Enjoy this short video snippet about Malvern College Tokyo from our 2024 Expo.
Transcript
Malvern College Tokyo
ISTimes Global: (00:00) ISTimes Global: (00:00) Hello, we are here with Bethany from Malvern College here in Tokyo. Welcome.
Malvern College Tokyo: (00:05) Oh, thank you.
ISTimes Global: (00:06) How has the expo been going for you so far?
Malvern College Tokyo: (00:09) It’s been really great. Lots of families coming by to say hi. Um especially like a lot of little kids, uh really interested and kind of like um talking to schools that have all the way through and also just talking to other schools, making those connections and stuff is really important.
ISTimes Global: (00:23) Now, your school has a very long history, but in Tokyo, you are officially into your second year.
Malvern College Tokyo: (00:30) Yes.
ISTimes Global: (00:31) So, uh why don’t uh you tell us a bit about your school and uh where you see the school growing in uh the next couple of years?
Malvern College Tokyo: (00:41) Of course. So, yeah, it’s only our second year. We started last year in August. Um we’ve almost doubled in students this year, so it’s been a really interesting journey with that. Um we have some of our specialty classes are growing and things like that. Uh we definitely want to expand more on our sports, um get involved with the local community and also with other international schools. Um we’d also like to start thinking about like dormitories in the next few years, um that kind of thing. So mostly just want to focus on having as many opportunities and resources for the students is kind of the the main thing we want to look at. So
ISTimes Global: (01:15) And uh I do recommend visiting the school. It’s a beautiful building, nice big open space. Lots of place for kids to not just learn but to meet, talk, socialize. Uh so I do recommend uh the family to come and visit. Bethany, you would be the point person for that, correct?
Malvern College Tokyo: (01:36) Yes, absolutely. I I actually live locally in the area, so I know it’s a really great place to be and yeah, having the it was previously a university. So is yeah, lots of wide open spaces, local parks nearby, other schools and the local community also gets really involved with us as well.
ISTimes Global: (01:51) Uh you also mentioned uh in the before that you have about five buses that that that reach out all the way deep into um Tokyo.
Malvern College Tokyo: (01:58) Yes. Yes, we have five buses. We have a shuttle bus that goes to Kokubunji station. Um but then the four other buses stop at either two or three stations. So we go as far as Azabujuban and Hido station. Um also Ucho. Uh but then we do more central like Shibuya, Meguro, Shinjuku, Yoya, Rongi. So then we also go a little bit um further south to uh Fugo Tamagawa and Chitose Funabashi as well.
ISTimes Global: (02:23) Malvern College has so has uh so much history. If you uh come into the school, you first see the picture of CS Lewis as uh as of the many names. Uh so, um how do you bring so much tradition and culture and history into the campus here in Japan? And yet, how do you also try to still connect to that Japanese community, that Japanese culture?
Malvern College Tokyo: (02:46) So, I think having that really strong connection to the UK school, um not only through through our headmaster Mike Spencer, but um they come and visit us often. So the headmaster from the UK, um just other also members and students from the UK will come and visit us. Um it’s really important to keep like that house system, which is from the UK, um the uniform, the crest, everything has a really deep meaning and connection. Um but it’s also really important to also keep connected to the local Japanese um kind of history. Uh one thing in particular is one of our houses is House Tabe uh for Junko Tabe, the first woman to ever um climb Mount Everest. Uh we actually learned that she originally grew up in Tachikawa, which is not too far from our school. Um and some of the teachers in the Kodaira area actually know her family. So we have that kind of connection. Um we also connect with like the local community, international community. I myself volunteer in the local Kodaira community. So we connect with those festivals and with those people there. Um we’ll have like the local tea ceremony club or uh different kind of traditional cultural clubs will come and visit us and teach our students about those things. So we really want to keep that that mindset of we are an international school and a British school, but we’re also a school in Tokyo in Japan. So it’s really important that we kind of not disregard um where we are, but also not forget where we’ve come from as well.
ISTimes Global: (04:05) And uh having talked to Mike as before, one of the things that he often mentioned was the core core values of the school. Um uh how do the core values of the school uh integrate into everything else you do?
Malvern College Tokyo: (04:20) So, it’s kind of the the core values like connecting to the Malvern qualities and things like that. Um it’s not just about kind of bringing out those qualities in the students, um but making sure that they take them home with them as well. That when they’re connecting with not only their family, but their local community where they live, that they’re keeping an open mind, that they’re being kind and being curious. And so it’s really important for us to make sure that they’re not only learning those like in an academic way, but also just helping to grow them as a person as well.
ISTimes Global: (04:49) Now, you’ve actually doubled in uh size in a year. So, what do you think has drawn people to the school so quickly and so fast and and also having kept them.
Malvern College Tokyo: (05:01) I think one thing that we uh found out is that most of our new families actually know us by word of mouth. So, which we were actually quite pleasantly surprised by. So it means that our families are truly enjoying their experience with us and that they’re telling other family members or friends about us. So it’s I think kind of growing that connection from inside, making sure that our families and students are very happy with what they’ve signed up for and what they’re joining, um is really, really important. So we want to continue to create that bond between us and families that when we say we want to take care of the students, it also includes their parents and their extended family as well. If they have any concerns or anything, if a family is suddenly moving overseas, we want to make sure that we take care of them in any aspect.
ISTimes Global: (05:44) Well, we uh wish you the best. Uh Malvern College Tokyo. Thank you so much.
Malvern College Tokyo: (05:50) Yeah, thank you so much.
About Malvern College Tokyo
- Tokyo campus opened in August 2022 as part of historic Malvern College UK (founded 1865)
- Located in spacious former university building in Tokyo with local parks nearby
- Comprehensive bus network serving areas across Tokyo including Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Meguro
- Strong connection to UK campus with regular visits from UK headmaster and students
- Maintains British traditions including house system and uniforms while integrating Japanese culture
- Named one house after Junko Tabe, first woman to climb Everest from nearby Tachikawa
- Active in local community through festivals and cultural exchange programs
- Focus on developing students’ character through Malvern qualities: open-mindedness, kindness, curiosity
- Plans to expand sports programs and potentially add dormitories in coming years
