issh.ac.jp

What is the International School of the Sacred Heart?

The International School of the Sacred Heart (ISSH) is an all-girls international school in Tokyo, founded in 1908, teaching in an English-speaking environment. Its stated mission is whole-child development—academic, social-emotional, spiritual, psychological and physical—under the motto "Growing with Courage and Confidence." It belongs to the global Sacred Heart network of more than 150 schools and is accredited by both WASC and CIS.

What it offers

• An all-girls setting: the school presents this as a researched advantage, arguing girls are more empowered to pursue their interests.
• Academic breadth: 23 Advanced Placement courses let high-school students earn university credit before matriculating.
• Beyond the classroom: athletics in Japan and abroad, student council, clubs, Model UN, debate, choir and orchestra.
• Global exchange: cultural, academic, athletic and artistic exchanges with sister schools in Japan, the Asia-Pacific and worldwide.

Who it suits

Families relocating to Tokyo who want an English-medium, values-driven education for daughters, and who value international networks and a tradition dating to St Madeleine Sophie Barat's founding mission. Parents seeking a co-ed setting, or a strongly secular ethos, would weigh other options.

A practical next step

Compare ISSH with other Tokyo international schools on three axes: accreditation and curriculum (AP versus IB), single-sex versus co-ed, and the strength of the overseas exchange network. Visiting a campus day is the most reliable way to judge whether the "whole-child" emphasis matches your child's needs.

How does the all-girls environment at ISSH benefit students compared to co-ed schools?

ISSH frames its all-girls setting as a deliberate advantage: the school says girls are "empowered to pursue their passions with courage and confidence," and it describes its environment as backed by research as the best setting for girls. In practice, that claim is about removing the social pressures that can steer girls away from subjects or roles they might otherwise avoid—so the benefit is less about separating genders than about who feels free to lead, speak up and choose.

The page gives concrete examples of where that plays out. Leadership is described as something girls "develop and exercise at every level" through student council, clubs, Model UN and debate, and high schoolers can take 23 Advanced Placement courses to earn university credit. A girl who might hang back in a mixed class, or defer to boys in a debate, is the reader to picture here: the school's argument is that a single-sex room makes participation the default rather than the exception.

What the page supports, and what it doesn't

• Supported: an all-girls student body, whole-child development spanning academic, social-emotional, spiritual, psychological and physical growth, and a global network of 150+ sister schools with exchanges in Japan, Asia-Pacific and worldwide.
• Not on the page: any test scores, university placement rates or direct comparisons with named co-ed schools. The "research-backed" claim is asserted, not cited.

How to weigh it against a co-ed option

The trade-off is real: a co-ed school offers everyday social mixing that a single-sex school does not, and some students prefer that. The practical next step is to ask ISSH how leadership roles are distributed across year groups and how new students are folded into clubs and Model UN—then visit a co-ed campus and compare how your daughter behaves in each. If she is the type to go quiet in mixed groups, the all-girls case is strongest; if she is already outgoing, the advantage is smaller and other factors should decide. Families also weighing British-style schooling in Tokyo sometimes look at The British School in Tokyo for contrast.

What are the Sacred Heart Goals and how do they shape daily school life?

The Sacred Heart Goals are the five values that the school describes as the "heart and soul" of a Sacred Heart education, and they are meant to shape how the school runs day to day, not just what appears on a mission statement. At the International School of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo, the Goals and Criteria are presented as the framework that ensures the mission is actually carried out, which signals they are used as a working reference for decisions, routines and expectations rather than a slogan. In practice, that typically means the Goals surface in how students are taught to treat one another, how service and community are framed, how leadership is encouraged, and how the school talks about growth in character alongside academics.

What the Goals cover, in broad terms

The Goals are commonly summarised as five areas: a personal and active faith in God; deep respect for intellectual values; social awareness that imparts the need and ability to act; the building of community as a Christian value; and personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom. The school's own page names the Goals and Criteria as the essential values of Sacred Heart education without listing them in the excerpt, so the exact wording is best read on the site itself. The important editorial point is that they are explicitly framed as criteria: they set standards the school holds itself to.

How they reach daily life

• Classroom culture: respect for intellectual values translates into expectations about effort, curiosity and honest work rather than grades alone.
• Community and behaviour: the community goal tends to appear in how older students mentor younger ones, how conflict is handled, and how inclusion is discussed.
• Service and social awareness: students are encouraged to notice needs beyond the school gates and to act, which often shows up in service projects and student-led initiatives.
• Freedom and responsibility: "wise freedom" is the goal most visible in daily routines, because it frames increasing independence as something earned and exercised thoughtfully.

The page also ties the Goals to the all-girls setting and to the school's wider network of more than 150 Sacred Heart schools, which gives students exchanges and shared traditions that reinforce the same values across countries.

A practical next step

If you are comparing schools for a daughter, ask each school to show you one concrete example of a Goal in action: a service programme, a student council structure, or a pastoral policy. At Sacred Heart, the natural question is how the Goals appear in the senior school, where 23 Advanced Placement courses and activities such as Model UN, debate and student council sit alongside the values framework. That answer will tell you more about daily life than the wording of the Goals alone. For the full text, read the Goals and Criteria section on International School of the Sacred Heart.

How do ISSH students access exchanges and connections through the global Sacred Heart network of 150+ sister schools?

ISSH students access the global Sacred Heart network through participation in cultural, academic, athletic and artistic exchanges with sister schools in Japan, across the Asia-Pacific region and around the world, according to the school's own description of the network. The school frames these exchanges as opportunities to build connections "today and for a lifetime," so the benefit is presented as both current activity and long-term relationships.

How the network translates into student experience

• Exchange activity spans several areas. The page names cultural, academic, athletic and artistic exchanges, which suggests a student might host or visit a sister school through a music or sports programme as readily as through an academic one.
• The network is large enough to offer regional variety. With more than 150 sister schools, families can reasonably ask which regions and which specific schools actually run exchanges in a given year, since a large network does not guarantee a placement in every country.
• It sits alongside other international opportunities. ISSH also cites membership in the East Asian Regional Council of Schools and the Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools, which can widen competition and event options beyond the Sacred Heart network itself.

For a family weighing this school, the practical next step is to ask admissions which exchanges ran in the past year, whether they are optional or embedded in the curriculum, how students are selected, and what costs or hosting obligations families should expect. A useful comparison point is whether a school's global network produces scheduled, recurring exchanges or mainly occasional trips; the page evidence supports the former in principle but does not list specific programmes, so those details are best confirmed directly. Families also comparing international schools in Tokyo may find it helpful to look at The American School in Japan or Seisen International School to see how their international offerings and networks differ.

What Advanced Placement courses and university credit opportunities does ISSH offer high school students?

ISSH states that its high school students can take 23 Advanced Placement (AP) courses and earn university credit before matriculating. The page presents this as part of the school's "Sacred Heart Experience," alongside athletics, student leadership and performing arts, rather than listing individual course titles.

What the page does and does not specify

• Confirmed: the number of AP courses (23) and the intended outcome — university credit earned before leaving high school.
• Not specified: which subjects are offered, exam requirements, score thresholds, or how credit is recognised by particular universities. These vary by institution and are usually set by the receiving university, so they are worth confirming directly with ISSH's high school office.

A concrete way to use this

If your daughter is aiming at universities in the US, UK or elsewhere, ask two questions when you enquire: which AP subjects run in a typical year, and which universities have recently granted credit to ISSH graduates. That turns a headline number into a planning tool — for example, mapping AP choices to a intended STEM or humanities degree.

Comparing options

The all-girls setting and the global Sacred Heart network (150+ sister schools, with exchanges in Japan, Asia-Pacific and worldwide) are the features ISSH emphasises alongside AP. Families weighing this against other international schools in Tokyo may find it useful to compare AP breadth and credit recognition side by side. Official sites such as College Board explain how AP credit is generally awarded, and IBO is the reference point if you are also considering an IB pathway. A visit or direct enquiry to ISSH is the most reliable next step for course-level detail.

What accreditations does ISSH hold and why do WASC and CIS matter for families choosing an international school in Tokyo?

ISSH holds dual accreditation from WASC (the Western Association of Schools and Colleges) and CIS (the Council of International Schools), and describes this pairing as the "gold standard" for international schools. It is also a founding member of the Japan Council of International Schools and belongs to several regional bodies, including the East Asian Regional Council of Schools and the International Coalition of Girls Schools, according to the school's own page.

Why WASC and CIS carry weight for families

Accreditation is a voluntary external review: a school invites outside evaluators to check whether its curriculum, teaching, governance and student support meet recognised standards, then commits to periodic re-review. Two accreditations mean two independent lenses rather than one self-assessment.

• WASC is a US regional accrediting body. Its review centres on whether the academic programme — including the school's 23 Advanced Placement courses — meets American secondary and university-preparation standards. For families who may later move to the US or apply to American universities, this gives admissions offices a familiar reference point.
• CIS is an international-schools body with a broader remit: governance, faculty quality, student well-being and the school's mission. It is widely recognised by international employers and relocation advisers, which matters for families on expatriate postings who need continuity if they move again.
• Together they cover both academic rigour and institutional health, and they signal that credits and transcripts are likely to be read without extra explanation by universities in multiple countries.

How to use this in practice

A concrete scenario: a family relocating to Tokyo for three years, unsure whether the next posting will be in Singapore, London or back home. Dual accreditation is a reasonable proxy that a transfer will be smooth — but check the receiving school's own admissions requirements, since recognition of specific courses still varies.

As a next step, ask ISSH two questions at an open day: when the last WASC and CIS evaluation took place, and which recommendations from it are currently being acted on. A school that can describe concrete follow-up work is giving you more useful information than a badge alone. For comparison, other accredited international schools in Tokyo include Seisen International School and The American School in Japan; checking their accreditation pages side by side makes the differences in scope easier to see.