St. Mary’s International School Tuition 2026–27: Costs, IB & Alternatives

St. Mary’s International School tuition for 2026–27 is ¥2,860,000 a year for Elementary School, ¥2,970,000 for Middle School and ¥3,050,000 for High School (official Tuition & Fees page, checked 4 October 2026). A new student also pays one-time fees of ¥50,000 (application), ¥400,000 (registration) and ¥1,000,000 (Development Fund), plus a ¥200,000 Building Maintenance fee every year, and ¥310,000 (one way) or ¥420,000 (both ways) a year for the school bus. All fees are billed in Japanese yen; we do not convert them to dollars, pounds or Australian dollars here because exchange rates move.

If you searched “St. Mary’s International School tuition” or “St. Mary’s Tokyo fees”, you are probably an English-speaking family preparing a move to Tokyo — with a company, an embassy, a university or a posting of a few years — and you have a son. St. Mary’s is an all-boys Catholic international school in Setagaya, and the questions families ask are practical: what does the first year really cost, when can we apply from overseas, how do the bus and the school day work, is the IB Diploma recognised by universities at home, and what if my son is still learning English? This page answers those questions from St. Mary’s own website first. We then compare it fairly with The American School in Japan (ASIJ), Nishimachi International School and NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY, a different kind of option (an online school that opens in 2027).

The short answer: who St. Mary’s suits — and who it doesn’t

• Suits: families with a son who want an English-medium, college-preparatory international school in Tokyo from the Readiness Program (kindergarten, age 5) through Grade 12, ending in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme.
• Suits: families who specifically want a boys’ school. St. Mary’s describes itself as “focused solely on the needs of boys”, with a strong programme of athletics, fine arts, performing arts and after-school activities.
• Suits: families arriving at an unusual time of year. St. Mary’s says it accepts applications at all times of the year, depending on seat availability, with a few exceptions (see below).
• Suits: families who value accreditation that home-country schools and universities recognise: St. Mary’s states it is fully accredited by WASC and the Council of International Schools (CIS), and it is an IB World School.
• Harder fit: families with daughters, or siblings of different genders who want to attend the same school — St. Mary’s admits boys only.
• Harder fit: students who would arrive in Grade 12 (no applications are accepted for Grade 12) or after the start of Grade 11 (the IB Diploma requires the last two full years at St. Mary’s).
• Harder fit: families who need financial aid or a sibling discount — neither is published on the official fee page — and students with serious learning, emotional or physical disabilities, which the school says it does not have the resources to serve.

What St. Mary’s International School is

St. Mary’s International School was founded in 1954 and moved to its current campus in Setagaya ward, in south-west Tokyo, in 1971. Its admissions policy describes it as “an all-boys Catholic international school” serving “the international and globally-minded community of Tokyo”, and it says it does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, creed, religion or national and ethnic origin. The About page describes a student body from nearly 50 countries. The total number of students is not published on the pages we checked.

Academically, the school runs from the Readiness Program (RP, the kindergarten year) to Grade 12. In Elementary School, language arts and mathematics follow the US Common Core State Standards, science follows the Next Generation Science Standards, and social studies follows the AERO standards, alongside religion, a Japanese language programme, technology and social-emotional learning. Middle School uses a standards-based curriculum designed with the Understanding by Design approach. In Grades 11–12, students take the IB Diploma Programme.

St. Mary’s tuition and fees (2026–27, official)

St. Mary’s publishes its fees on its Tuition & Fees page and links a “School Year 2026–27 Tuition & Fees” document from it. Here is every figure as published, checked 4 October 2026. The school notes that tuition and fees are subject to change.

What the first-year bill adds up to

Using only the official 2026–27 numbers, the first year for a new student is tuition + ¥50,000 application + ¥400,000 registration + ¥1,000,000 Development Fund + ¥200,000 Building Maintenance. That gives ¥4,510,000 in Elementary School (¥2,860,000 + ¥1,650,000), ¥4,620,000 in Middle School and ¥4,700,000 in High School — before the bus, devices, trips and lunch. With a both-ways bus pass (¥420,000), a new High School student’s first year is ¥5,120,000.

From the second year, the recurring cost is tuition plus the ¥200,000 Building Maintenance fee: ¥3,060,000 (Elementary), ¥3,170,000 (Middle) or ¥3,250,000 (High). The ¥300,000 re-enrollment deposit is credited towards tuition, so it is not an extra cost — but it is non-refundable if your posting ends unexpectedly after you have paid it.

For four years of high school (a new student entering Grade 9 and graduating), if 2026–27 fees stayed the same (they usually rise), the total would be ¥4,700,000 in year one plus 3 × ¥3,250,000 = ¥9,750,000, or ¥14,450,000. Add a both-ways bus every year (4 × ¥420,000 = ¥1,680,000) and it is ¥16,130,000. IB exams add ¥20,000 per subject — six subjects, the usual Diploma load, would be ¥120,000 — and the Grade 12 graduation fee is ¥30,000.

For a family with two sons starting together — say one in Grade 1 and one in Grade 6 — the first year is: application 2 × ¥50,000 = ¥100,000; registration 2 × ¥400,000 = ¥800,000; Development Fund 2 × ¥1,000,000 = ¥2,000,000; Building Maintenance 2 × ¥200,000 = ¥400,000; tuition ¥2,860,000 + ¥2,970,000 = ¥5,830,000. Total ¥9,130,000, or ¥9,970,000 with two both-ways bus passes. As with most Tokyo international schools, the one-time fees weigh heavily on a short posting.

Payment and company payment

• How to pay: the application fee by credit card online; all other fees by bank transfer in yen. Cash and credit cards are not accepted for tuition. Transfer fees — including lifting charges when paying from abroad — are paid by the payer.
• Refunds: the admissions policy says that if the school withdraws a place, tuition and applicable fees are refunded pro rata by quarter. A general withdrawal and refund schedule is not set out on the fee page; ask the Accounting Office (accounting@smis.ac.jp) before you commit.
• Corporate Contribution Program: the fee page lists a Corporate Contribution Program for employers. Its terms are not set out in the page text we checked, so ask your HR team and St. Mary’s Accounting Office how it works for your company.

If you are weighing an in-person international school against other models, our guide to online vs in-person international school costs sets out what usually sits outside the tuition line.

How a school day works: hours, buses and the school calendar

Hours. Elementary School runs from 8:30am to 3:10pm, with a milk-and-snack break at 10:30am, and the buses leave at 3:20pm. Middle School students start at 8:25am with six periods of 55 minutes, a ten-minute homeroom and a 45-minute lunch and recess, finishing at 3:15pm. High School classes run from 8:25am to 3:25pm with lunch from 11:00 to 11:55. After-school activities are a big part of school life: in Middle School, the school says it expects students to take part at some level throughout the year.

The bus. St. Mary’s offers a one-way service (¥310,000 a year) or both ways (¥420,000). Families submit a School Bus Application Form after acceptance. Route maps are not published on the public pages we checked, so ask Admissions which neighbourhoods are served before you choose housing. Setagaya is a residential ward; our guides to international schools in Setagaya and international schools in Meguro map other schools nearby.

Calendar and the timing of your move. Grade placement is by age on 1 September, and the admissions policy refers to a second semester that begins in January. The full 2026–27 school calendar is linked from the school’s calendar page. If your relocation date is fixed, these rules matter most:

• Readiness Program and Grade 1 have a fixed cycle. For 2027–28, applications open on 1 September 2026 and are due on 31 October 2026; Grade 1 screening is on 3–6 November 2026, family interviews run into December, and decision letters go out on 31 January 2027 (Grade 1) and 28 February 2027 (RP). The registration fee and Development Fund are due within two weeks of an offer. For 2026–27, RP and Grade 1 are closed to local applicants but open to families who currently live overseas.
• Other grades accept applications year-round, depending on seat availability. When a grade is full, students may be waitlisted, and the school expects them to keep attending a school while they wait.
• High School: no applications for Grade 12, and IB Diploma students must enrol no later than the start of Grade 11.

Accreditation, diploma and university recognition

St. Mary’s states that it is “fully accredited” by two agencies — the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACS WASC) and the Council of International Schools (CIS) — and that each five-year review is designed to validate the integrity of its programme and student transcripts. It is also an authorised IB World School. Families who need formal confirmation for a home-country school district or an employer can also check the ACS WASC and CIS directories.

The IB Diploma Programme is the centre of the high school. Every Diploma student completes the core — Theory of Knowledge, Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) and the Extended Essay — plus six subjects. The published subject list includes English A and Japanese A (Language and Literature), Japanese B and ab initio, French B and ab initio, Spanish ab initio, Business Management, Economics, History, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Design Technology, Physics, both IB mathematics courses, Music and Visual Arts.

University counselling begins in Grade 10 with the PSAT and help aligning IB course choices with university plans, continues with family conferences in Grade 11, and becomes weekly support in Grade 12. St. Mary’s says its graduates go on to universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and other countries, and it publishes details in its School Profile. Detailed results (such as average IB scores) are not set out on the pages we checked; ask Admissions for the current profile.

St. Mary’s vs NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY vs two other options (official data)

Families moving to Tokyo usually compare St. Mary’s with other long-established English-medium schools. We chose two with official 2026–27 fees published: The American School in Japan (co-educational, American curriculum with AP) and Nishimachi International School (co-educational, Kindergarten to Grade 9). NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY is included as a different kind of option — an online school, not a campus school.

Sources: St. Mary’s Tuition & Fees, St. Mary’s Admissions Policy, St. Mary’s About Us, ASIJ Tuition & Fees, Nishimachi Tuition + Fees and NGA’s curriculum and timetable page — checked 4 October 2026.

Reviews and common concerns, answered honestly

St. Mary’s has a long history with international families in Tokyo. The questions that come up again and again are practical rather than about quality. Here is what the school’s own website says about each.

“Is a boys’ school the right choice for our son?”

This is the first decision, and only your family can make it. St. Mary’s argues for single-sex education on its About page — “we are a boys school, focused solely on the needs of boys” — and backs it with a wide programme of sport, music, drama and clubs. If you also have a daughter, check whether a co-educational school would let your children share a commute and a school calendar.

“Will we get a seat for the grade and date we need?”

St. Mary’s does not publish acceptance rates or waitlist lengths. It accepts applications year-round for most grades if a seat is available, and uses a waitlist when a grade is full. For the Readiness Program and Grade 1, the cycle is fixed and early (applications due in October for the following school year). Tell Admissions your arrival date as soon as you know it.

“Our son is still learning English.”

The admissions policy asks applicants to “demonstrate the potential to succeed within our English-based curriculum”. The school has English Language Support for students whose first language is not English, and if a student’s academic English is not yet at grade level, his World Language class is replaced by English academic support. Ask how much support is available in your son’s grade before applying.

“What about learning differences?”

St. Mary’s has Learning Support Coordinators and academic support classes for Grades 6–12, and all students are taught in mainstream classes. The school states plainly that it does not have the facilities or resources to serve children with serious learning, emotional or physical disabilities, and that students must be able to learn in mainstream classes with minimal special assistance. Share any reports early so the school can give you a clear answer.

“Is it a religious school?”

St. Mary’s is a Catholic school, and its calendar shows regular Mass in the school chapel and a campus minister. Its admissions policy says it welcomes students of every religion and does not discriminate on the basis of religion; families are expected to support the school’s mission and belief statements.

“The one-time fees are high for a two-year posting.”

That is a fair calculation. Registration and the Development Fund (¥1,400,000 together) are paid once, so they weigh more on a short stay. Check what your employer’s education allowance covers and ask HR about the Corporate Contribution Program listed on the fee page.

Alternatives to St. Mary’s worth comparing

The American School in Japan (ASIJ) — co-educational, with an American college-preparatory programme (AP and AP Capstone rather than the IB) and a large campus in Chofu plus an early-years centre in Roppongi. Its 2026–27 tuition (¥3,143,000–¥3,826,000) and one-time fees are higher than St. Mary’s. Our ASIJ tuition and review sets out the full first-year cost.

Nishimachi International School — co-educational, Kindergarten to Grade 9, with a Japanese Language and Culture Program alongside an English-medium education. Plan for another school for high school.

NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA) — an online international school for ages 6–18 focused on Asia and Oceania, opening in September 2027 (planned), with a first cohort of 100 students. Classes are small live dialogue groups of about 8, subjects are learned in English with a bilingual (English–Japanese) mentor, and English is taught by CEFR level, with no English requirement to join. NGA can run alongside a local school or as the main school, and it travels with the family if they relocate again. Its timetable is built for Asia–Oceania daytime, which suits families living in Japan. Tuition is not yet published; NGA says it will be far more affordable than a typical international school, with no enrolment, facility or uniform fees, materials included and sibling discounts. The honest limitations: it is not yet open, not yet accredited, has no graduates, and it is not a campus school — families who want daily in-person school life, team sport and facilities like St. Mary’s should choose a campus school. Free trial classes run monthly from September 2026. It is operated by NIJIN Inc. in Japan, whose alternative school NIJIN Academy has more than 1,000 students.

For a wider view, see our guide to international schools in Tokyo, our overview of online international schools compared, and how a day at an online international school works. Families also weighing schools elsewhere in Asia can read our UWCSEA fees and tuition review, and families comparing US online schools can read our Stanford Online High School tuition and review.

See how NGA admissions work →

FAQ

How much does St. Mary’s International School cost per year?

For 2026–27, tuition is ¥2,860,000 (Elementary), ¥2,970,000 (Middle) and ¥3,050,000 (High School), plus an annual ¥200,000 Building Maintenance fee and ¥310,000–¥420,000 for the bus if used. In the first year, new students also pay ¥1,450,000 in one-time fees (application, registration and Development Fund). A new High School student’s first year is ¥4,700,000 before the bus.

Is St. Mary’s International School accredited?

Yes. St. Mary’s states that it is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Council of International Schools (CIS), on a five-year review cycle, and it is an IB World School offering the IB Diploma Programme.

Can international students enrol at St. Mary’s?

Yes — the school serves Tokyo’s international community, with students from nearly 50 countries. It admits boys only. Once enrolled, a student must live in Japan with his parent(s), who must hold valid residence visas; living with a legal guardian is considered only with the school’s prior approval. There is no boarding.

Is St. Mary’s worth it?

For families with a son who want an established boys’ school in Tokyo, the IB Diploma and a strong activities programme, many find it is — and its 2026–27 tuition is lower than some other long-established Tokyo schools. It is harder to justify for a very short posting paid from personal funds, because the one-time fees are large and no financial aid is published. Compare the full first-year cost, not just tuition.

What are the alternatives to St. Mary’s?

Common alternatives include The American School in Japan (co-educational, AP), Nishimachi International School (K–9) and other Tokyo international schools. For children aged 6–18 who need bilingual support or a flexible, lower-cost option, NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY opens online in September 2027 (planned); it is not yet accredited and its tuition is not yet published.

Planning your move calmly

St. Mary’s is one of Tokyo’s best-known international schools for boys, and for many relocating families with sons it is a natural first application. The most useful next steps are concrete: check the application window for your son’s grade (especially for RP and Grade 1), ask Admissions about seats for your arrival date, ask HR what your package covers and whether your company can use the Corporate Contribution Program, and confirm the bus route before choosing housing. If your plans are still uncertain — a short posting, a son still growing into English, or a gap before a seat opens — it is worth keeping one flexible option in view too. You can read more about why families choose an online international school.

Tuition and admissions details were checked on the official websites on 4 October 2026. Schools revise fees every year — always confirm on the official site before applying.

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