The British School in Tokyo (BST; ブリティシュ・スクール・イン東京 ''Buritishu Sukūru in Tōkyō'') is an

international school An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body an ...

in central Tokyo with over 1,100 students from over 65 nationalities. BST takes students aged 3–18 that have been rated in all eight areas examined by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). A third of BST students are neither British nor Japanese and there are no entry requirements other than fluency in English. The curriculum follows the

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or other ...

. The school is based on two sites with students aged 3–8 based at the

Shibuya Shibuya (wikt:渋谷, 渋谷wikt:区, 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern ...

campus and students aged 9–18 based at the Showa campus at Showa Women's University.

History

Established as a trust in 1988 to meet the needs of parents who wished their children to receive a British style education in Tokyo, BST was officially opened by Margaret Thatcher in September 1989 with just 63 students and rapidly expanded. By 1993 there were 200 students in the entire school. The existing site could no longer accommodate the growing demand for places and a modern building with improved facilities (the current BST Shibuya site) was opened in

on 14 May 1998 for over 300 children aged three to eleven. In 2000 the School opened a second site at the municipal Shibuya Elementary School (SES) to accommodate a small number of older students up to age thirteen; the

Upper School Upper schools in the UK are usually schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school. England The three-tier model Upper schools are a type of secondary school found in a minority of ...

. In 2003 SES was demolished and the Upper School had to be moved to another municipal facility on the far side of Shibuya Station, the Owada Junior High School. The School continued to attract strong interest, though facilities, particularly for the Upper School, were less than ideal. To address the issue of inadequate facilities, part of the school was moved in August 2006 to newly renovated accommodation on the campus of the Showa Women's University, located 10 minutes bus ride away to the west of Shibuya station. The original site, BST Shibuya, now accommodates 350 Nursery to Year 3 pupils in refurbished facilities suited to the needs of this age group. The Showa campus underwent construction during the summer of 2017 to accommodate for the rising number of students joining the school, adding new classrooms, libraries, study areas and more. BST Showa offers educational provision from Year 4 to 13 for over 620 students with extra-curriculars, such as sports fixtures and music clubs. Key Stages 4 and 5 include

IGCSE The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based examination similar to GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attain ...

A-Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

, AQA BAC and the International Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Locations

BST has two campuses: Nursery through Year 3 attend the Shibuya Campus in the Shibuya area of

Shibuya Ward Shibuya (渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1, 2 ...

, and students in Year 4 through Year 13 attend the Showa Campus in Building 5 of Showa Women's University in Setagaya Ward. The Showa campus opened on 28 August 2006.

Showa campus facilities

Not owning its own land on Showa campus, BST has had to rent out gyms, fields and halls from Showa Women's University and Temple University, both of which are located on the same campus and are in close proximity of one another. The main indoor sports facilities of BST showa are the Old gym (owned by Showa), the West gym (owned by Temple university), and the New gym (owned by Showa). The main outdoor sports facilities of BST showa are the Astro (big field outside school building), Leo ground (field mainly used by BST), and South Ground (mainly used by BST). Hall/Performance facilities of BST showa are Hitomi hall (seats 1000+), Green hall (slightly smaller, seats 500+), and other halls either on Showa territory or Temple university territory. As of 2021, BST showa used the pool which is located in the basement of a Temple university building, and is also under the west gym (mentioned above). However, before 2019, the specified pool was under construction, meaning the school had to create a contract with the pool of a nearby gym (approximately 500m away), where students would travel to have their swimming lessons and swim team practices.

Curriculum

Throughout the whole school, BST offers a large range of subjects, including English (Language and Literature), Numeracy, Sciences, ICT, Wellbeing, History, Geography, Art, Drama, Photography, Economics, Business Studies,

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

and

Physical Education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

, all of which are offered at IGCSE and A Level. In addition, two Modern

Foreign Languages A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a given country, and that native speakers from that country must usually acquire through conscious learning - be this through language lessons at sch ...

are offered – Japanese from Nursery and French from Year 3. Spanish is also offered for IGCSE and A Level.

Accreditation

BST is accredited by the

Council of British International Schools The Council of British International Schools (COBIS) serves British International Schools around the globe, representing over 450 Member Schools in 79 countries and over 150 Supporting Associate organisations. Objectives COBIS exists to serve, s ...

(COBIS) and has been inspected by ISI. It is also a member of Kanto Plains Schools Association and the Japan Council of International Schools (JCIS).http://www.jcis.jp/

Sports

BST offers a range of competitive and recreational sport, with morning or after-school clubs available throughout the school year. Some of these sports include, but are not limited to: * Volleyball *

Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

* Football *

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

* Swimming * Athletics *

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

* Basketball * Badminton * Fitness * Yoga

ECA's (Extra-curricular activities)

ECA's form a crucial part of BST student life and are led by teachers from many year groups. The clubs vary for different age groups/key stages. The following are secondary clubs, as of December 2021: * Strategy games club * Philosophy discussion club * Diversity and inclusion club * Science ambassador club * Geography club * DJ and Music production club * Debating club * Chess and Shogi club * Rock 'n' Roll/Live club * Science fiction club * Tai Chi club * STEP maths club * NHK learning Japanese * Nrich maths for Y7 and Y8 * Model United Nations club * Art sustainable fashion workshop

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:British School in Tokyo, The International schools in Tokyo High schools in Tokyo

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

Japan–United Kingdom relations Educational institutions established in 1989 1989 establishments in Japan Setagaya Shibuya