The table below highlights some of the major events held and milestones reached during the school’s more than 20-year history.
1997
April
K. English College opened at Higashisuna, Koto-ku as an English language school
Foundation of English College
Early childhood program began
September
Official foundation as an international kindergarten
Our initial students
Name changed to K. International College
1998
September
Elementary School opened for Grades 1 and 2
Name changed to K. International School Tokyo
1999
September
Elementary School expanded to Grade 5
2000
July
Recognized as an educational foundation by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government
September
Secondary School opened for Grades 6 to 9
Founding of the Secondary School
2002
January
IB Primary Years Programme authorization received
2003
June
IB Middle Years Programme authorization received
Affiliated with the Council of International Schools (CIS) as a regular member
September
Grade 10 began
2004
June
IB Diploma Programme authorization received
2005
September
Grade 11 began
2006
September
Grade 12 began
June
Inaugural Grade 12 graduation ceremony held
2007
September
Campus relocated to Shirakawa, Koto-ku
Opening ceremony at the new campus
2008
April
10th anniversary celebration held
October–November
IB PYP, MYP and DP Workshops in Tokyo held at KIST
November
Construction of West Building began
2009
August
West Building opened
2010
January
Artificial turf installed on main playground
School field covered with artificial turf
September
LEAP (Learning Enhancement Academic Program) began
2011
April
Visited the Tohoku region to support those affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake
2012
April
EIC (English Intensive Class) began for Grades 6 to 8
June
Inaugural performance of the school song, "For Tomorrow"
2013
May
Granted approval as an International GCSE examinations center by Edexcel
2014
August
K. International Preschool (KIPS) opened at Nihonbashi-Hamacho, Chuo-ku for 2- to 4-year olds
2015
January
Granted candidate status for accreditation by the Council of International Schools (CIS)
July
Graduates from the 'Class of 2015' achieve an average DP score of 36 points, making KIST the highest ranking DP school in Japan for the first time
2016
October
K. International Preschool (KIPS) relocated to Morishita, Koto-ku and re-opened for 0- to 2-year-olds
2017
February
Granted full accreditation by the Council of International Schools (CIS)
October
20th anniversary celebration held (“K.20 Celebration”)
November
Granted membership of the East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS)
2018
August
Granted membership of the Japan Council of International Schools (JCIS)
2019
May
Granted approval as a Cambridge International School by Cambridge Assessment International Education
August
IGCSE curricullum introduced for Grades 9 and 10
Teacher Development Scheme commenced
October
Ranked in the Global Top 50 IB Schools by IB-Schools.com for the first time (at #12)
December
KIST Facebook page opened
2020
February
KIST Instagram and Twitter pages opened
March–June
Distance learning program implemented during COVID-19 pandemic
December
Ranked at #13 in the Global Top 100 IB Schools by IB-Schools.com
2021
October
Ranked at #7 in the Global Top 100 IB Schools by IB-Schools.com
2022
April
Original school gymnasium demolished
May
New KIST and KIPS emblems introduced
August
25th anniversary celebration held
KIST Lower Secondary Programme (LSP) introduced for Grades 6 to 8
September
Construction of new Main Building began
November
Ranked at #5 in the Global Top 100 IB Schools by IB-Schools.com
2023
December
Ranked at #5 in the Global Top 100 IB Schools by IB-Schools.com
2024
January
New Main Building opened
April
Enrichment Program commenced
September
ISP (Intensive Support Program) began
December
Ranked at #4 in the Global Top 100 IB Schools by IB-Schools.com
2025
December
Ranked at #4 in the Global Top 100 IB Schools by IB-Schools.com
2026
March
1st KIST Community Golf Competition held at Camellia Hills CC
April
KIST website renewed