International school2026.10.049 min readPetra Parent Questions

What to Check When Transferring to an IB, British or American-Style School

Petra Tutors Editorial Team

Notebooks, picture books, a tablet and stationery spread across a wooden table

In short

The first thing to look at in a transfer is grade placement. It is decided by age and cut-off date, and can differ by one year from the Japanese school year.
Check whether the subject sequence (maths, science, second language) and the assessment method (MYP criteria, IGCSE external exams, AP exams in May, DP grades of 1 to 7) match the new school.
In the high-school years, check graduation requirements (such as total IBDP points or ASIJ's 22 credits) and the subjects your target universities ask for first.
Recognition of credits and grade placement are decided by the receiving school. This article does not guarantee any outcome.
The list of questions below is written so that you can send it to a school as it stands.

When transferring between international schools, you need to check the continuity of the curriculum as well as English ability. Especially when moving across IB, British and American-style schools, even at the same age the order of subjects, assessment and graduation requirements can change.

Petra's parent consultation desk receives questions like this: "We are planning to return to Tokyo from overseas. My child is at a British school now, but in Tokyo we are considering an IB or American school. What should we check so that my child can keep up in class?" The first thing to look at is not the school brand but what your child has already learned and the next year at the new school.

What to look at first, by type of transfer

A starting point for checking, based on official information. Each school's own judgement takes priority.
Type of transfer	Where gaps are likely to appear	What to check first
From a Japanese school to an international school	Grade placement (April start and cut-off dates), the language of teaching and assessment, writing in English	Cut-off date and grade (see our explanation of K-12, Grade and Year), English requirements and whether language support is available, English translations of report cards
From an international school to a Japanese school	Grade placement, learning in Japanese, how far Japanese schools have progressed	Checking with the receiving school and the board of education where you live, preparing for learning in Japanese
From IB to British	From assessment centred on MYP criteria to assessment centred on IGCSE external exams	The syllabus covered in the year of entry, the exam board and the timing of coursework (MYP vs IGCSE)
From British to IB	From assessment centred on external exams to assessment that includes MYP criteria and the DP core	How the personal project and the DP core are handled, and the policy on entering without going through the DP
From American to IB or British	From a system built on accumulating credits to a system of external exams and programmes	How earlier credits are treated, AP subjects and how they map at the new school
Transferring mid-term	Differences in how far the syllabus has progressed, and the timing of exam entries	Whether the school will accept you (it differs by school), deadlines for assignments and exams

Mid-term transfers are handled very differently by different schools. ASIJ does not accept mid-term transfers for families living in Tokyo, ISSH welcomes them, and Aoba describes second-term entry for families new to Japan or returning to Japan. You can compare how each school's application works in our guide to application timing and preparing to enter.

1.Grade placement

Even at the same age, the labels Grade and Year can differ. Cut-off dates and the records from your child's previous schools also affect placement.

First check the receiving school's age chart and admissions policy. The differences that cut-off dates make are collected in our explanation of K-12, Grade and Year. Some schools will discuss, as an exception, placing a child one year up or down (KIST says it considers one year up or down as an exception in Grades 1-10).

2.Subject sequence

The order of units in maths and science differs by curriculum. For IGCSE, some schools begin the external-exam syllabus from Grade 9 or Year 10. American-style schools may use a system that accumulates credits by subject. The IB MYP uses assessment based on criteria.

If you line up what your child has covered so far against what the receiving school will cover in its next year, in the order of maths, science, humanities, second language and English (or language support), the gaps become visible. Where Japanese is taken, its place in the programme also differs by school.

3.Evidence of learning and documents

As well as report cards, transcripts, standardised tests, subject descriptions, syllabuses and writing samples can be useful. Give priority to the list of documents the school asks for.

Examples of documents, as confirmed in official guidance on 8 October 2026.
School	Examples of documents required
ISSH	Report cards for the current and past two years, recommendations, standardised tests (if any)
ASIJ	For High School: two years of report cards, three recommendations, an essay and standardised tests
BST	A reference from the current school and teacher
KIST	A confidential school reference from Grade 2 upwards; a personal statement from Grade 8 upwards
Aoba	Report cards (if available), a teacher recommendation on the school's form, vaccination records

4.Assessment method

Method	How grades are produced	What to watch for in a transfer
IB MYP	Four criteria per subject, each assessed 1 to 8, converted to a grade of 1 to 7	The habit of reading the rubric and improving an assignment. The final-year personal project
IGCSE	External exam in each subject (with coursework or oral work in some subjects)	The board and syllabus, timing of exam entries, coursework deadlines
IB DP	1 to 7 in each subject, with the core giving a maximum of 45 points	Choice of HL and SL, planning for the IA, EE and TOK
AP	Exams in May scored 1 to 5	Which subjects are offered, and the conditions for enrolling
A-level	A* (A for AS) to E by subject	How AS and A Level are taken, and the exam series

The differences between the methods are set out in more detail in our MYP vs IGCSE comparison and our comparison of the IBDP, AP and A-levels.

5.High-school graduation requirements

This is especially important for transfers in the high-school years. The IBDP is six subjects plus the core, with conditions such as at least 24 points in total. ASIJ requires four years of enrolment and 22 credits for its diploma. For A-levels, it depends on the combination of subjects the school sets.

For transfers from Grade 10 onwards, check with the school, in specific terms, the requirements still outstanding for graduation. The higher the grade, the less time remains before graduation, so check early.

6.University plans

The subjects required, and how qualifications are treated, differ by university. Do not judge your chances of progressing from the programme name alone; check the latest requirements of the universities you are aiming for. Entry qualifications for Japanese universities are also touched on in our article on accrediting bodies.

Recognition of credits and grade placement are the receiving school's decisions. This article does not guarantee credit recognition or grade placement after a transfer.

The higher the grade, the more the difficulty of transferring changes

A general summary of tendencies. Each school's own policy takes priority.
Stage	Main risks	What to check first
Middle school (Grades 6-8, Years 7-9)	Order of the curriculum, level reached in maths, English ability, subjects not yet taken	How far maths and second-language units have progressed. Whether English support is available
Grades 9-10, Years 10-11	IGCSE or GCSE syllabus, exam board, subjects chosen, coursework already completed, exam entries	Board and syllabus for each subject. Progress on coursework (MYP vs IGCSE)
Grade 11, Year 12	Combination of IB HL and SL, A-level subjects, AP prerequisites and availability, credits, predicted grades, IA and coursework	Whether the same subjects and levels can be taken at the new school. Who produces predicted grades and how
Final year	Credits needed to graduate, order of study, exam entries, internal assessment, predicted grades, schools' policies restricting final-year transfers	Requirements outstanding for graduation, and whether the school accepts transfers

The higher the grade, the narrower the conditions under which the receiving school can accept a student. At KIST, for example, general applications for the start of Grade 10 are in principle accepted until 31 May, and applications after that are limited to transfers from other schools' IGCSE programmes whose subject options match KIST's. General applications for the start of Grade 11 are accepted until 30 September, and after that only where a student is coming from another school's IB Diploma course (all subjects) with matching subject options; IB Certificate students, and changes from Diploma to Certificate, are not accepted. Grade 12 is open only to students from another school's IB Diploma with matching subject options. All of this is as stated in KIST's Admissions Handbook; it differs by school, so it cannot be generalised.

KIST also explains that in Grade 12 it in principle does not accept changes of subject or level (SL, HL), because the required minimum study time cannot be secured. This is an example of how study-time requirements can be a condition of acceptance. Tokyo International School states on its official page that it does not accept new admissions to Grade 12. Quite apart from whether a seat is available, some schools have closed the window for transfer in the final year.

What to carry over before you transfer

The list above is for asking your current school before you transfer, and cross-checking with the receiving school. If these are not in place, even if a seat is available, it does not follow that your child can carry on learning. For example, even for the same "IGCSE Mathematics", the exam to prepare for changes if the board or Core/Extended differs. Our article on IGCSE schools and comparison of the IBDP, AP and A-levels set out how each works.

A checklist before you transfer

Questions to ask schools

Which grade would my child be placed in, given their date of birth? Can we discuss an exception?
For my child's current grade, how far through the units in maths, science and the second language would they need to be to start smoothly?
What is the assessment method? Is it centred on MYP criteria, external exams or credits?
What are the exam board and syllabus code? Has any of it already started?
When are coursework and exam entries due? How are transferring students handled?
How will earlier credits and grades be recognised? What requirements remain before graduation?
What English learning support or second-language options are there?
Can we discuss the subjects my child's target universities require, and the study plan needed for them?

Petra Tutors' practical view

In support before a transfer, it is more practical to look not only at current grades but at the first materials and assessment format your child will meet at the next school.

We prepare by closing specific gaps: gaps in maths units, academic writing, how to answer IGCSE exams, the MYP rubric, AP prerequisites and so on.

In summary

In a transfer, it matters more to check what your child has finished learning and what will be asked of them next than the name of the curriculum.

Credit recognition and grade placement differ by school, so always give priority to the receiving school's judgement. You can see how Tokyo schools differ in our school-by-school curriculum comparison.

Sources

Learning support for your child's school and curriculum

Once we know the current school, the school you are moving to, subjects, assessment method and graduation requirements, we will suggest how to approach support.

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