The British School in Tokyo vs St. Mary's International School
🇯🇵 Tokyo · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Neither The British School in Tokyo nor St. Mary's International School sits in a market with a public inspectorate, so both are assessed on verifiable accreditation, curriculum authorisation, and published data rather than an official quality rating. Curriculum is the core differentiator: The British School in Tokyo offers British, IB while St. Mary's International School offers IB, American — the choice should follow the family's target qualification system. Both are day schools with fees in the same market band — see the table below for the figures, and verify against each school's own published fees.
Key Facts
| The British School in Tokyo | St. Mary's International School | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | British / IB | IB / American |
| Ages | 3–18 | 5–18 |
| Languages of instruction | English | English |
| Annual fees | JPY 2,960,000–3,070,000 | JPY 3,060,000–3,250,000 |
| Enrollment | 1,400 | 1,000 |
| Boarding | Day only | Day only |
| Accreditations | CIS, WASC |
Strengths
- ✓Long pedigree (since 1989) and scale — ~1,400 students, 60–65 nationalities, the largest British school in Japan
- ✓Strong, publicly-published exam results (2025 A-Level 59% A*/A; IGCSE 68% A*/A)
- ✓Credible, transparent university-destination list including UCL, Imperial, Cambridge, LSE
- ✓All-native-English-speaker faculty with UK qualifications
- ✓Modern facilities — new Azabudai Hills primary campus (2023) and refurbished secondary (2025)
- ✓Dual CIS + WASC accreditation — exceptional accreditation depth for a Japan-based school
- ✓Full K–12 continuity (ages ~5–18) on a single 9-acre campus, with IB DP capstone
- ✓70-year-old established institution with a clear, stable Catholic mission
- ✓Strongly international student body (~1,000 boys, ~60 nationalities)
- ✓Published, transparent IB DP subject offering (all six groups + TOK/CAS/EE)
Trade-offs
- !No public BSO or ISI inspection rating found — no external inspection band to verify quality, unlike British peers such as Tanglin
- !Accreditation is unclear: COBIS participation is evident, but accredited-membership/BSO status is not confirmed on any public directory
- !Sixth form is mid-transition (A-Levels phasing out by 2026, IB DP ramping up) — no IB results track record yet
- !No EAL support — unsuitable for families whose children aren't already fluent in English
- !Premium fees with annual increases plus sizeable one-time enrolment and resources fees
- !No published academic outcomes — IB average, pass rate and university destinations all not public
- !EAL/ESL support is not described anywhere public; English-language-learner provision is unverifiable
- !AP is sometimes assumed but is NOT publicly evidenced — only the IB DP is confirmed
- !Official tuition figures could not be confirmed on the school's own fees page (third-party only)
- !The school's Wikipedia entry references 2014 historical abuse allegations — a matter of public record families may wish to research independently
Best Fit For
- • Anglophone expatriate families wanting a continuous British-curriculum pathway
- • Already-fluent English-speaking children (native or near-native)
- • Families targeting UK/competitive global university admission who value a published results record
- • Families specifically seeking a single-sex, all-boys environment
- • Families wanting a Catholic / faith-based education within an international setting
- • Families prioritising accreditation rigour (CIS + WASC) as a quality signal
- • Long-stay expat or local families wanting K–12 continuity in one institution
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
School-reported, unverified: 2024–25 destinations include UCL (x10), Imperial (x3), Cambridge, LSE, Bath, plus Waseda, Sophia, Toronto, McGill and Williams College.
Not public. No university destinations, placement statistics, or matriculation lists are published, though the school maintains a University Counseling function.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose The British School in Tokyo or St. Mary's International School?
The British School in Tokyo is best for: Anglophone expatriate families wanting a continuous British-curriculum pathway. St. Mary's International School is best for: Families specifically seeking a single-sex, all-boys environment. The right choice depends on target curriculum, budget, and family priorities — the two are not linearly comparable.
How do fees compare between The British School in Tokyo and St. Mary's International School?
The British School in Tokyo: JPY 2,960,000–3,070,000. St. Mary's International School: JPY 3,060,000–3,250,000. Verify against each school's own published fees; some figures are sourced from third-party aggregators.
What curricula do The British School in Tokyo and St. Mary's International School offer?
The British School in Tokyo: British, IB. St. Mary's International School: IB, American.
Do The British School in Tokyo or St. Mary's International School offer boarding?
The British School in Tokyo: day school only. St. Mary's International School: day school only.
This comparison is BrightKey's independent assessment using verifiable public data only. University-placement figures are school-reported and not independently verified. BrightKey takes no payments from schools. Our method →