Primary school starts just after your child turns 6 for both public and private schools. The children of expats and international parents can attend an international school if they wish, but they can also go to Japanese schools if they like, or parents can even home school their children. More and more often Japanese parents want to send their children to international schools and there is quite a demand for high quality international schooling.

Programmes vary from school to school. You can find anything from bible studies or progressive athletics and fine arts programmes to integrated Japanese language and cultural learning. Education at this age tends to be co-educational, and school sizes, while they vary from 150 to 2,000, are most often around 400 or 500. Class sizes vary; with some, such as the British International School, as small as six students.

Likewise, fees vary. It’s not uncommon to pay between ¥1,000,000 and ¥2,000,000 a year, plus an application fee of several hundred thousand yen. Many Tokyo schools are open, accepting anyone, but several of the international schools – including the Tokyo International School – take English language ability into account.

Schooling in Tokyo is generally based on a three-term system, from August to December, January to March and April to June. However, there are exceptions among the international schools, which often function on the same term system their home country uses. For example, the Canadian International School runs on two terms.

Most international schools start accepting applications in the autumn, a year in advance of the actual start date so it’s important to apply early and to more than one school. You will generally need to supply the following:
• Application form
• Application fees (where required)
• Child’s birth certificate
• Copy of your child’s passport (the photo page)
• Child’s most recent report and transcripts for the last year of schooling