Preparing Students for Life
At AISM, we lay the foundations for academic success, a love of learning, a healthy lifestyle and a commitment to the community and leadership.
Similar to A Levels, IB Diploma or STPM, our Years 11 and 12 studies culminate in the award of the New South Wales Higher School Certificate (NSW HSC). This provides a flexible curriculum pathway to either specialise in a specific field or complete a wide range of subjects.
Kimberley Kam (Year 11), shares her thoughts about the Australian International School Malaysia.
Residential Leadership Camp in Australia’s #1 Ranking University — University of Melbourne, Australia
Our Pre-University Programme offers:
- Small Class Sizes
- 1:1 Mentoring
- Opportunities in Leadership
- Sport
- Arts
- Social Wellbeing
- Intercultural Understanding
- Access to Academic Competitions
- Careers & Pathway Planning
- Residential Leadership Camp in University of Melbourne, Australia
GLOBAL UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE
About 50% of AISM graduates were accepted into universities worldwide, while 30% of our graduates go to Australian universities. The rest choose to pursue their tertiary education in Malaysia.
DISTANCE EDUCATION PATHWAYS
Pre-University students have the opportunity to complete a wide range of subjects through one to one mentoring programs via distance education.
FLEXIBILITY TO OPT FOR BROADER SKILL SET
While some have it nailed down right from the start, many students are unsure of what they want to specialise in their tertiary education. Therefore, students can choose to specialise for the Higher School Certificate or keep their options open by studying a broad base of subjects. The only mandatory subject is English, which can be studied at different ability levels. Students have the option of studying at least 6 subjects in Year 11 and 5 subjects in Year 12.
BALANCED ASSESSMENT APPROACH MIRRORING TERTIARY EDUCATION
Fifty percent of the Higher School Certificate final examination is assessed internally through various projects, assignments, tests, presentations and other methods. The remaining 50% is determined by end of the year examinations set by New South Wales Education Standards Authority. This experience of consistently being assessed through varied methods mirrors the experience of being in university where a lot of focus is placed on assignments and presentations, rather than examinations.
RESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP CAMP AT AUSTRALIA’S #1 RANKING UNIVERSITY
Subjects
Students have a choice of selecting English, Advanced English or Advanced English or English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D), which must meet the NSW Board of Studies ESL criteria.
At the senior level, students are able to choose 10 to 14 units of study in a variety of combinations:
2-UNIT SUBJECTS
- Mathematics Standard
- Mathematics Advanced
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Economics
- Geography
- Legal Studies
- Music 1 and 2
- French
- Design and Technology
- Visual Arts
- Drama
- Mandarin
- PDHPE
- Society and Culture
- Modern History
- Distance Education Pathways
- Software Design and Development
- Business Studies
1-UNIT SUBJECTS
- Mathematics Extension 1
- Mathematics Extension 2 (Year 12 only)
- Extension 1 English
- Extension 2 English (Year 12 only)
Students choose their subject specialisations in Year 11, but they cannot change in Year 12. However, many students choose an extra subject in Year 11, which they can choose to withdraw from in Year 12. Find out more about the HSC and its assessments on the NSW Board of Studies website.
Careers and Pathways

As competition gets tougher, we help our students understand how to stand out as well as choosing their universities and available career paths with an Australian education.
Our Careers and Pathways Advisor help out with university applications, understanding their proposed future plans, giving them career counselling, as well as planning for the next step. More information available on our Careers & Pathway Planning.