About KIST

Overview
K. International School Tokyo (KIST), the parent organization of K. International Pre-School (KIPS), was founded in 1997. In July 2000, KIST attained recognition as an educational corporation (gakoo hoojin) from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and currently has around 600 students representing approximately 50 different nationalities studying from pre-kindergarten through Grade 12.

At KIST, many of the students are hardworking individuals with a strong volunteering spirit who help to contribute to a positive learning environment. Many of its graduates have achieved excellent results and have been accepted into leading universities around the world such as Ivy League Schools including Princeton University and University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), Yale-NUS College Singapore, Stanford University, Imperial College London, London School of Economics, in the UK; Seoul National University and Yonsei University in South Korea; University of Tokyo, Waseda University (School of Political Science and Economics, School of Science and Engineering), International Christian University (ICU) in Japan.

Curriculum
KIST delivers its educational program through the three curriculum frameworks developed by the International Baccalaureate (IB).

• Diploma Programme (DP): For Grades 11 and 12
• Middle Years Programme (MYP): For Grades 6 through 10
• Primary Years Programme (PYP): For students aged 3 to 11 (Grade 5)

The Diploma Programme (DP) taken during the final two years of high school offers a widely recognized, rigorous curriculum used for entrance to universities around the world. Because of its high quality curriculum, students who achieve high DP scores not only gain acceptance to the top universities around the world, but also have the opportunity to receive scholarships and tuition fee exemptions from many universities, including those in Japan. It is also not unusual for students entering universities in the USA to receive credits for their DP studies after entrance.

KIST is currently the only school in Tokyo authorized to offer the three IB programmes. This allows students to progress through a continuous curriculum, acquiring and developing the required skills, knowledge and attitudes appropriate to their age level, which leads to future success.
 
At KIST, in order to enable students to achieve success in all areas of study, leading to future success in the DP, particular emphasis is placed on developing students’ skills in English, the language of instruction, as well as mathematics, as these areas are tools that assist all areas of learning. KIST has adopted the Key Stages from the British national curriculum as its standards in measuring the progress of students from Elementary and above in their studies.