Tokyo couple brings an arts-centric British-style preschool to Japan

By on July 19, 2016

When Ayahi Suda packed her bags to move to the U.K. to pursue her dream of studying Arts at the University of the Arts London, she left behind a highly successful preschool, kindergarten and grade school (in Tokyo) which she founded and ran for several years.

“In a short time span – roughly three years – we had 300 children enrolled in the school. Some joined us at the age of 2-3, and stayed on until they were 12 years old.,” she recalls.

“A number of former pupils went on to be accepted to prestigious boarding schools in Switzerland; the strong foundations we helped them to build meant that they left the school confident in their abilities – both linguistic and academic.”

It is no surprise that the first thing she did when she moved back to Tokyo was to open another school with her Chinese-British husband, Fei Fei Hu. After all, she was born to a family of educators – her grandfather is the head of Hokkaido’s Education Committee and her parents run their own school. The couple’s new project is CLARENCE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL located in Omotesando.

Clarence 3

Clarence1

When it comes to philosophies, a school generally describes itself as academic or play-based. Ayahi clarifies though that ‘play’ is in itself, academic.

“It is through play that young children learn most: our curriculum is informed by the Early Years and Foundation Stage statutory framework developed by the UK’s Department for Education; we work systematically towards the seven areas of development (Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Communication and Language, Literacy, Mathematical Development, Understanding the world and Artistic expression). All of the activities we do with the children are thus academically informed, and selected based on the desired learning outcome, ” the school founder explains.

“In afterschool English classes too, we work towards academic goals (we work with Cambridge English and use their Young Learners test), with textbooks as a base, but we design activities in a way which promote active use and production of English. Here, play reinforces more academic study.”

originalclarencetoys

Clarence International school has child-size furnitures including washroom and toilets.

The curriculum structure of many schools in Japan vary by design. With many governments including Japan considering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning a national priority, some parents do wonder if Arts is at all necessary. David Arzouman, an American Arts teacher and former resident of Tokyo argues that Arts give people ‘the conceptual tools to look across disciplines and see how things fit together in the big picture, a valuable skill set when one is trying to solve problems and innovate in the working world.’

Therefore, it stands to reason that introducing Arts to children early will supercharge their creativity. Clarence International School’s strong focus on Arts is no doubt a step in the right direction.

“We believe that the Arts are central to the human experience; they aren’t an adjunct to education. Our curriculum offers children opportunities to experience a myriad of art forms, and then to respond to them in their own way (each child will develop an arts portfolio). The arts inspire creativity; children will explore various art forms, building up a vocabulary of skills and techniques, and will draw on this to create their own art. This isn’t to suggest that arts will be our sole focus; children will study all academic disciplines, while immersed in a language-rich environment,” adds Suda.

The day-to-day routine at the school is a mix of teacher and student-directed activities: teacher-led circle time and a ‘discovery’ time that encourages children to follow their innate curiosity and sense of wonder. Suda refers to Clarence’s curriculum as ‘enabling.’ It was specifically designed to expose children to a range of activities and environments that stimulate learning through play.

Children do not use iPads in the classroom for good reason. Early Childhoood education experts believe that computers are not developmentally appropriate for children under 3. Instead, the school invested in Bee-Bots, an award-winning child-friendly colorful robot that teaches control, sequencing, directional language and programming. For older children who join them for Afterschool English, a range of programs such as the ‘Hour of Code’, a basic introduction to computer science and programming studied in 180 countries worldwide, film and photography, photographic composition and stop-frame animation are incorporated in their curriculum.

Reading is introduced from the age of 2-3 years old (Little Stars class) onwards. Apart from being surrounded by books, the teaching staff uses beautiful ‘word trees’ to keep the kids engaged for language acquisition.

Clarence’s methods in making a head start in literacy and numeracy go beyond numbers and spoken words.

“It is about being able to read and understand what words mean, to feel their rhythms. It’s about appreciating stories (their structure, characters, and the emotions elicited): each day, we listen to, read, explore, retell and create stories, encourage children to engage with the illustrations and understand that text communicates meaning,” stresses Suda.

“We have written new rhymes and songs for each letter of the alphabet; all of these introduce an aspect of grammar, vocabulary, intonation or rhythm, and are narrative. Our children have already memorised some of these; they leave the school singing them. They are gaining a head start in literacy by being exposed to language and literature – explicitly and implicitly – in a holistic way.”

In numeracy, children are introduced to counting, identifying numbers, number problems, and getting to know shapes, space and measurement on a daily basis though a variety of stimulating contexts and forms to keep their young learners interested in the subject.

If you are a working parent who needs extended care, Clarence’s after-hours Nursery space is open daily for students of all ages with singing and storytime as activities or alternatively, for others to relax or do some homework.

Clarence International School is a labor of love for Ayahi Suda and her global husband Fei Fei, whose multi-cultural experience growing up in China, studying in Japan and working in the U.K. makes him the school’s ‘icing on the cake.’ Fei Fei however admits that what he went through wasn’t easy.

“I did struggle at times, growing up in such an environment, with different languages and friends all over the world. At 25, though, it all seemed to fall into place; having friends in so many countries – being able to talk and relate to anyone – seemed natural. I don’t see barriers between countries; it feels natural to me to be able to work with individuals and institutions all over the world,” recalls the young entrepreneur.

Fei Fei speaks Mandarin and Shanghainese, English, and Japanese. ” I was an undergraduate at Waseda University. I learnt English as a foreign language at Junior and High school, but learnt most from my time studying at Oxford University,” adds Fei Fei.

FFH with HRH

Fei Fei with HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall

For the young entrepreneur, the highlight of his U.K. experience was having worked for the Royal Household, a task he describes as ‘building cultural relationships between China and the U.K.’ His appointment as the Secretary of HRH The Prince of Wales’s Charities Foundation (China) and Assistant Director of Charities at the Royal Household was what got him into the arts scene in London. When asked what it was like working with Prince Charles, Fei Fei answers, “The Prince of Wales is a philosopher. He is someone who doesn’t change his mind easily. I was very impressed with the sheer volume of charitable work he does.”

It was through Ayahi’s poetry works that he met his life and business partner. Suffice it to say that the love for Arts was what brought the two lovebirds together.

Fei Fei’s and Ayahi’s desire to open Clarence International School was sparked by a vision of empowering children and be the anchor to their learning journey as they navigate the ‘immense change’ that’s happening in the world.

“With the rapid developments in technology, nobody can really predict exactly what the world will look like 20 years from now (will the schooling system we recognise today even exist then?). Our responsibility, then, is to prepare children to be able to live as confident people whose creativity and problem-solving can help them to flourish in this ever-changing world of ours,” opines Fei Fei.

“Equally, we want students to understand how much various human civilisations have achieved, through the arts, which can greatly shape how we perceive the world.”

“There isn’t an education system which is completely ideal. The system I enjoyed most in my own education was the Oxford tutorial style. This approach isn’t inherently western (the master and disciple relationship is traditional in Chinese education too). A defining feature of both approaches – and one which we aim to create in Clarence – is the primacy of the relationship between teacher and student: that this is the kind of personal mentoring which recognises that, at its roots, education is an exchange between unique human beings,” adds the school founder with conviction.

The school lives by the motto, ‘Alis Grace Nil‘ that translates as ‘nothing is heavy for those who have wings,’ a principle reflected in their arts–centric approach aimed at inspiring children to welcome Arts into their lives for enrichment.

Although striking a balance can generally be challenging for couples who go into business, Ayahi and Fei are the least bothered.
“The secret?” I asked. He replies, “Ayahi is my boss!”

clarencechairClarence International School is a 4-storey building with a total space of 350 sqm. The classrooms are bright , neat and sunny with an open-plan style cafe that opens in September for parents to network. The school is strategically located in chic Omotesando neighborhood surrounded by fashion houses, pastry shops and nice restaurants, and is a 5-min walk from Omotesando station’s exit A4 or 8-min walk from Gaienmae station.
Minami Aoyama 3-9-5, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Schedule a tour by appointment
www.clarenceschool.jp

About Julie Wilson