St. Michael's International School
At a glance
St. Michael’s International, a British School in the Anglican tradition, provides a quality primary education within a positive culture of excellence and a caring family community.
Known as the small school with the big heart, St. Michael’s International School is the only IPC accredited international school in Japan, offering a specialised Early Years and Primary education, where young learners thrive in a unique and caring environment, nurtured by more than seventy five years of expertise.
Location: Kobe, Japan
Type: International School
Funding status: Independent, Fee-paying, Not-for-profit
Phase: Early Years (Nursery & Reception) and Primary (Year One - Year Six)
Age range: 3-11 years
Gender: Mixed
Curriculum: International Primary Curriculum (IPC) school, National Curriculum in England for Mathematics and English, IEYC member school
Accreditation: The only IPC accredited school in Japan. Jointly accredited by CIS and WASC since 2007, accredited member school with COBIS and EARCOS, founding member of Japan Council of International Schools (JCIS)

Welcome to St. Michael's International School
We believe our young learners deserve the very best education. This starts with providing the highest quality of teaching and learning possible delivered by amazing professionals who, like us, believe that our young people are capable of incredible things!
Faculty Overview
St. Michael's International School employs highly-qualified, experienced class teachers, assisted by specialist teachers and full-time class assistants. The teaching staff comes from a variety of places, but mainly the UK.
All of our class and specialist teachers hold a UK teaching qualification or an international equivalent with at least two year's experience in a British or British international school.
The school keeps abreast of curriculum development, new teaching methodologies and research, and shares and uses these in various training days throughout the year. Currently, SMIS staff are focusing on the pedagogy of the International Primary Curriculum (IPC.)

New Staff Testimonials
After just one half-term, I feel at home at St Michael’s. There is a positive energy around the school, making it a happy place to work, and colleagues constantly check in with each other to see how they can be of help. The curriculum is creative and engaging, and teachers have the flexibility to adapt plans to suit their children’s needs and interests. Regular events make each week different and there are a range of extra curricular activities to suit all tastes. Outside of school, Kobe is a great place to live. It has all the amenities you could possibly need and is nestled at the foot of some beautiful mountains. Transport links are excellent, meaning I’ve already explored a wide range of places in just a few weeks.
Joanne Offer, Primary Teacher, 2019
My experiences of St Michael’s and Kobe so far have gone beyond all my expectations and, having wanted to live in Japan for so long, they were very high! All the staff have made me feel extremely welcome and, despite only having been here for a few months, I already feel very much part of St. Michael’s and the wider community.
Rebecca Price, Primary Teacher, 2018
When I saw the position advertised for St Michael's International School we researched the school as well as the Kansai region. We decided we had found a brilliant school for our children to attend, in an area which had everything we needed. The beach, lots of mountains, and food from all around the world at our fingertips. We feel extremely blessed to have been given the opportunity to join the St Michael's community. We have been warmly welcomed and have had more offers of help than we can remember. We love meeting people from all over the world and are already starting to feel at home in Kobe. On the weekends, we like to explore the local mountains and try out our Japanese language skills on patient shopkeepers and restaurant owners.
Jane Stackhouse, PE & Music Specialist Teacher, 2018
Please note:
We receive a great many applications for a limited number of openings. While each applicant will receive a response confirming their application, we apologise in advance that we are not able to respond to each applicant individually after that and will only contact those candidates whose applications we wish to take further.
SMIS does not discriminate with regard to race, colour, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, political opinion, or disability.