Finally, the First Summer Vacation… Eugene’s “Life in Tateshina” and “Preparation for Entrance Exams

With classmates at Tateshina

I got to go to Tateshina this past year. I’m so jealous!　Tateshina is the only place in the three years we have been together as a class. 40 people. It’s fun to spend 3 days and 2 nights with other people!　I love it! … It’s so nice!

This is a third-year student at Tsukuba University High School. Tateshina” is an annual event at Tsukuba University High School for first-year students called “Tateshina Seikatsu” (Tateshina Life). This event, which had been canceled for the past two years due to the COVID-19 crisis, was revived this year.

The first year students go to the Tateshina Highland School in Tateshina,” said Mr. Kato, “right after the summer vacation. We use the school facilities at Tateshina Kogen, the Kirinyin Dormitory. I heard from my seniors that it was a lot of fun. Our grade didn’t get to go, so when I think of class unity, I think of it as a cultural festival. … I think it was the festival that brought us together as a class.

Prince Hisahito of Akishino has entered the University of Tsukuba High School, which he had hoped to attend, and is now on his first long vacation.

It has been a little more than three months since he entered the school in April. The school is divided into six classes of about 40 students each, depending on the elective subject of art, with a mix of students who entered the school from high school and those who entered internally from the attached junior high school. The male-female ratio is 1:1, and Eugene, who chooses “Crafts,” is in class 5 of the first year. He will not change classes during his three years in high school. Some students say, “We are in the same class, but I haven’t talked to Eugene yet,” but this “life in Tateshina” is sure to deepen our exchange.

Club Activities and Cultural Festival during Summer Vacation

Chikuzuke has a two-semester system, so although we are still in the middle of the first semester, we have now reached the end of the first half of the school year. The school does not publish grades, and the mid-term examinations held last month were not ranked in any way.

The school does not publish the results, but rather does not inform the students themselves of their grades. The graded answers are returned to me, but I don’t really know where I stand in the school year. There is also no parent-teacher conference before the summer vacation. I think that if there is something that concerns you, they will meet with you if you want to. … I am not sure what the school is doing. There were parent-teacher conferences for club activities, though.

Many people involved with the school say that such a “relaxed” atmosphere is one of the charms of Chikuzuke. Prince Eugene, a first-year high school student, is a member of the boys’ badminton club. Although he is “not that hardcore” (a current student), as a member of the athletic club, he will be sweating it out in the “large arena” of the gymnasium during the summer vacation. In addition, the Kirin Festival, a cultural festival, will be held in September, and the students will be preparing for it during the summer vacation.

The first-year students often put on a haunted house or other performances. The first year students often put on a haunted house or a haunted house, and the second year students put on a play, a casino, and so on. If there is a child in the class who is actively involved, it makes it more exciting, and it shows the color of the group. This year’s first-year students went to Tateshina, so I think there is quite a strong sense of unity.

Selecting a cram school for college…

During the summer vacation, Eugene is expected to have a full day of “Tateshina life,” “club activities,” and “cultural festival preparations. However, another issue will be preparing for the entrance examinations.

There is no guidance on entrance examinations at the school, so it is impossible not to go to cram school,” he said. … …” (Parent)

Chikuzuke is not only a “traditional school” with a unique educational policy, but also a “preparatory school” with many students who have been accepted into top universities such as Tokyo University and Waseda-Keio, as well as medical schools. The reason for this is that

“School alone is not enough for the entrance exam (laughs), so I go to cram school.” Most of the “suuchi” (super insiders: students who entered Chikuzuke from elementary school) and “chugai” (students who entered Chikuzuke from outside in junior high school) attend cram schools for integrated school students.” Ko-gai” (students who entered Chikuzuke from outside during high school) had to take the high school entrance exam, so they probably start taking classes during this summer vacation.

A popular cram school is “Tetsurikai,” which specializes in preparing students for Tokyo University. There is an entrance examination, and it is difficult to enter the school from high school unless you have excellent grades. There is also “SEG,” which specializes in integrated schools for students aiming for difficult-to-enter universities, and classes for current students at major prep schools such as Sundai and Kawaijuku.

The children exchange information about cram schools with each other and with their parents. Those who have older siblings may know more about cram schools because of their experience. You can’t find that kind of information on the Internet. In a sense, it’s a very small and special world, because the actual number of students who take entrance exams for integrated junior and senior high schools and for difficult-to-enter universities is very small. … (Parent)

In such a “special” situation, I wonder if Prince Hisahito of Akishino and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Akishino, are getting good information about entrance examinations.

The university entrance examinations nowadays are completely different from those of our parents’ generation, with overly complicated systems such as recommendations, and there is no professional cram school instructor who can give us pointers on how to study according to the schools we wish to enter. Even for entrance examinations with recommendations, there is preparation for interviews and essays. A private tutor can’t keep up with that kind of information.

Even though classes are not in session, the students have a busy summer vacation, with a maximum of 15 days of “badminton club” activities, preparation for the school festival in their class, and preparation for entrance examinations. On July 31, he and Princess Akishino will attend the opening ceremony of the 46th National High School Cultural Festival, which will be held in Tokyo. As a guest of honor, I wonder what Prince Hisahito will see and think as he witnesses the “results of cultural activities” and “parade” of the same high school students.