International School of Western Australia (ISWA) an extension of International Institute of Health Sciences (IIHS), is Sri Lanka’s first-ever Institute to offer the Australian Advanced Level programme. ISWA gears students to not only obtain an Australian secondary educational qualification but also grooms them for their Australian journey.
Established with the vision of being a positive and creative learning community that embraces its history and prepares students for life, International School of Western Australia (ISWA) is a strategic business unit of IIHS that is founded on the core values of Respect, Effort, Service, Positivity, Excellence, Creativity and Teamwork.
At ISWA, students are prepared for their life in Australia through an exclusive Australian Cultural Orientation online course which is conducted free of cost upon the completion of registration. The course aims to orient them to the Australian culture in terms of living, studying and working. The students are prepped and educated to become global citizens, geared to face the global challenges of the 21st century with the necessary skill sets and knowledge.
ISWA offers the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) which is a two-year program covering Year 11 and 12 where students sit for the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) examination at the end of Year 12. The base curriculum module includes English as an Additional Dialect or Language (EALD), exempting students from IELTS when they apply for their tertiary education which is an added advantage in terms of time and cost.
“Sri Lankan youth have the courage and capability to achieve anything. It’s a matter of giving them the right opportunity and at IIHS we are constantly striving to provide them with such suitable opportunities that will give them access to higher education in the international sphere. Majority of the students prefer going to Australia for higher education and our programme aims to help them acclimatize and be comfortable with the Australian system, “ stated Dr. Kithsiri Edirisinghe.
The parent organisation IIHS recently appointed longstanding international education industry figure, Australian, Mr. Carl Jones to its board. “Starting an international school is no light undertaking. But, ISWA is led by a team of very experienced educators who have steered IIHS to the forefront of higher education in Sri Lanka, largely through longstanding connections with international curriculum. The management team is complimented by a host of best-of-breed secondary school educators, including Australian staff, stated Mr. Jones.
A solid foundation is provided through an intensive foundation programme for 3 months preparing students for the WACE as well as the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) which is a mandatory assessment that determines the awarding of the WACE qualification. Successful completion of the WACE along with the achieved ATAR score, will open doors for students granting them access to scholarships awarded by the Western Australian government.
Admissions are now open for the September 2021 intake with the foundation programme commencing in September 2021 and the WACE commencing in January 2022. Students who have successfully completed London O/Ls or Local O/Ls (English medium) with minimum B grade for the required subjects including English and Mathematics are eligible to apply for the course.