Junten Junior High School / Senior High School

Admission for Returnee Students

Junten offers two entrance examinations for returnees who have studied at junior and senior high schools overseas.  For junior high school students interested in Junten, entrance examinations are held in December and February. For senior high school students, the tests are held in December and January. Junior high school age returnee students will join regular junior high school classes at Junten, and the returnee students who took the senior high school exam will usually join the Academically Advanced English class (E-Class).

Junten also offers a variety of programs for returnee students. This includes special Intensive English lessons to help maintain and improve the English skills that they have fostered by living overseas. Junten provides opportunities for returnee students to display their international communication abilities, for example, researching topics and presenting them in English.

Returnees’ Group “STARS”

“STARS,” Scholastic Team and Association for Returnees and Supporters, is a club created by returnee students. Its Mission Statement revolves around providing support and advice for other returnee students. Students can join the club in the middle of the term, but only when there is a vacancy in the club. Each year is different, so please ask us for more information.

The idea for STARS came from returnee students and the club began in 2006. The Mission Statement was actually written by student representatives.

The Mission Statement of STAR-Scholastic Team and Association
for Returnees and Supporters

1. STARS will provide necessary help and support to returnees.
2. STARS will provide aid to maintain the English comprehension returnees have acquired during their stay in foreign countries.
3. STARS will issue a newsletter for returnees.
4. STARS will hold meetings for the returnees to discuss different cultures in order to enhance their ability to understand global issues.
5. STARS will create opportunities for the returnees to debate on international issues.
6. STARS will support activities in the ELC (English Learning Center)
7. STARS will help returnees broaden their understanding of different cultures.
8. STARS will offer returnees a sanctuary where they can share their problems with other returnees regarding cultural differences.
9. STARS will hold an annual presentation to explain about the countries in which the returnees have lived.

Q & A

Are the class discussions and lesson styles for returnees the same as for regular students?

After entering Junten, returnees join the regular studentss classes and lessons. In the Junior High School, all the returnee students study in the same class. Senior High School students have a choice between studying in the E-class or the Academically Advanced Class. Returnee students can keep motivation high by working hard in class alongside students who have always studied in Japan.

Are the English classes for returnee students different from the classes that Japanese students take?

At the junior high school, returnee students are separated from the regular class to study English. Currently, these students are studying vocabulary building, speed reading, essay writing and presentation skills. The returnee students at the senior high school are also separated from the regular class to study English depending on their proficiency. The 11th and 12th graders study to prepare for college entrance examinations.

To catch up with the ongoing regular classes, are there supplemental classes for returnees?

Depending on the student’s proficiency and the environment in which they were studying before coming to Japan, returnee students can choose to study separately from the regular class to build basic knowledge of the Japanese language and the Japanese Classics (Koten). Students can also receive instruction and assistance on short essay writing and the admissions process (AO Nyushi). Students who wish to study for TOEFL can receive private lessons.

What is the most essential thing when teaching returnee students at Junten?

Junten hopes for returnee students to have meaningful experiences that benefit the students. Each returnee student has her or his own unique experiences and Junten hopes that students are confident in their uniqueness and are willing to share their experiences with other students. Junten believes that returnee students have a significant role in the Junten community. The school helps students utilize their experiences for the benefit of society.

If you have the returnee students’ university entrance performance data, could you show us?

The following information is the university entrance performance of 16 returnee students from the Spring of 2014.

National/Public University:   Chiba University, Tokyo Metropolitan University

Private University:   Sophia University (2), Rikkyo University (2), Waseda University, Aoyama Gakuen University, Hosei University, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Senshu University, Kokubakuin University, Tokyo Healthcare University, Senzoku Gakuen College of Music and Fisher College (results pending).

What should returnee students know before entering Junten Gakuen?

Junten hopes all the returnee students are confident and proud about being a returnee student, have positive attitudes towards their experiences overseas, and wish to continue these positive experiences in Japan.

What is the most important thing that Junten thinks that returnee students should obtain from living overseas?

It is important for students to experience the culture and lifestyle of countries overseas, but it is also beneficial for returnees to explore and compare the differences between Japan and countries abroad.

If you have any messages and advice for returnee students, please share them with us.

Junten holds a returnee students’ parents meeting two or three times a year. For the 1st and 2nd year of junior high school, it is a joint meeting. Parents talk about their concerns and share their experiences. The parents of returnee students who have already been with Junten can inform the new parents about what they should know about the school and new returnee students’ parents can use the information as a reference.

What do you think is the best aspect of returnee students?

Returnee students must have experienced significant challenges and overcome them, so the returnee students are a bridge between Junten students and the world. STARS club is a great space for sharing the unique problems that only returnee students can understand, and also for sharing the beauty of the world with Junten students through a variety of events and activities.

What are returnee students who entered Junten happiest about?

Returnee students are happiest about the STARS club and the associated staff. There are two Assistant Language Teachers from the JET Program, two volunteer instructors from Project Trust in the UK, and the entire English speaking staff from the ELC (English Language Center) that help out with STARS. The club and the staff form a family-like community within the Junten campus.

Please give advice to returnee students on entrance examinations.

Have confidence in yourself and your skills, whether it is your language skills or talents in other subjects. Build upon your existing strengths.