 The Kanagawa University High School lies in a quiet neighborhood near one of Japan's biggest ports. It's a relatively new school with a large yard and a full array of athletic facilities. Even though it's called a "high school," students attend from grades 7 to 12. |
Kanagawa
University
High School
|
|
|
|
||
 Kanagawa
University High School offers a six-year program running from middle school
through high school. It is located on the outskirts of Yokohama--Japan's
second most populous city--and rests on a small hill in a quiet residential
neighborhood dotted with fields of rice and other crops and thickets of
trees.
|
||
| The
school opened in April 1985 as a boys' school but switched over to co-ed
three years later. Now 1,200 boys and girls--200 in each grade--are enrolled
here.
|
||
  
|
||
| Let's
step inside the grounds. The three school buildings are distinguished
by red roofs and white walls. The first, containing classrooms and the
cafeteria, is where the students have most of their classes; the second
is a spacious gymnasium; and the third contains the library and various
workshops, such as for cooking and woodworking, where students learn to
bake cakes and build bookshelves. There is also a rugby field, baseball
diamonds, and tennis courts, as well as a 50-meter pool and a 400-meter
track.
|
||
 The
school is built on beautiful, densely wooded grounds. A nature exploration
class was making observations among the trees and fallen leaves near the
school. "We're collecting plants and looking for insects," one
of the students said cheerily. "But the best part is just being here,
out in the fresh air. It's really refreshing!"
|
||
| After
spending six years in this privileged environment, nearly 100% of the
students go on to college, either in Japan or in other countries. "The
best thing about our school is that the teachers really support our initiatives,
both in and outside the classroom," claims student president Nobuhito
Akima. Students at Kanagawa University High School have a broad range
of interests. Some want to set up their own Websites, while others hope
to grow kenaf to make pulpless paper or to play in the school orchestra.
But whatever their field of interest, the school provides a liberal atmosphere
that encourages creative and self-motivated activities. |
||
|
||
