The British School in Tokyo is an international school 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. 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. The school is based on two sites with students aged 3–8 based at the Shibuya campus and students aged 9–18 based at the Showa campus.
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 Thatcherin 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 was opened in Shibuya 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 to accommodate a small number of older students up to age thirteen; the Upper School. 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, A-Levels, AQA BAC and the InternationalDuke of Edinburgh Award.
Locations
BST has two campuses: Nursery through Year 3 attend the Shibuya Campus in the Shibuya area of Shibuya Ward, 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.
Curriculum
Throughout the whole school, BST offers a large range of subjects, including English, Numeracy, Sciences, ICT, Wellbeing, History, Geography, Art, Drama, Photography, Economics, Business Studies, Music and Physical Education, all of which are offered at IGCSE and A Level. In addition, two Modern Foreign Languages are offered – Japanese from Nursery and French from Year 3. Spanish is also offered for IGCSE and A Level.
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:
