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Saint Maur International School — One of Japan's Oldest, With Fees Behind a Document Even Its Own Site Doesn't Publish Openly

Kanagawa, Japan

Reportedly founded in 1872, one of Japan's oldest international schools — a Catholic-affiliated, coeducational day school in Yokohama's Yamate district.

Researched by William Prep from published sources. Not yet verified by the school. — Last reviewed by William Prep: 2026-09-24

Saint Maur is reportedly founded in 1872 by the Sisters of the Infant Jesus, making it one of the longest-running international schools still operating in Japan. It's located in Yamate-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama, and reportedly begins with Montessori early years before offering the IB in later grades.

At a Glance

Founded	1872 (reported) (not independently confirmed)as of: 2026-09-24
Location	Yamate-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama (not independently confirmed)as of: 2026-09-24
Curriculum	Montessori + IB (reported) (not independently confirmed)as of: 2026-09-24
Fees	Not confirmed this session (school's own page links out to an unretrieved document) not publicly confirmedas of: 2026-09-24

Fees: Even the School's Own Site Defers to an External Document

Saint Maur's own fee page exists and was retrieved this session — but the page itself doesn't state exact amounts, instead pointing to "a comprehensive description of financial matters" in a linked Google Document that wasn't retrieved. Third-party sites report figures (application fee ¥35,000, registration ¥950,000, annual tuition ¥1.66M-¥3.63M), but since these weren't confirmed against the school's own primary document, they aren't published in this profile.

William Prep’s Analysis

This likely isn't the school deliberately hiding information — it's a fairly common setup where the fee schedule lives in a separate PDF or Google Doc rather than on the page itself. Even so, William Prep's policy is not to present a figure as confirmed when the actual linked document wasn't opened and checked. The plan is to access that document directly in a future session.

1872 — But Not Yet Confirmed Against the School's Own Page

The 1872 founding date is consistently reported across multiple third-party sources (including Wikipedia), but the school's own history page wasn't checked directly this session. The school's standing as one of Japan's oldest international schools is widely known, but pinning down the exact date against a primary source is left for a future research pass.

University Entrance Eligibility in Japan

School-accreditation route	No not publicly confirmedWhether Saint Maur holds any of the six MEXT-recognised accreditations was not confirmed this session.
Student-qualification route (IB, etc.)	Yes (not independently confirmed)

The IB Diploma offering itself is based on third-party reporting, not confirmed directly against the school's own site this session. The school's own accreditation status was also not confirmed.

What Makes This School Distinctive

One of Japan's longest-established international schools

Reportedly founded in 1872

Multiple third-party sources agree, though the school's own page wasn't checked directly this session.

Signals long institutional continuity and a long-standing place in Yokohama's international school community.

Admissions

Cycle

未確認（日本在住かつ保護者同居が出願条件と報告） (not independently confirmed)

What Japanese Families Should Know

Who Might Find This School a Good Fit

Might suit — Families living in or able to commute to the Yokohama Yamate area

Might not suit — Families wanting to confirm exact fees online before applying (specific amounts weren't confirmed this session)

William Prep’s Analysis

Researching Saint Maur was a useful reminder that a school having a "fees" page on its own site and that page actually stating amounts are two different things. Not skipping the extra step of opening the linked document — rather than treating the page's existence as confirmation enough — is exactly the kind of discipline this research depends on.

Questions to Ask the School

1.What are the exact fee amounts (the content of the linked document)?
Why this matters: The linked document on the school's own site wasn't retrieved this session.
2.Which parts of the IB continuum (PYP/MYP/DP) does the school actually offer?
Why this matters: Not confirmed this session.

Sources & Verification

Search synthesis on Saint Maur International School history — Multiple (incl. Wikipedia)third-party source · as of: 2026-09-24Founded 1872 by the Sisters of the Infant Jesus (Saint Maur), reportedly one of the oldest international schools in Japan. Day school, P-12, Catholic, coeducational, Montessori early years plus IB in later grades. Not independently confirmed against stmaur.ac.jp's own history page this session.
Search synthesis on Saint Maur fees — Multiple (search aggregation)third-party source · as of: 2026-09-24Reports application fee ¥35,000, registration fee (new students) ¥950,000, and annual tuition ranging ¥1,663,000 (Montessori half-day) to ¥3,626,000 depending on level, for 2026-27. The school's own fee page (stmaur.ac.jp/about-us/school/school-fees) was fetched this session but defers exact amounts to a linked Google Document not retrieved — these figures are therefore third-party, not directly confirmed against the school's own document.
大学入学資格について — 文部科学省 (MEXT)official source · as of: 2026-09-23Sets out the routes to 大学入学資格: MEXT-designated schools; graduates of 12-year programmes at institutions accredited by WASC, CIS, ACSI, NEASC, Cognia or COBIS; holders of the IB Diploma, Abitur, Baccalauréat, GCE A-Level, International A-Level or European Baccalaureate; 高等学校卒業程度認定試験 (age-18 gated); and individual university review at 18+.

Last reviewed by William Prep: 2026-09-24

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