Anna & Michiko's Online Learning Journey

Anna doesn’t need to worry about falling behind with classes. A fencer who travels for competitions, she can learn and catch-up anywhere she has an internet connection. And by studying the UK curriculum – which is recognised around the world – she’s opening up her university options.

Anna and Michiko had been living in Manila for five years, due to Michiko’s work. Because of this, Anna used to attend a British school. After returning to Japan during middle school, Michiko started checking international schools in Tokyo, but these weren’t what her and Anna were hoping for. This led them to researching online school.

After learning of several which only provided textbooks, Michiko liked that King’s InterHigh offered “Everything in your pockets.” This includes the teaching materials, as well as the teachers themselves.

Outside of the virtual classroom, Anna is a fencer. This makes attending physical school difficult, as competitions require her to travel outside of Tokyo and overseas. But with King’s InterHigh, Anna can travel and keep attending lessons. “All we need are laptops and an internet connection,” explains Michiko.

Anna says she started fencing when she was eight, and it began with an old friend. They’d attended the same physical school, and introduced fencing to her. Their parents suggested they keep it up to strengthen their friendship.

She also likes playing chess. According to Michiko, Anna loves a brain game. “Fencing is human chess. It’s not only physical, but mental.”

“We can go overseas for fencing competitions and keep attending lessons. All we need are laptops and an internet connection.”

School-life Balance

Two of the benefits of online learning for Anna are the fact there’s no more commuting time and loss of focus on activities outside of school. Fencing practice takes up a lot of time, but Anna has ample opportunity to focus on her school subjects.

Michiko also mentions King’s InterHigh’s Study Hall, which allows Anna to communicate with other students from around the world.

If Anna misses a class, she can easily catch up with lesson recordings. “If I still don’t understand, I can check the materials and think ‘Oh yeah, I missed this part. Okay, let me read up on this,’” she says. “It makes things 100% easier.”

What does a typical day of online learning look like for Anna? Michiko says she’ll start the day and check if there’s any homework or anything else she’s missed from previous classes. Then she’ll start classes at 4.30pm local time.

This later start isn’t a problem. It’s actually helpful, as Anna explains. “We’re able to juggle our daily lives between school and everything else.”

“There’s no transport time with online learning. And we can focus on everyday subjects without losing focus.”

Global Options

In the future, Anna wants to become an aerospace engineer. One day we may find her working on aircrafts or space rockets. Although she says options to study a relevant degree for this are limited in Japan, having studied with King’s InterHigh will give her more options. “The UK curriculum is a global curriculum, so I can apply to more universities around the world with the qualifications I earn,” she explains.

Michiko closes our conversation by reiterating some of the benefits of Anna joining King’s InterHigh. “Cost is one. International school in Japan is expensive. The quality of teaching at King’s InterHigh is very good, so we’re really happy,” she says.

“And if Anna has fencing, and we have to attend a competition outside of Tokyo, she can re-watch the classes many times, and communicate with teachers anywhere. All she needs is a laptop and an internet connection.”

“The UK curriculum offered by King’s InterHigh is accepted around the world, which widens the number of universities I can apply to internationally.”