Overview

Summer is such a wonderful time of year. It’s an opportunity for your child to spend time with family and friends, cool down at the beach or pool, or better yet, extend their learning with engaging hands-on activities at our St. Michael’s Summer School. At our summer school, your child can enjoy a variety of activities including IPC/IEYC, English, Numeracy, Technology, Crafts and daily water-based activities from our dedicated and caring teachers.

Taste of St. Michael’s for New Families 

St. Michael’s International School, located in the heart of Kobe City, is the oldest British international school in Japan, celebrating its 80th anniversary since its founding. With a well established reputation for academic excellence and personal education, why not participate in our summer school program to actually experience our innovative curriculum that combines the International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC), the International Primary Curriculum (IPC), which has been highly praised and implemented in over 90 countries worldwide, with the British educational curriculum. 

Our Summer School is a great opportunity for new families interested in St. Michael’s to get a good taste of our school, faculty members and curriculum. 

Read our Summer School Parent Handbook and reserve your child’s spot by applying here…

Coming soon: Summer School Application Form 2026 and Summer School Parent Handbook 2026

For further information please contact summer-school@smis-mail.org

Schedule

Summer school will run from:

• International Summer School – June 22rd – July 17th 2026 (a total of 4 weeks)
• Kids Summer School – July 27 – August 7th (a total of 2 weeks)
• Monday – Friday 09:00 – 15:00

Fees for International School Summer School

** For children attending international schools and with close to native English ability.

Four weeks…………….¥200,000 (weekly rate = ¥50,000)
Three weeks……………¥157,500 (weekly rate = ¥52,500)
Two weeks………………¥110,000 (weekly rate = ¥55,000)
One week……………….¥60,000

• Plus ¥2,000 insurance for non-SMIS students.
• (Two weeks of SMIS-English Kids Summer School… at discount for children of this programme)
• All fees must be paid within 2 weeks of reception of their invoice.
• Applications made after June 1st will be accepted, however, places for these applicants cannot be guaranteed.

Fees for SMIS-English Kids Summer School

** For SMIS-English Families or children with beginner English abilities.

• Two weeks………………¥120,000
• Plus ¥2,000 insurance for non-SMIS students.
• All fees must be paid within 2 weeks of reception of their invoice.
• Applications made after July 1st will be accepted, however, places for these applicants cannot be guaranteed.

Age Ranges

Our Summer School aims to cater for children in the following age ranges:

*We require that all children entering the Early Years Class are toilet trained.

Classes are capped at a maximum of 20 children.

Staff

Summer School staff will consist of experienced St. Michael’s International School Teachers and Assistants as well as additional teachers connected to St. Michael’s who have previously worked in one of our summer school programmes.  

Lesson and Activities 

The majority of the learning will be based upon topics from our International Early Years Curriculum and International Primary Curriculum and will involve using the following skills:

• Reading / Creative writing / Phonics / Language development
• Applying Numeracy skills to solve problems
• Practical Science Exploration
• Art / design / crafts
• Physical Education
• Technology

Fridays are called ‘Fun Fridays’ – and for good reason! These days will also be themed, and we will all enjoy a particular focus each week, all packed with summer fun fun fun!

Attendance

School starts at 09:00 and finishes at 15:00. If arriving late, leaving early, or absent, please make sure to call the office in advance, or on the morning between 08:45 and 09:15.

Classes will be met at the gate by a teacher and then taken inside by an assistant. 

Children will be released at the gate at 15:00 every day. Those aged 7 – 11 can travel to and from school unsupervised if written parental permission is given. All other children need to be collected by a specified adult. Please inform the teacher in the morning if you have made special arrangements for your child to be picked up by someone else at the end of the day. The school must be cleared by 15:20 each day as the school gates are locked.

Snack Time / Lunch Time

Children are expected to bring their own Nut-Free snack and lunch to school. Please pack a healthy mid-morning snack, lunch and a drink. It is essential that children have plenty of water to drink, so a personal refillable bottle is required .We recommend one with a neck strap. Please label all items.

School Lunch Service – 750yen / Day

** This option may be unavailable depending on demand and provider access.
***Lunch option to be confirmed by the end of April at latest.

Parents can choose to pay for our school lunch services at a fixed weekly cost of ¥3,750. Fees may vary year to year and depending on the number of lunch users. This fee will be added to your invoice.
Lunch options:

• Regular lunch
• Vegetarian lunch
• Dietary restricted lunch ( eg: allergies to eggs, gluten, nuts, shellfish or pork restrictions)
• Please note: the lunch service fee is non-refundable. This applies to all situations, including school closures or sick days. The non-refundable policy is in line with the terms and conditions outlined under the section “Tuition and Rights of the School.”

Sample Menu

What to Wear

Children should wear casual, light summer clothes and light shoes. No indoor shoes are needed. 

Children in Early Years should bring a change of clothes that can be kept at the school until needed.  Please write their name on all items of clothing.

Water-based activities: Every Monday, please send labelled swimwear, towel and beach footwear such as flip-flops, sandals or Crocs. Goggles are optional. The swimwear and towel will be dried at the school throughout the week and will be returned on Friday to be washed.

Lost and Found Items

Please make sure you write your children’s names on their personal belongings. At the end of Summer School we will display any lost and found items. Please understand that any leftover items not claimed will be disposed of.

Parking

Please use the car parks in the vicinity of the school. It is illegal to park on Tor Road. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

Typhoons / Earthquakes

In case there is typhoon activity in Kobe, St. Michael’s has the following procedures for emergencies:

Two warnings are in use:

• Chui Ho: School as usual. Parents must use their own discretion in deciding whether or not to keep their child at home, especially for those who travel from some distance away.
• Kei Ho: If this warning continues until 07:00 there will be no school and all parents will be emailed at 07:00 indicating this. If there is a Kei-Ho in your area but not in Chuo-ku Kobe, please use your judgement as you will need to be able to pick your child up after school. Please keep an eye on the Weather Warnings page which is linked under our Community Page.

If the Kei Ho is announced during school hours, students will be kept at school until collected by parents. If in doubt, please telephone the school office after 08:30.

In the event of communication/transportation problems arising from major tremors/earthquakes, students will be kept in school or at the evacuation location until collected by parents. In the unlikely event of an overnight stay being necessary, staff will remain with the students.

In the event of an emergency, our evacuation location is located at the Tor Shimin Park.

Terms and Conditions

Summer school tuition:

• We ask that you make any cancellations two weeks prior to the beginning of the St. Michael’s International Summer School so as not to incur any cancellation costs.
• Cancelling one week prior to the start of the first week of Summer School: 80% refund of tuition fees.
• Cancelling three days or less prior to the start of the first week: 50% refund of tuition fees.
• Cancelling during a week already registered for: No refund of tuition fees for such week(s).

Typhoon, earthquake, or other Natural causes:

• No refund for any summer-school-related fees in the case of cancellation of school and/or of activities due to typhoon, earthquake, or other extreme events beyond the control of school and its staff.

Rights of the school:

• St. Michael’s International Summer School reserves the right to reject the application — even after the start of summer school — of any student who is unable to function at an age-appropriate level in the English language, and/or whose behaviour is consistently inappropriate. This includes those children entering the Early Years class who are not toilet trained. After a written warning to the family, any student who is asked to leave the summer school programme based on circumstances covered in the aforementioned will receive a full tuition refund for any week(s) he/she is enrolled in that follow the week in which he/she is asked to leave. There will be no tuition refund for the week in which he/she is asked to leave.

Health related closures:

• If Hyogo prefecture declares a State of Emergency during the running of the Summer School programme, St Michael’s International Summer School reserves the right to close the Summer School program indefinitely. In this case, a refund will be issued for any days on which the programme is not running.