Kyoto International School
Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan · Est. 1957
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- Open jobs at this school
- 0
- Established
- 1957
- Curriculum
- IB (PYP, MYP, DP)
About this school
Kyoto International School (KIS) began in 1957, when the closure of the American school on the Botanical Gardens army base led missionary families to start home-schooling a few children. The following year it became the Kyoto Christian Day School in a family house on Ichijo-dori, with 28 pupils in Grades 1–8 by 1958–59, and in 1966 it adopted its current name. It is a not-for-profit school guided by a volunteer board, many of whom are parents.
KIS describes itself as Kyoto's first and only IB continuum school, using the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Programme frameworks from Early Years upward. A first Grade 11 class opened in August 2025 and Grade 12 followed in 2026, completing the secondary programme, and a second campus has opened near the original site in Kamigyo-ku. The school is accredited by WASC and the IB, and through its WASC accreditation it is also accredited by COBIS. College counselling begins in Grade 10.
KIS is a small, diverse school with small classes and teachers recruited internationally. It also runs a Saturday English immersion programme for children aged 3 to 12 and a summer camp open to non-KIS children.
