high schools but the vast majority of students enrol in high school after this. According to OECD figures, at least half of 25-34 year olds have a tertiary education. Standards in the public system


are high: the OECD’s Programme for


International Student


Assessment (PISA) which compares the attainment levels of 15 year olds globally, found Japanese students scored highly, particularly in science and maths. Japanese state schools are popular with bilingual families, where one of the couple is Japanese, or those planning to stay in Japan. For most expats though, the language barrier is too hard, and their children attend an international school where lessons are taught in English. “Expat families here for the


long term may send their child to Japanese pre-school (hoikuen/ yochien) and elementary school but move to an international school for secondary education,” says Kirsteen Jack, founder of the International School Advisory Tokyo.


INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS Most of


Japan’s 80-plus


international schools are based in Tokyo although there are others in larger cities such as Yokohama and Kobe. According to ISC Research there are at least 50 international schools in Tokyo delivering a range of curriculums with American and British being the most popular and many schools providing the IB. There is a good choice of schools, including faith, single sex and bilingual, and a wide range of curriculums for a range of budgets. “Tokyo is becoming a really


attractive destination educationally for international families,” says the International School Advisory’s Kirsteen Jack. “The Japanese government has become open to the presence of international schools and what they can bring to Japan, and the country is starting to become an alternative to China.” International schools are also


increasingly popular with Japanese families, particularly those who are globally minded or bicultural. They are more holistic and less pressurised than public schools, something of growing importance to locals. First, St. Mary’s International


School was founded in 1954 by the Brothers of Christian


67


Instruction. This school caters to boys from kindergarten to grade 12 and is situated in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo. St. Mary’s offers specialised programmes tailored to meet the developmental needs of boys, including the IB Diploma Programme. Another notable institution is


the International School of the Sacred Heart, an all-girls Catholic school located in Hiroo, Tokyo. With origins dating back to 1908, the school provides a bilingual education in English and Japanese to students from preschool through high school. The American School in Japan


(ASIJ), founded in 1902, is an international school situated in Tokyo. ASIJ provides education from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade, following an American- style curriculum that includes Advanced Placement courses and the International Baccalaureate


Diploma Programme. Seisen International School,


founded in the late 1940s, is a Catholic all-girls school. The school offers an international education with an emphasis on critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills. Additionally, there are several


well-established schools in the region: The British School in Tokyo,


founded in the late 1980s, provides a British-style education from preschool to high school. Located in central Tokyo, it adheres to the National Curriculum of England and Wales, offering GCSE, A-level, and the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme. Tsukuba International School


(TIS), established in the early 1990s in Tsukuba City, a renowned international and science city near Tokyo, is a private, non-profit educational institution. TIS offers an international curriculum from pre-


Below: Students from Phoenix House International School, Tokyo


“Tokyo is becoming a really attractive destination educationally for international families. The Japanese government has become open to the presence of international schools and what they can bring to Japan, and the country is starting to become an alternative to China.”


KIRSTEEN JACK, FOUNDER OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL ADVISORY TOKYO


THINK GLOBAL PEOPLE EDUCATION


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