Cover Sandwiched between Appi's ski hill and lake, Harrow International School Appi Japan is nestled among the mountains of Iwate Prefecture (Photo: Courtesy of Harrow Appi)
Sandwiched between Appi's ski hill and lake, Harrow International School Appi Japan is nestled among the mountains of Iwate Prefecture (Photo: Courtesy of Harrow Appi)
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For an education that combines the unique Harrow ethos with programmes that take advantage of a breathtaking location, look no further than Harrow International School Appi Japan
The first Japanese outpost of one of the world’s most prestigious schools, Harrow International School Appi Japan is nestled among the mountains of Iwate Prefecture. There, it offers holistic education with nature as its backdrop, featuring access to skiing and all kinds of other outdoor programmes, alongside the strong boarding and house system that it inherits from its sister school in the UK.
“We offer an education that’s based on values,” says its founding headmaster Mick Farley. “We work extremely hard to develop the values, behaviours and attributes that we believe all students will need as a foundation to be successful in their future adult world.”
Having opened its campus in August 2022, the only full-boarding Harrow school outside London combines world-class British education with stunning Japanese landscapes. Appi places equal emphasis on the four Harrow values of fellowship, honour, humility and courage, while drawing from Japan’s deep cultural heritage and its respect for the community.
“We’re very clear that our students learn an enormous amount inside the classroom; they also arguably learn as much—if not more—outside the classroom” says Farley. “It’s imperative that we draw on the opportunities of our host country, here in the nature of northern Japan. We expect our beaks [teachers] to ask themselves the question, ‘Could I be teaching this concept outside?’”
Those beaks represent the cream of the profession: 70 per cent of them are recruited from the best independent schools in the UK and top-level international schools.
Founding headmaster Mick Farley (Photo: Courtesy of Harrow Appi)
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The school is designed to Harrow’s specifications and reflects its educational approach with light, spacious, well-equipped classrooms, break-out spaces and faculty offices with large glass windows, encouraging approachability, independence and collaboration. At the school’s Innovation Centre, it offers design technology and STEAM education, taught by sector-leading teachers; its Sports Centre features a martial arts room and an indoor pool; and the Performing Arts Centre is home to a dance studio, ensemble rooms and a black box theatre.
Sandwiched between a ski hill and a lake, the design of the school captures Harrow’s British heritage—think low-rise red-brick campus buildings, which are sympathetic to the surrounding mountainscape, positioned to maximise views of Mount Iwate.
Having worked for seven winters in the ski industry before training as a teacher, Farley is passionate about adapting the curriculum to the local setting. “I believe that students, now more than ever, have an incredible amount of learning to do in nature: not only about photosynthesis and fauna, but learning about themselves, life, adventure, consequences and resilience.”
Unlike any other Harrow International school, Harrow Appi has a sports academy programme that reflects the seasons. The “Green Season” mirrors a British independent school-style timetable, with mountain biking, golf, tennis and football. Meanwhile, the wintery “White Season” offers students alpine sports up to four times a week.
Previously serving seven years as headmaster for Harrow Bangkok, Farley foresees that besides reaching academic potential, Harrow Appi students will be individually guided in their applications to Russell Group and Ivy League universities, “and when they get to that university interview, they’ll be talking not just about their chemistry and their economics, but about ski touring up Iwate-san, camping the night in minus ten degrees, skiing back down again, and what they learnt from it”.
Above The school is designed to Harrow’s specifications, reflecting its educational approach with light, spacious, well-equipped classrooms, break-out spaces and faculty offices (Photo: Courtesy of Harrow Appi)
Above Farley is confident his young Harrovians will be appropriately equipped for global challenges (Photo: Courtesy of Harrow Appi)
The school is designed to Harrow’s specifications, reflecting its educational approach with light, spacious, well-equipped classrooms, break-out spaces and faculty offices (Photo: Courtesy of Harrow Appi)
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The school drew from a wealth of Harrow alumni in building the foundations of Appi, including a previous student of Farley’s, who was present for the very first ski trip to Appi, in 2016.
“She was always very arty—in fact, during my time in AISL Harrow Schools' head office in Hong Kong, I hung her artwork on my office wall," he says. “She was interested in fashion, design and art, and always very good with maths. So we counselled her to keep going. She did well with it, and right at the eleventh hour, she switched her application from fashion and design to architecture, something she was able to do with her maths qualifications. And just last summer, she graduated from the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture.”
Emerging from Harrow Appi, and this sophisticated educational model, Farley is confident his young Harrovians will be appropriately equipped for global challenges. “Exemplifying the four Harrow values, they will be bilingual, deeply engaged [with] and [have an] understanding of the natural world… and will ski well, too.”
Find out more about Harrow Appi and its very first upcoming Winter Camp 2022 here.
