keio, Waseda, Seoul National University, Yonsei, and Sungkyunkwan.

Graduates' further paths are most commonly associated with business, finance, law, engineering, information technology, music, sports, psychology, and medicine.

The candidate must confirm that they are ready to study in the AIS international program: they have sufficient academic knowledge, skills, and English language proficiency. All candidates undergo an English assessment and meet with the principal or deputy principal.

If a student needs language support, the school may assign a mandatory English as an Additional Language course — English as an additional language (paid separately).

If a child has special educational needs, the application is reviewed by the principal and the learning support coordinator. For admission to the international diploma program, AIS requires a minimum of five grades of C or above in IGCSE or a comparable program. For Higher Level subjects — in-depth level — the school recommends a grade of B or above; for Standard Level — standard level — C or above.

AIS offers scholarships to new students enrolling in Years 7–12 for the 2026/27 academic year. The level of support ranges from 10% to 100% of the annual tuition fee. The scholarship can be retained for up to 7 years — provided the student maintains a high academic standard and actively participates in school life.

The school evaluates more than just grades: the application takes into account achievements in academics, sports, and the arts. To apply, you need to complete an online form and a scholarship form with terms and conditions, and attach school reports for the two previous years, certificates of academic, sports, cultural, or community achievements, a copy of the student's passport or birth certificate, and a copy of the parent's passport or ID card.

There is a Dream Big Scholarships program for new students from Kindergarten to Year 12, which can also cover up to 100% of tuition fees. When reviewing applications, the school considers academic ability, interest in learning, motivation, and achievements in art, music, sports, and community activities.

• Guardianship services during the studies
• Student supervision