The British School in Tokyo vs Tokyo International School
🇯🇵 Tokyo · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Neither The British School in Tokyo nor Tokyo 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. 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 | Tokyo International School | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | British / IB | IB |
| Ages | 3–18 | 4–17 |
| Languages of instruction | English | English |
| Annual fees | JPY 2,960,000–3,070,000 | JPY 3,300,000–3,600,000 |
| Enrollment | 1,400 | 470 |
| Boarding | Day only | Day only |
| Accreditations | CIS, NEASC |
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 international accreditation (CIS since 2004 + NEASC) — strong governance and quality assurance
- ✓Authorized IB continuum across primary and middle years (PYP since 2005, MYP since 2007)
- ✓Genuinely small scale (~470 students, max class size 22) supporting individualized attention
- ✓Well-documented EAL programme — strong fit for families whose children are still developing English
- ✓Highly international community (70+ nationalities) and a tech-forward identity (Apple Distinguished School)
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
- !DP is only at candidate stage, not authorized — TIS cannot yet be relied upon as a full IB Diploma school
- !The upper school is brand new (Grade 11 only since 2025) — no published graduation/placement track record exists
- !No public academic results — no IB scores or university-destination data
- !Official materials contain internal inconsistencies on grade range (K-8 vs K-11 vs K-12)
- !Premium fees with a recent sharp increase, against an as-yet-unproven senior school
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 with primary or middle-school-age children seeking an established, accredited IB PYP/MYP programme
- • Internationally mobile or non-native-English families needing strong EAL support
- • Families wanting a small, tech-integrated school in central Tokyo
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. As the upper school (G11/G12) and DP are newly established, no graduating-cohort outcomes exist yet.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose The British School in Tokyo or Tokyo International School?
The British School in Tokyo is best for: Anglophone expatriate families wanting a continuous British-curriculum pathway. Tokyo International School is best for: Families with primary or middle-school-age children seeking an established, accredited IB PYP/MYP programme. 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 Tokyo International School?
The British School in Tokyo: JPY 2,960,000–3,070,000. Tokyo International School: JPY 3,300,000–3,600,000. 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 Tokyo International School offer?
The British School in Tokyo: British, IB. Tokyo International School: IB.
Do The British School in Tokyo or Tokyo International School offer boarding?
The British School in Tokyo: day school only. Tokyo 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 →