1. Mt Buffalo International
School.
(MBIS)
An Acquisition Through Action
school.

2. Location
• Mount Buffalo Chalet is a
former guest house situated
in the Mt. Buffalo National
Park.

3. Opportunity
• It is earmarked by The Victorian
Government for an AUD 7.5 million
refurbishment project beginning in the
Spring time (Sep 2014).

4. Mt. Buffalo National
Park
is a 31,000 hectares (77,000
acres) national park in Victoria, Australia.
It is located approximately 350 kilometres
northeast of Melbourne in the Australian
Alps. It is 650 km south west of Sydney
and 459 km from Canberra, the national
capital.

5. Mt. Buffalo
Within the national park is Mt Buffalo, a
moderately high mountain plateau, with an
elevation of 1,723 metres (5,653 ft)

6. Environment
The region around Mt. Buffalo is one of the
most pristine alpine areas in Southern
Australia.

7. Year Round Activities
Activities such as rock climbing, mountain
biking, horse riding and hiking are
available year round.

8. Alpine/ Winter
• XC & downhill skiing/ snowboarding are
available in Winter. The official Victorian
ski season runs from June to September

9. Summer
There are both high altitude and plateau
level lakes. These are suitable for
swimming, wind surfing, kite surfing
and kayaking.

10. On site Facilities
• The chalet still possesses
desirable recreation facilities.

11. Acquisition Through Action
(ATA).Globally, the most prestigious international
schools (most in highland, sub – alpine or
alpine areas) have extensive outdoor
education/ adventure/ activity programs.
Their enquiry based learning/ academic
curricula are closely linked to these
programs as a means of ensuring theory in
all subject areas, is put into context.

12. e.g. Aiglon College
• The The Good Schools Guide International
called the school "strong educationally, strong
emotionally, tough physically.
• Aiglon College is located at an elevation of 1,300
metres (4,300 feet) above sea level, in the
alpine village of Chesières-Villars, near the ski
resort of Villars-sur-Ollon. The closest larger
town is Aigle, and the nearest major cities
are Montreuxand Lausanne

13. Unique to SEA/ Sth
Pacific
• The unique nature of MBIS would be
seen as a positive attribute in an
increasingly competitive

14. Weather
Because of its relatively low altitude the
plateau doesn’t experience extremely low
winter temperatures. Similarly, during
summers the plateau doesn’t experience the
extreme 40 degree ‘highs’ of lowland areas.

15. Albury/ Wodonga
• The regional centre of Albury/ Wodonga is
close by.
• These twin cities sit on either side of the
Murray River, cleverly blending city style
and country pace. Home to around 90,000
people, Albury/ Wodonga is served by
major road rail and air links connecting it
with Sydney, Melbourne & Canberra.

16. Tertiary Options in the
Region
• Charles Sturt University (CSU) has a
full campus in Albury/ Wodonga, as
has Wodonga TAFE/ La Trobe
University. These are seen as a
significant factors as they reinforce
that the region could offer tertiary
options to MBIS students.

17. CSU Students & Courses
• There is an existing international tertiary
student population at CSU
• In context courses such as Agricultural
and Wine Sciences along with more
traditional courses such as Business, IT,
Computing and Mathematics are available
at CSU.

18. Existing Hospitality
Courses• Significantly, Wodonga TAFE has a
hospitality section which operates an on-
campus restaurant.
• This could mean the government’s plans
for a chalet based cafe could be
maintained and a teaching/ learning link
established between the TAFE & MBIS.

19. IB & IGCSE @ MBIS
The IGCSE offers subjects such as :
• Travel & tourism
• Food and nutrition
Environmental management
IB Curriculum design could include in-
context subject matter within the Diploma
CAS component and the Environmental
Systems extra subject

20. Accessibility
• Albury/ Wodonga is also serviced by
one of Autralia’s busiest regional
airports. Both QANTAS and Virgin Blue
utilise the airport.

21. Accessibility
• Albury/ Wodonga is on the Hume
Motorway. The major road link between
Melbourne and Sydney.

22. Environment
Albury/ Wodonga is also on the Murray
River.

23. Golf
The Murray River region is
Australia’s golfing capital. There are
41

24. Vineyards
• The region boasts 5 wine regions.
• This vineyard in the shadow of Mt. Buffalo
• The plateau characteristic of Mt. Buffalo
can be clearly seen from this image.
• This characteristic makes the plateau
suitable for both downhill and cross-
country skiing.

25. Acquisition Through Action
• International schools with an extra component
to their method of teaching (e.g. activity
associated) are becoming increasingly popular
with parents, not in the least because of the
incidence of obesity amongst children leading
western type lifestyles.

26. MBIS - Why?
 The envisaged boarding component to the school
could particularly cater to international students
from Asian regions as well as the growing Sth.
American and sub-continental markets.

27. MBIS - Why?
Weekends and school holidays are seen as potential
money making opportunities for the school; rather than
non-productive and idle times. The activity base to the
curriculum would assist in utilizing these opportunities.

28. MBIS - Why?
International schools have approximately 115 days
off per year.
The ‘Summer Camp’, concept is yet to arrive in
Australia. MBIS would be in the perfect position to
introduce the concept.

29. Three Important Recent Developments
 The Victorian Government is currently spending 7.5
million AUD’s on the chalet to return it to
appropriate standards .
 The interest of landmark overseas institutions in
Victorian entities e.g. Manchester’s City’s recent
acquisition of Melbourne Heart
 The further relaxation of Australian citizenship
requirements for overseas investors

30. And on the international scene -
• Int'l schools must follow national
curriculum, says minister ...
• www.thejakartapost.com/.../intl-schools-
must-follow-national-curriculum..
• This coupled with renewed calls for
international schools in Indonesia to
increase their degrees of local ownership.

31. Developments in SEA’n International Education
• JIS has quite rightly had the reputation as
one of the most prestigious IS’s in SEA
• Monetarily, it is a lucrative business
• It is not surprising that the recent and
unfortunate events which have beset the
school are now being used as a precedent
by local politicians and business people to
gain a foothold at the school.

32. And this week from Indonesia
• TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Education and
Culture Ministry on Monday banned
'international' word from being used by
foreign private schools , as written in
Education and Culture Ministry Regulation
on Cooperation in Management of
Education by Foreign and National
Educational Institutions which was passed
on April 23.

33. The increasing interest in Australian business opportunities particularly by
Chinese investors.
• Chinese buyer eyes Penfolds,
Rosemount group | decanter ...
• www.decanter.com › News › Wine News
• Leading Australian wine brands including
Penfolds, Rosemount and Lindemans
could soon be under Chinese ownership,
according to media reports. ...

34. Overseas interest in Victorian businesses increases
• Manchester City executives stated they had
chosen a Victorian business opportunity, in
preference to any other Australian state,
because of the growing Asian presence in
Victoria.
• They chose an Australian opportunity in
preference to an Asian opportunity because of
the lack of; corruption in business and
interference from government.

35. Summary