Merger of ACG Vietnam and AIS - The Academic Colleges Group

Merger of ACG Vietnam and AIS 

“Coming together to inspire excellence”

ACG Vietnam and AIS are coming together 

(merging) 

• ACG Vietnam and AIS have the same owners 

• Academic Colleges Group is the majority owner 

and TCCL is the minority owner of both schools 

• The merged school will have the same ownership 

structure 

2 


Academic Colleges Group and TCCL 

• ACG was established in 1994. It is a New Zealand based 

private education company with its Head Office in Auckland, 

New Zealand 

• ACG is the leading provider of private education in New 

Zealand. It owns and manages 7 top private and 

international schools in New Zealand. ACG is also the 

majority owner of an international school in Jakarta 

• TCCL was established in 2005. It is a Vietnamese private 

company with its Head Office in HCMC 

• TCCL provides business, legal and regulatory assistance to 

ACG Vietnam and AIS 

3 


ACG Vietnam and AIS have a lot in common 

• A desire for academic excellence 

• An emphasis on quality 

• Similar curricula 

• A personal approach to education where every student matters 

• Strong pastoral care systems 

• Students enjoy a wide range of activities including some shared 

activities 

• The Middle and Senior Schools share the same campus 

• Shared Senior School classes 

4 


The merger will bring many benefits 

• The merged school will be the second largest international school in 

HCMC 

• The greater number of senior students will enable a wider range of 

subjects to be on offer in the Senior School 

• A bigger team of teachers means: 

• More professional dialogue 

• Greater collegial support 

• Further subject specialisation 

5 


The merger will bring many benefits (2) 

• An even wider range of activities 

• More competitive sports teams 

• A choice of locations for Primary School and Kindergarten students 

• Primary Schools – Thu Thiem Campus and Thao Dien Campus 

• Kindergartens – Thu Thiem Campus, Thao Dien Campus and Xi Campus 

• Students will belong to a more diverse student community with 

over 35 nationalities 

• A single bus service 

• Greater efficiencies in the use of resources and time 

6 


Merger date 

• Official merger date is 1 July 2013 

• Until then ACG Vietnam and AIS will continue 

to operate as separate schools 

7 


Merged School Management Structure 

8 


Key People 

• Members Council is the governing body of the school: 

Nigel Russell (Chairman, and Director of TCCL), Clarence van der Wel 

(Chief Operating Officer, ACG), Tim Jennison (Chief Financial Officer, 

ACG), Danny Chan (Deputy Chairman, ACG Board of Directors), Thuy 

Nguyen (Director, TCCL) 

• General Director is responsible for the overall academic and operational 

management of the school: Clarence van der Wel 

• Deputy General Director supports the General Director on a range of 

matters: Thuy Nguyen 

• The Executive Principal is the academic and professional leader and is 

responsible for the day to day management of the school: to be appointed 

9 


Name of Merged School 

• In deciding on a name we considered the following criteria: 

• Simple and easy to remember 

• Recognised internationally / global appeal 

• Already known in the market 

• Various names were considered including: 

• ACG Vietnam 

• AIS 

• ACG Australian International School 

• A completely new name 

• AIS was chosen as this name best fitted the criteria 

10 


Branding 

• The merged school will use the current AIS branding, including 

the motto “Leading to a Bright Future” 

• References to ACG will appear in certain places 

11 


Merged School Year Level Structure 

• Year Level Nomenclature 

• Kindergarten: Dynotots 2 to Dynotots 4 (ages 2 to 4 years) 

• Primary School: Year 1 to Year 6 (ages 5 to 10 years) 

• Middle School: Year 7 to Year 11 (ages 11 to 15 years) 

• Senior School: Year 12 to Year 13 (ages 16 and 17 years) 

• For ACG Vietnam students this means no change 

12 


Curriculum Overview 

• Internationally recognised curricula 

• Rigorous international examinations 

13 


Primary School Curriculum 

Dynotots 3 to Year 6 

• The IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) 

• Subjects include Language, Social Studies, Mathematics, 

Arts, Science and Personal, Social and Physical Education 

• An emphasis on developing numeracy and literacy skills 

• At the heart of the programme's philosophy is a commitment 

to structured, purposeful inquiry as the leading vehicle for 

learning 

14 


Middle School Curriculum 

Years 7 to 11 

• Cambridge Secondary Programme with International General Certificate in 

Secondary Education (IGCSE) 

• Years 7 – 10 the Cambridge Secondary Programme focussing on the development 

of knowledge and skills in three key subject areas - English, Mathematics and 

Science. Other subjects will follow the existing curriculum developed by AIS and 

ACG Vietnam, ie Humanities, Languages, Arts and Physical Education 

• Year 11 IGCSE, a reputable international qualification with a rigorous set of 

examinations used to prepare students for A Levels or IB Diploma 

• A large number of IB Diploma schools world-wide offer the Cambridge IGCSE 

qualification as preparation for the IB Diploma 

• External assessments include Cambridge Checkpoint Tests in Year 9 and the 

IGCSE examinations at the end of Year 11 

15 


Senior School Curriculum 

Years 12 and 13 

• IB Diploma, a two-year pre-university examination based academic course 

• Widely recognized and highly regarded by respected colleges and 

universities all over the world 

• The Programme covers six major areas of study and CORE units: 

• Studies in language and literature 

• Language acquisition 

• Experimental sciences 

• The arts 

• Mathematics and computer science 

• Individuals and societies 

• Core: Extended essay; theory of knowledge; creativity, action, service 

16 


Senior School Curriculum 

Years 12 and 13 (2) 

• UNSW Foundation Studies Year 13 Curriculum, a one year programme 

which provides direct entry to University of New South Wales and also 

recognised by universities throughout the world 

17 


The Future 

• We value the support that parents, students and teachers have 

given the school over the past 6 years 

• We respect the decision you made in choosing ACG Vietnam as 

the school for your children 

• Even though the merged school will be bigger, we will continue 

to hold fast to our core values: 

• Help each student achieve their potential 

• Provide a caring and nurturing environment so students can thrive 

and excel 

18 


The Future (2) 

• In coming together we are combining the 

strengths of both schools to create a stronger school 

that will: 

• be an exciting and vibrant place for young people to grow and learn 

• offer an approach to education that is second to none in HCMC 

• inspire excellence 

19

Merger of ACG Vietnam and AIS - The Academic Colleges Group

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?