STRATEGICINTENTIONS2016
UPDATE
Delivering an outstanding British
education to the international
community of Tokyo for 25 years

In 2014, the year in which BST celebrated its 25th anniversary, we madea significant start in the planning process for the next twenty-five years
by publishing our Strategic Intentions document looking ahead towards
2020. At the time of its publication we promised that this would be aworking document with lasting and ongoing impact, and twelve months
ago I shared with you a brief update on our progress towards delivering
our ambitious goals, followed shortly afterwards by our 2015 ISI Inspection
Report. This is the second such update.

Balanced

w

TO RECRUIT, DEVELOP AND
RETAIN INSPIRING TEACHERS,BACKED BY A HIGHLY MOTIVATEDSUPPORT TEAM, WHO ARE ALL
FULLY COMMITTED TO DRIVINGTHE SCHOOL FORWARD AS A
GLOBAL LEADER IN THE DELIVERYOF INNOVATIVE, HIGH QUALITY
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONThis will always be a primary strategic objective:
there are surely few who would disagree with thepremise that education can only ever be as good as
the teachers responsible for its delivery. Our Trustees
are wholeheartedly committed to maintaining
BST’s impressive track record in an increasinglycompetitive international recruitment market.
The priority for this academic year was to identify
and recruit an outstanding school leader to guideour growing Secondary School through the next
important stage in its development. To help us
to attract applicants of an appropriate calibre,
we enlisted the services of a highly-respected
search agency and we were delighted with thestrength of the eventual short-list. Joining us fromthe British School of Manila, Mr Platts took up his
position in August and, having forged a formidable
partnership with the existing leadership team, his
focused energy, clear-sighted vision and obvious
commitment to driving up standards are alreadymaking a real difference.
In order to meet the demands of significant growthin the younger age ranges we were also keen tobring on board an additional member of the Primary
Senior Leadership Team. Mr Richard Taylor joined us
in September from St Mary’s CE Primary School in
London where he was already an Assistant Head. He
is a modern linguist with a first-class degree from
Liverpool University and an MA in Comparative
Education; with his calm demeanour, his
understanding of current UK educational thinking
and his capacity for clear objective analysis he has
made an immediate impact.

In 2016-17, in line with one of the recommendations
in our recent ISI inspection report, we will further
strengthen the leadership of the Secondary Schoolwith the appointment of an Assistant Head tojoin Mr Platts and Mr Thomas. Ms Alison Woods,
who holds a first-class degree in Chemistry and iscurrently responsible for overseeing assessment,
data and academic performance at the Gorse
Academies Trust in Yorkshire, will bring significant
additional expertise and experience to the team.

We continue to prioritise continuing professional
development for our staff. A number of teachers
have been supported in their pursuit of further
qualifications, including one studying for an MA in
Education, another completing the International
PGCE and two more working on the International
Leadership and Management Programme. Twomembers of staff have almost completed theirinduction year as newly qualified teachers, and the
Deputy Head of the Secondary School, Mr James
Thomas, has recently qualified as an inspector for
the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate.
As has been the norm in recent years, teachers andsupport staff have attended a range of courses in
the UK, mainland Europe, Australia, China, Hong
Kong and Thailand, while many have completed
online workshops and seminars sharing bestpractice with colleagues around the world. It isparticularly reassuring to note that a number of ouracademic staff and our HR Manager, Mr Bowdidge,
have now completed courses on Child Safeguarding
and Safe Recruitment and that most of our teachers
have undergone recent first-aid training.
5

TO DELIVER A CHALLENGING
AND INNOVATIVE BRITISH-BASEDCURRICULUM WITHIN A CLEARLY
MAPPED 3-18 CONTINUUM,
FOSTERING ALL THE SKILLS ANDATTRIBUTES OUTLINED IN OUR
PROFILE OF THE BST LEARNER
AND EQUIPPING OUR STUDENTS
FOR THE NEXT STEP IN THEIREDUCATION – AND FOR LIFE
Two coffee morning conversations during the courseof this term illustrated to me the extent to which our
BST BRITISH learner attributes are now embedded in
all that we do at the school. One secondary mother –only slightly tongue in cheek – told me that she was‘sick of hearing about balance, resilience and whatever
the rest of them are…’ while another new parent
told me that she had planned to send her children
to another international school in Tokyo until she
read that ‘brilliant red and blue poster.’ In two very
different ways, I think that both were saying that atleast everyone knows what the schools stands for!

The Autumn Lecture Series, with its extremely
impressive line-up of speakers from so manydifferent fields, has continued to contribute a great
deal to our students’ understanding of opportunities
beyond BST. We count ourselves fortunate to beable to draw upon such a talented and experienced
network of parents and friends of the school. The
same applies to our work experience programme
for Year 12, which will again take place at the endof this academic year; some first-class placements
have already been planned.

Vertical Tutoring (VT) is now well established in theSecondary School and the consequent impact on theHouse system, and on peer mentoring and student
leadership has been a very positive one. However,the demands made on our Heads of House havegrown and from September Mrs Yamada will takeon a new role with specific responsibility as Headof Sixth Form rather than being asked to combine
it with her House duties. At the time of writing
we are in the process of appointing a new Head of
Tsukiyomi.
In 2015 our Year 11 students were the first cohort
to sit IGCSE rather than GCSE examinations in mostsubjects. This was a significant change requiring
important adjustments to schemes of work andthere was a little nervousness about the outcome.
It was therefore something of a relief to see how
well these students performed. More than half ofall entries attained the top A*/A grades and resultsoverall were in line with the best from previous
years.

In addition, it should be noted that students relocating from both Primary and Secondary havebeen able to move on to excellent schools around theglobe, winning awards at the Dragon School, Oxford
and at both the City of London School for Girls andat the Henrietta Barnet School. BST students werealso successful in gaining places at Charterhouse,
Whitgift, the Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girlsand many others in the UK; at Tanglin and UWCSEA
in Singapore; and at excellent British International
Schools in almost every continent.

Following the introduction of Spanish A Level lastyear, we continue to expand our A Level provision as
numbers at the top end of the school begin to grow.
In 2016-17 we will introduce Drama and TheatreStudies, and Economics if there are sufficient
students who wish to take up these options.

6

A great deal of work has been done to increase
links with universities all over the world to ensurethat our students are aware of, and thus taking,the excellent opportunities available for them.
We are delighted that we have had success withapplications to Imperial, Kings, UCL, Edinburgh,
Durham and most notably recently Tokyo andNagoya. This year students will also be going on to
study in both Australia and New Zealand, in Canada
and in Finland.

This year, though, following wholesale reformof the English National Curriculum, the mostsignificant developments have certainly been in
the Primary School. These curriculum changes
and modifications to the way in which children’s
progress is assessed have been the subject of anumber of parent workshops in recent months,
and have led to some complex adjustments to ourprogramme and methodology.

In English there has been a move away from thetraditional genre-based approach towards textbased units of work. There is now a much stronger
emphasis on vocabulary development, grammar,punctuation and spelling through the use ofengaging stories and picture books. Spoken English
has a greater emphasis with the new units of work,with children being taught debating and presenting
skills as well as the recitation of poetry in lessons
and during extra-curricular activities.
The introduction of Read Write Inc a highly structured
synthetic approach to decoding and guided reading
has been adopted in Year One and will be rolled out
to Nursery and Reception next year.

In Science there is now greater focus on
experimentation with the addition of Working
scientifically to the curriculum. This aims to develop
pupils’ understanding of the process of scientificenquiry and promotes a range of skills such as
the asking of scientific questions, the ability tocompare and contrast, the use of simple measuring
equipment, and the prediction of patterns.
Investigative activities are included in most modules
within the new units of work. Physics has been
removed entirely from KS1 and instead is featured
heavily in KS2 with the addition of subjects such as
the properties of sound and movement of objects
in the Solar System. In KS2, evolution will be taught
for the first time and pupils will be introduced tothe systems of the human body, including thecirculatory and the digestive systems.

There has been a fundamental shift in Computing
and a move away from learning how to communicate
information using Microsoft applications (which isembedded throughout the curriculum). Fifty percent
of curriculum time is now devoted to coding inorder to promote logical thinking, problem solving
and creativity:• Scratch Jr – Year One and Two• Scratch Year 3,4,5,6• Kudo Year 4&5• App Inventor in Year 6• Python Year 6• Robotics – Year 3 and 5
Digital Literacy units of work are also embedded
throughout the year groups in order to ensure
all pupils are responsible and informed users oftechnology:• E-safety• Plagiarism• Creating a positive online presence• Cyber bullying• Impact of digital manipulation and bodyimage
• Checking sources
There have also been very significant changes inMathematics, including a redesign of units of workwith an emphasis on students becoming fluent in
the fundamentals of mathematics through frequent
practice. The emphasis is now on students being
able to reason mathematically by following a line ofenquiry and lessons focus on giving students more
opportunities to solve problems by applying theirmathematics. Headline changes in teaching include:• Multiplication facts now to be learnt up
to 12x12• A single formal written method to betaught for addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division• Calculation of fractions• Calculation of the area of shapes otherthan squares and rectangles included• Probability has been removed from KS2• Emphasis on essential numeracy skills,
including using money and telling the time
• Roman numerals.
• Calculators to be limited in use until thelater years of primary
Next year one of our priorities will be the philosophy
and pedagogy behind Mathematic Mastery.
7

Well-grounded with a broad
range of interests, knowledge
and skills developed both inand beyond the classroom.
Objective, capable ofseeing the big picture,
without prejudice.

Determined and willing topersevere in the face ofadversity. Prepared to set
ambitious goals and work
hard to achieve them.
Resourceful and responsive
to different situations
and contexts

Curious and open-minded,a seeker of knowledge.
Happy to be an active
lifelong learner: to explore, tobe exposed to challenging
unfamiliar concepts and toseek opportunities to enjoy
new experiences.

A friend. Considerate andrespectful of the needs andvalues of others, with thecapacity to focus, to thinkcritically and to see issues froma range of perspectives.
Reflective and keen tolearn from experience and from mistakes.

Capable of orginal thought,
innovative and prepared todemonstrate initiative.
Discerning, with well-developed
research and analytical skills,
and the ability to step aside
from the crowd.

Confident. Prepared to
articulate and share ideas
and personal opinions, to playa part in group and team
activities, and to take the lead
where appropriate. An
intelligent risk-taker.

An example to others.
Self-aware and principled;with high personal standardsof behaviour, great integrity
and a clear sense of rightand wrong.

ResilientTO MAINTAIN THE HIGHEST
ACADEMIC STANDARDS,INCLUDING THE CONSISTENTACHIEVEMENT OF EXCELLENT
EXAMINATION RESULTS, WHILE
CONTINUING OUR COMMITMENT
TO AN INCLUSIVE ADMISSIONSPOLICY
Our examination results at the end of last year
– throughout the school – were again in line withexpectations and certainly a cause for celebration.
It was especially gratifying that, in what was our
first year of IGCSE examinations, well over half of all
entries (57%) attained the top A*/A grades. To put our
results into some sort of context, Cambridge IGCSE
A*/A grades in English amounted to just 18% of thetotal global entry last year, while at BST this year the
figure was 45%; our mathematicians recorded a 56%
A*/A pass rate, compared to 35% globally in 2014,
and our scientists (Biology, Physics and Chemistry)
opened up a similar gap ahead of their peers aroundthe world. There were some significant pockets of
excellence. For example, out of a total of 36 entries
in History and Geography, 28 students were awarded
those top grades.

In the Secondary School we have been using
academic progress bench-marking data producedby the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM)
based in the UK at Durham University for sometime. We are now looking to develop further theuse of such data at KS3 as CEM itself reforms its
approaches towards standardised assessments.
Regular training and dialogue with this group will be
the key to ensuring we are using our benchmarking
data effectively - this has already begun with a visit
to Tokyo from a senior member and trainer of the
CEM team.
We have recently embarked on a new form ofassessment in Key Stage Three in order to measureprogress following the removal of National
Curriculum levels; this should be more obviously
relevant and clearer to all. A full curriculum map
has been drawn up and the next stage will be to see
how different aspects of courses can be linked anddeveloped.
The removal of those NC levels for assessment hasdelivered a similar opportunity to rethink the way
we monitor and evaluate progress in the Primary
School. Rather than viewing this as a challenge, wehave embraced this as an opportunity to create abespoke, effective model of assessment that ensuresprogress for all. We now use Classroom Monitor, an
online tool that allows teachers to capture learningas it happens and to measure it against detailed,curriculum-matched objectives; in this way, we canquickly plan next steps for each child.

We continue to share our updated three-year A Level
and GCSE/IGCSE subject statistics in a table on our
website:http://www.bst.ac.jp/why-bst/academicresults.
I hope that you find this both helpful andinformative and would urge those of you with sonsand daughters who have to make option decisions
in the near future to study them carefully as part ofthat decision-making process.

We have also been addressing our early reading andphonics provision. We are justifiably proud of thereading community we have developed at BST - staff
and pupils alike are enthusiastic about discussing
their reading habits. Now, we have started toroll out a new way of teaching early reading that
ensures the children read books closely matched totheir developing phonic knowledge in a structured,
engaging and rigorous programme; progress is rapid
and children of all abilities are more quickly able toread with fluency and expression and to spell using
known sounds.
11

Inquisitive

TO BUILD AN UNRIVALLEDREPUTATION AS AN
OUTSTANDING PROVIDEROF HOLISTIC EDUCATION,
OFFERING AN EXCITING RANGE
OF OPPORTUNITIES AND
EXPERIENCES BOTH IN AND
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, WITH A
PARTICULAR FOCUS ON SERVICEAND GLOBAL CITIZENSHIPOur BST Outdoors programme continues to flourish.
Residential trips at almost every age group in both
Primary and Secondary have provided some exciting
opportunities for adventurous activity; we havebeen able to celebrate the achievement of our first
two Gold International Awards and, in January, a small
recce group led by Mr Travis travelled to Ratanakiri
Province in Cambodia to visit our UWS Dor Village
School. This latter trip was in preparation for alarger Year 11 expedition in the summer after thecompletion of IGCSE examinations.
Both the Ski and Climbing Clubs have proved
popular and, if the latter gains Olympic status intime for 2020, I can see it becoming a strong elementof the programme at BST.
Earlier in the year Mrs Black, the Chair of our Boardof Trustees, and I travelled to Hakuba to sign a formal
alliance agreement with the local High School,
which is renowned in Japan for being something ofa production line for winter Olympians. As most of
the Secondary School spends two weeks in Hakuba
it seems only right that we should work closely withthe local school and it is already the case that ourstudents have participated in a number of joint
ventures. Another partnership, the one we first
forged with Walk Japan during our 25th Anniversary
year enabled us to repeat the very popular Fuji Relay
last December – and to add some more spectacular
photographs to the BST Outdoors portfolio.
I was again impressed by the student feedback
following January’s Year 10 trip to Kyushu, lastterm’s Geography field trip and our artists’ return
visit to Naoshima.
In the 2016-17 academic year, as we have alreadydone for Y10 during the secondary Hakuba winterresidential week, we will introduce a separate
residential adventurous training trip for Y9 in
September. This new venture in Ogatsu should allow
for a more diverse range of activities and will enable
us to focus on areas tailored specifically for this age
group such as International Award preparation.
We are also in the process of reviewing theestablished January provision for Years 12 and 13 inorder to maximise teaching and learning time in thebuild-up to their A level examinations.

The Secondary School Electives programme continues
to be popular and, following the introduction of anumber of new, quite challenging activities, it has
become emblematic of an innovative approach thatmarks the BST difference.
There is no doubt that the sports programme
at BST has been one of the success stories of thepast 12 months. More fixtures have been playedin more sports than ever before and it has been
particularly gratifying to see how many students
have been given a chance to represent the school.
Swimming continues to flourish and, having started
off strongly in the Primary School, the programme
is now making a much stronger impact in theolder age groups. The opportunities for students totake part in local triathlons have been particularly
exciting. Teams at every level in all the major sports
have enjoyed a measure of success in both ISTAA
and Kanto Plains competitions, but the influence ofspecialist coaching in both volleyball and basketball
has been especially noticeable.
The Arts have certainly been to the fore at BST in
recent months. I know that many of you enjoyed
our lively production of Bugsy Malone last term, andat the end of Term 1 our Christmas Concert in the
Hitomi Hall was as impressive as ever, not least for
the number of performers and its astounding rangeof musical genres. More recently, our Advanced
Musicians demonstrated an astonishing level oftalent and ambition in their show-case concert at
L’Atelier by APC.
Our Orchestra, our choirs and our many otherensembles continue to develop and, again, it has
been good to see so many of our very youngest
students taking up an instrument. Much of thisenthusiasm for music at BST stems from theenergy and passion exhibited by our teachers andthe recent appointment of Ms Danmeri as BST’s
Musical Director will only serve to enhance this very
important school activity.
This year, for the first time, the school is represented
by students studying at both the Royal Collegeof Music and Trinity College, while for the fourthyear running one of our talented A Level artists is
studying at St Martin’s.
13

Thoughtful

TO PROVIDE THE FACILITIES AND
INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREDTO SUPPORT OUR EVOLVINGEDUCATIONAL AND COCURRICULAR NEEDS, AND THE
ANTICIPATED GROWTH OF THE
SCHOOL TOWARDS A TOTAL OF
APPROXIMATELY 1,200 STUDENTS
At the time of my last update to our Strategic
Intentions, the school roll stood at 880. Today there
are 915 students at BST and in September we expect
the total to rise towards and perhaps beyond 950.
While this growth is welcome in that it is indicativeof the high regard in which the school is held, it
does bring its problems. We now have significant
waiting lists in a number of year groups and there
are parts of the school that are beginning to feelrather cramped. I am delighted therefore to be able
to share with you the good news that, in April 2017 –a year from now – we will gain access to significant
additional space in our building at Showa allowing
us to open up some exciting new learning spaces.
This means that, from the start of the 2017-18
academic year, we will expand into the second floor
and take over the area on the first floor between
the entrance facing the Hitomi Hall and the firststairwell. The former will afford an opportunity
for much-needed secondary expansion while thelatter will enable us to develop a much more highprofile presence on the Showa campus. We havealready appointed an architect to work with us ona major refurbishment of these spaces and shouldbe able to share some initial designs with you in thevery near future. All this has been made possibleby the signing of a new 10-year lease with Showa,
guaranteeing our presence on the campus until atleast 2026.

The acquisition of additional space at Showa does
not mean that we have relaxed our efforts to acquirea central Tokyo site that will enable us to achieve
at least our prime objective of bringing the wholeof the Primary School together on one campus.
Positive talks with a major developer are ongoing
and we believe that it is possible that we might havesignificant news to share with you during the courseof the next academic year.

We are also engaged in talks to acquire both an offsite sports ground and a rural residential facility
within two - three hours’ travelling time from Tokyo.
Again, it seems possible that we might be able toshare further news of these exciting opportunities
with you before the next of these annual updates.

15

Independent

TO MAINTAIN THE HIGHEST
STANDARDS OF GOVERNANCEAPPLICABLE TO INDEPENDENTSCHOOLS, INCLUDING AS A
MINIMUM THOSE RECOMMENDED
BY THE UK ASSOCIATION
OF GOVERNING BODIES OF
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS (AGBIS),
AND TO OPERATE THE SCHOOLIN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS OF
THE JAPANESE AUTHORITIESOur current Board comprises a healthy mix of longstanding and relatively recently appointed Trustees.
They know the School well and bring a wealth ofindividual expertise to our governance, as wasnoted recently by our ISI inspectors in March 2015:
The excellent standard of governance is based on athorough knowledge of the workings of the school and anunderstanding of its challenges as pupil numbers havegrown significantly in recent years. The work of the subcommittees provides further insight into the school’s work.
The Board keeps in close touch with the school’s seniorleadership and receives regular reports in advance of its
meetings, enabling Trustees and staff to work together toachieve a shared, creative vision for the school.

TO IDENTIFY AND ASSESS ON
AN ANNUAL BASIS THE MAJOR
RISKS FACING THE SCHOOL AND
TO ENSURE THAT MITIGATINGACTION, INCLUDING THE
PREPARATION OF CONTINGENCY
PLANS, HAS BEEN TAKEN WHERE
APPROPRIATE
Each year we prepare a report updating andsummarising the major risks facing the school,
their potential consequences, likelihood of
occurrence, and the mitigating action that we canand have taken. The school is successful, but weare not complacent and we realise that things canchange very quickly if effective risk management
procedures are not in place.
One of the recommendations in our 2015 ISI
Inspection report was that we should further develop
the assessment and management of the safeguarding
risks associated with sharing a site with other institutions.
Given that we are hosted by SKG and Showa Women’s
University we are, to some extent, in their hands
in terms of campus security and child protection.
However, there is much that we can do for ourselves
and we do work closely and cooperatively with the
management teams of both of our hosts. This year,
for example, in association with Showa we havesuccessfully trialled the use of electronic passes forour staff and Sixth Form students.
Earlier this year, as you will no doubt remember,
we had to deal with the receipt of a bomb threat at
our Shibuya campus. It was gratifying to note that,
thanks to regular practise drills and staff training,
the consequent evacuation drill was carried out
calmly and efficiently without causing any undue
alarm to the children. On this occasion the call wasa hoax but the School’s crisis management planmeant that we were in a strong position to manage
the situation professionally.

Although it is entirely voluntary to do so, theTrustees have committed to such inspections by
the UK Independent Schools Inspectorate on aregular basis, currently every three or four years.
In addition to making a judgement on eight British
School Overseas standards, one of which focuses on
standards of governance, the inspection team isalso required to assess the school’s compliance witha number of UK regulatory requirements – includingchild safeguarding, safe recruitment and a wide
range of health and safety matters.

As a result of our review into our response to thisparticular incident we have initiated a numberof minor changes to our procedures, including
the identification and introduction of alternative
evacuation sites for both Showa and Shibuya.
We know that we must continue to review school
security and offer training to staff at all levels on aregular basis and therefore our review is ongoing.
However, we are reassured that the mechanisms wecurrently have in place are appropriate and effective.

We are fortunate that our Japanese partners, SKG
and Showa Women’s University, shield us frommany of the more complex regulatory requirementsof the Japanese authorities, although we do of course
ensure that we are compliant with all regulations
relevant to our specific situation.

There is a fine balance to be struck between
the maintenance of high levels of security foryour children and the retention of a welcoming,community ethos at BST; we continue to work hardat this and to seek advice as to how we can safely
achieve such a balance.
17

Self-assured

TO MAINTAIN STABLE AND
SECURE FINANCES, WITH
SUFFICIENT RESERVES TO
WITHSTAND EMERGENCIES ANDECONOMIC UNCERTAINTIES,AND TO CONTINUE TO SEEKADDITIONAL FUNDING WITH
WHICH TO MAKE MAJOR
IMPROVEMENTS TO THE SCHOOL
BST is run as a not for profit organisation, and allincome is reinvested into the school. But this does
not mean that we fail to pay attention to its soundfinancial management. On the contrary, we aim forfinancial standards comparable to the best and mostsuccessful commercial organisations, with strict
expenditure controls, long term financial planningand an annual financial position verified by one of
the Big 4 audit firms.

TO DRAW TOGETHER AND
FURTHER STRENGTHEN THE
WIDER BST COMMUNITY
BY DEVELOPING AND
MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE LINES
OF COMMUNICATION BETWEENTHE SCHOOL AND ALL OF ITSCONSTITUENTS – PAST, PRESENTAND PROSPECTIVE
One of the great strengths of the school is its senseof community. Regular coffee mornings, parent
workshops and the wide range of PTA-led activities
have always been an important element of theschool’s appeal. Once again, the informal parenting
conversations, led by our School Counsellor Sara
Hitchens, have proved to be a popular addition to
the calendar.
This year Mr Platts and his team have worked hardto open up many more opportunities for Secondary
School parents to meet staff at Showa and thefeedback from the various coffee mornings andworkshops has been overwhelmingly positive. The
most recent of these events, hosted by the English
Faculty, attracted well over 50 interested parents.

In recent months we have also shared more widely
the CEM data we use to benchmark student progressin the Secondary School, including the publicationof results on all school reports for Years 10 andabove to help with target setting and aspiration.

In my last update I said a little bit about the
introduction of our new information management
system, iSAMS, outlining its potential to allow us
to track student progress data more efficiently, andto make that data more readily available to you.
All parents now have access to some of that data
through the iSAMS Parent Portal which has enabled
you to see a wide range of aspects of your children’s
lives including reports, timetables, extra-curricular
information, key administrative documents andcontact information. Very soon we expect to be able
to share important documents such as individual
school reports without resorting to paper. The range
of information made available to parents via theportal will grow over the year ahead and we would
welcome requests for specific additional material.
We are now trialling an iSAMS smartphone/tablet
app that will make mobile access even easier, anda Student Portal will also be introduced in 201617 enabling students to access a great deal of
information in relation to their learning and tocontribute reflections on their end of term school
reports.
We continue to receive positive feedback about
our website and social media accounts from bothcurrent and prospective parents, and we havecontinued to work hard to ensure that these areregularly updated. There are now a number of
popular new twitter accounts, including @BSTSportand @bst_SeniorLib to name just two. Twitter is aplatform that allows you to tailor to some extent
the information that is directed towards you. A
good example of this is the new @BST_HSE account;
this can send you health and safety alerts, such as
the latest information on infections and illness inparticular year groups, or keep you up to speed onmatters of broader concern, such as air quality.
Last year, given the fact that so many of you accessthe website on the move, I promised that we would
be looking into an upgrade to the website to makeit more mobile-friendly and responsive to different
displays. This work has now been completed.
19

HonestTO ENHANCE THE GOOD
NAME OF THE SCHOOL AND
RAISE ITS STANDING ON
A LOCAL, NATIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL LEVEL BY
PLAYING AN ACTIVE ROLE WITHINBRITISH EDUCATIONAL AND
BUSINESS NETWORKS, AND BY
POSITIONING OURSELVES TO
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IMMINENT
OPPORTUNITIES FOR JAPAN, AND
FOR TOKYO IN PARTICULAR
It is now more than a year since BST was named
Company of the Year at the British BusinessAwards evening hosted by the British Chamber ofCommerce in Japan. Last November this unexpectedsuccess was followed by our nomination andeventual appearance on a short-list of just four
finalists for the award of British International Schoolof the Year, an annual presentation made by the
UK’s Times Educational Supplement. On this occasion
we were unable to carry off the main prize but it
was extremely gratifying to be recognised in suchexalted company – further evidence of the school’s
strong global profile.
Those of you who follow our @BST_1920 twitter
account will know that, through the British
Chamber of Commerce in Japan and other partnerorganisations, we have been participating withenthusiasm in events leading up to the Rugby World
Cup in Japan in 2019 and the Olympics a year later. It
was a particular pleasure to be able to welcome Bill
Sweeney, the CEO of the British Olympic Association,
to Showa to talk to some of our older students about
the opportunities that might be open to them in thenext few years and I am delighted to let you knowthat further similar visits are planned over the next
twelve months.

I am now approaching the end of my second year as
one of eight elected Board members of the Council of
British International Schools – at the time of writing,still the only representative outside Europe and the
Middle East. I sit on the Professional Development
and the Membership sub-committees and attend
three sets of sub-committee and full board meetings
every year. This offers me an invaluable opportunity
to keep abreast of the latest developments in British
international education around the world and toexert some influence on decision-making in relation
to schools such as ours. This year, for example, thefocus has been on a British Government review ofthe standards relating to British Schools Overseas andtheir inspection, and COBIS has played a central rolein the consultation process.
21That completes the second in this series of updates to our Strategic
Intentions document. I hope that you have found it both helpful andinformative. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you haveany observations to make, your feedback is always very welcome. Later
this term we will be sending out our annual parent survey and this year’s
Parents’ Open Meeting will be held on the evening of May 26th. Thankyou for your continued support and encouragement.
Brian Christian
Principal
The British School in Tokyo

Address: 1-21-18 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0002
Tel: 03 5467 4321 Fax: 03 5467 4322
URL: http://www.bst.ac.jp