New International School (NewIS) graduated a record ten students from grade 9 on June 20. To date, about 40 percent of graduates have gone abroad for high school, 35 percent have gone to international schools, and 25 percent to Japanese high schools. The interest in going on to Japanese schools has increased in the past few years as the NewIS dual-language approach in all subject areas makes that option a realistic possibility.
Graduates can enter Kanto Kokusai Gakuen, for example, as transfer students, meaning that, upon recommendation, they are exempt from a written exam. However, the biggest news for the coming school year is that NewIS is beginning its own high school program, and it will be a dual-language school, just like the rest of the school.
Staff are convinced that a dual-language option is essential and will prepare students in the fullest possible way for more options in the future. Japanese children often remain in Japan or return as adults. NewIS believes that a dual-language education through high school is a great way to increase their opportunities for living and working happily in Japan in the future, and for having the intellectual and social benefits of a dual-language, multi-age education, wherever they live.
